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“It was my dad’s.” There was still such pride in his voice whenever he mentioned his father.
So much for not looking at him. I turned toward him. “Really?”
“My mom gave it to me when I bought my house and decided to renovate it. It’s been sitting in storage forever. She thought it would come in handy for hauling supplies.”
That explained why the truck was so old. I mean, it was in good condition, but given Kane’s taste in cars the older tan Ford didn’t fit him. Yet in some ways, now that I thought about it, it was all him. It had character, and the inside of the cab was impeccably clean. Plus, there was something comforting about it.
“Are you doing the renovations yourself?” I figured he’d hired a contractor.
“What I can.”
Why was that such a turn-on? I could picture him getting all hot and sweaty, knocking down a wall in nothing but tight jeans.
“That’s where I was this weekend. I’ve been working on the master bedroom. I’d love for you to see it.”
My brow quirked. “Your bedroom?”
He slapped a hand against his chest. “Excuse me, Dr. Armstrong, I’m not that kind of man. We’re friends here.” He winked.
I laughed and thought about how he could make me laugh like no one else ever could.
“I would, though,” he got serious, “love for you to see my house.”
I would love that, too, but didn’t say anything. I had a feeling if I went to his house, I would want to picture myself there, and that would most certainly cloud my judgment.
“It’s in the neighborhood I grew up in. Only a few blocks from my old house,” he said wistfully. “The house needs a lot of work, but it’s great. You would love the big backyard with a pool, and there are skylights in the kitchen. You can look up and see forever.”
I always appreciated that he never found my quirks weird. Instead, he celebrated them. Ethan could never understand why I chose to sit on the floor, while Kane totally got it.
“Sounds nice. Someday I would like to see it.”
“Someday?” The disappointment was apparent in his voice.
“I’m trying to figure this all out. Going to your place would mean something to me.” I tried to make him understand.
“I get it.”
Of course, he did. He got me. “I didn’t say never.”
He grinned. “Darlin’, I don’t believe in never when it comes to us.”
Whoa. I fanned myself. “Pass the cookies, please,” I squeaked.
He chuckled and grabbed a bag out of the cooler he’d brought so the chocolate wouldn’t melt.
I took the bag and immediately grabbed two semisweet chocolate chunk cookies. “When did you have time to make these?”
“I left work early.”
“You didn’t have to do that.” I knew how busy he was. He had his own business plan to work on, besides the day-to-day running of the company. He was my father’s right hand man, after all. On top of that, he was playing a huge role in the upcoming conference and was renovating his house.
“Yes, I did, Scarlett. I don’t want to screw this up.”
I stared down at the cookies; the chocolate already had a sheen to it from the Georgia heat. “This whole situation is kind of screwed up. We’re vying for the same job, our parents were married once, we’re living under the same roof, and there are a million unresolved feelings between us.”
He brushed my bare shoulder, leaving behind a flurry of tingles. “I don’t see it that way. We can easily keep our personal and professional lives separate. And I’m glad our parents got married—it led me to you and living with you is a major bonus.” He smirked. “And we don’t need to leave anything unresolved. Isn’t that what tonight’s all about? Starting to resolve your feelings?”
I took a bite of cookie, and, oh, was it ever delicious. It bought me some time before I had to answer the infuriatingly charming man. Once I swallowed, I turned toward him to find him patiently waiting for my response. “How do you make everything sound so simple?”
“Nothing about this is simple. It’s complicated as hell, but that’s life. When things are complicated, it only means you try harder and appreciate it more.”
“There you go again, making it all sound like a wonderful adventure instead of a hard road ahead,” I teased. Truthfully, I’d always admired his attitude. It had made him successful. And once upon a time, it made me believe in dreams and in myself.
He scooted closer, though not too close. “Darlin’, life is what you make of it. The road is always going to be hard. It’s all about who you’re traveling it with and where your destination is. I know who I want beside me and where I’m going, so I’m willing to go the distance and work to overcome the roadblocks.”
