It hadn’t been lamps.
Fixing the office. Yes.
“Oh, that means we’ll need a taller shelf for actual books.” Much taller. “And wide. It should be wide.” I stretched my arms out as I took a step forward and studied the room.
And it needed an area rug so my feet would be comfortable when I paced because there wasn’t nearly enough padding under his carpet.
Wait.
There’d been something else I was going to ask.
Stepping away from Rohan, I started circling the room so I could figure out what I’d forgotten and what else he would need to redo his office. Halfway through the circle, I figured it out. “What business did you have?”
Yes, he said he’d sold his business.
“Have we already talked about that? I probably should’ve asked you why you had so much free time before this.” As I turned back to look at Rohan, he had an odd expression on his face. “What?”
“What was your first guess about why I could help you?” He still looked like he was trying to decide if he was going to frown or smile, so I decided to take the question very seriously. Rohan was helping me with my gremlin problem and he’d found my kitchen, so it was the least I could do.
“Well, bouncers only work at night, so I thought that might be reasonable because you manhandle me very well without hurting me, and it’s a learned skill that’s just not taught anywhere.” He’d be very good at that job.
“Oh, and you look like you could be a rich playboy who’s decided to rebel against his family in seriously sexy ways, so I wasn’t sure if I should’ve packed a suit or something like that earlier. If you have to whisk me off to a fancy ball, we’re going to have to stop by my house first.” There just hadn’t been room for my tux without taking out something IknewI’d need.
“And for a few seconds, I thought you could work for the mob, but I don’t think we have any in this area.” His shrug made me question that assumption. “Okay, then that goes back on the list, but it’s a low possibility. You don’t seem like thebreak someone’s kneecapstype or the accounting type.”
Based on my reading, I wasn’t sure there were any other jobs in the mob, but I might be wrong.
“Hmm, what else? You cook really well. You might own a restaurant but I discounted that because you realized right offthe bat how high-maintenance I was.” No one with a job like that could put up with me for as long as he had without screaming.
I’d gone out on one very short date with a cranky chef.
Never again.
“Your brain is a fascinating place.” Rohan finally smiled and shook his head again like he was either amazed or clearing out fuzzy brains. “I owned a trucking company. I was not in the mob, but I can promise you this area is more interesting than you imagined.”
Oh.
“Really?” He was tempting enough that I forgot about measuring out the space for bookshelves and walked over to him. “What kind of interesting? Do we have one family in the area or two?”
Were they on the edge of a war?
Were the heads of the families trying to hide their love?
Had someone been kidnapped yet?
Rohan barked out a laugh as I cuddled up to him. “The look on your face. No, naughty boy. No distractions. You wanted to work and get words in. Remember?”
Ugh.
“But you were a bouncer once too, right?” I knew I was right, but he had to say it before I could win. “I bet you were a good one.”
Rohan shrugged as I ran my hands up his chest, imagining how sexy he’d be frowning at everyone and crossing his arms so his muscles bulged. “We’ll see. But first, you work.”
How was that fair?
Oh, maybe if I was annoying enough he’d glare at me and threaten to toss my drunk ass out of the bar?
I could pretend to be drunk.
