“I need to brush my teeth,” she said sheepishly.
His lips twitched. “Oh, OK. Thought it was me.”
“No, you … you’re …” The way he looked at her made butterflies flit in her chest. Her gaze dipped to his collarbone, and she forced herself to only look there, though what she really wanted was to ogle that unbelievably fit chest. Maybe touch it too.
A car turned into the driveway, and Rolf immediately went off.
“OK!” she said, and the dog stopped barking. “Can you get that? I’ll be right back.”
Nick nodded, his gaze shifting to Rolf. “Is he all right if I open the door?”
“Of course he is. He knows better than to run outside without permission.”
“Amazing. You’ve trained him so well.”
She smiled and patted her thigh. “Let’s go.”
Rolf positioned himself close to her leg and trotted alongside her. All the way to the bathroom, Jannie distinctly felt Nick’s gaze on her back.
•
Jannie
Jannie shook her head. “Did you order the entire menu?” Even after they’d made a serious dent in it, the bountiful breakfast buffet Nick had set up in the summer kitchen looked mostly untouched.
He speared a piece of pancake and dipped it in maple syrup. “I didn’t know what you’d like, so I ordered everything.”
“You might just spoil me.”
He caught her gaze, his dark eyes intense. “I’d like to.”
She watched the morsel disappear into his mouth, noticing the sheen on his lower lip from the syrup. Her brothers would rather be tortured than consume that many carbs. Apparently, Nick had no such problem.
During her ridiculously long everything shower, she’d thought of ways to politely tell him she had things to do so he would take the hint and leave, but over the course of breakfast, her resolve weakened. His presence soothed her and made her feel safe; right now, that was exactly what she needed.
He looked up at the wood plank lanai ceiling. “This is a nice place you have here.”
“It is.” She, too, surveyed the boards.
She had gone to Home Depot and bought four stain colors to test, eventually blending two to achieve the exact shade she envisioned. While building this house, she’d agonized over every detail, with Blake staying out of it, saying she should choose whatever she liked. At that time, she thought he was giving her free rein because he loved her and wanted her to be happy.
Now, she wondered if he simply didn’t care.
“What are you thinkin’?” Nick asked.
“Nothing.”
“It doesn’t look like nothing to me. What’s that sad place you went to?”
She gave him a look. “Take a guess.”
“Ah.”
He’d understood immediately. A part of her wasn’t surprised. He seemed uncannily in tune with her, even though they’d barely spent time together.
“Is there a chance he’ll be back?”
“The probability is high.”
