“It’s not a change. I thought it was a good idea when you asked earlier. I was just going through something.”
I chopped up the eggs and swept them into the bowl with the tuna, noodles, and the vegetables. “Still don’t want to talk about it?”
“Nope,” she chirped. “Not at all.”
I added mayo and yellow mustard to the bowl. “So how do you want to do this?”
She turned to look at me, resting her hip on the edge of the counter. “I wanted to talk to you about something else, though.”
Curious, I stopped mixing the salad. “What is it?”
“Are you open to renting the house out several times a year? Because I think we can go into business with a few rental properties. Just a suggestion.”
“Hmm.” The idea didn’t suck, and passive income was always a bonus. “I see where you’re going. Start with your place and then expand to other locations?”
She snapped her fingers. “Exactly. We could buy Dex’s house.” She shrugged. “Just sayin’. It wouldn’t hurt. And we’d have a place to land in Ann Arbor.”
“I like it.” I held up a fist and she bumped it with hers. “Let’s bring our lawyers into it.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Demi popped a blueberry in her mouth and did a cute little dance, while I tried not to think about her ass as she swayed to the music. I scooted past her to grab another jar of mayo and was hit with her scent. It was unmistakably Demi, like fresh flowers and mandarins with a hint of vanilla. I found myself leaning in. And for some very strange reason I wanted to bite her.Softly, of course. I wanted to take her earlobe into my mouth, to brush my mouth over her pulse point, to press my lips against the tattoo on the back of her neck.
To make matters worse, Demi kind of slumped against me. She didn’t speak, she didn’t even move, and I wondered what she wanted from me in that moment. Did she want me to do those things? If I did what I wanted to do, would she flip out again?
Before I could ask, she stiffened and whirled around, her eyes wide. “Youwereflirting!”
My gaze dropped to her mouth, then dipped down to her…
She punched my arm. “I knew it.”
I gripped her wrist to prevent her from hitting me again. Not because it hurt, but because it felt right to have her hand on my body. Even if it was a playful smack. “Demi, I’m not flirting with you.”Wanting to kiss someone is not the same as flirting. I would die on that mountain. “You’re in my space, and I’m trying to get this damn salad done.”
“You’re so full of shit. You made me question myself earlier. All those half-smiles and those intense stares. Your tone of voice. The non-verbal cues? Of all people, you should know how important it is to pay attention to what isn’t said.”
My parents had made all of us—Demi included—aware of the ways that people communicate. A person’s body language could tell you everything you needed to know about their state of mind. “That’s true.”
“It’s all in your body language.”
I swiped my thumb over the pulse point on her wrist and held if there, enjoying her sharp intake of breath. “Really now?”
Demi stared at my hand around her wrist and met my gaze with hooded eyes. Swallowing visibly, she whispered, “You’re doing it again.”
“That’s true.” I leaned in. “But I’m not the only one whose body language is telling a story.”
“My body isn’t telling you anything.” She breathed a curse when I stepped closer to her, still unsure how far I would take this. The stakes were pretty high, but she was also so damn irresistible I wanted to see something.
“It’s the way your breath catches when I move closer to you,” I murmured. “The way your pulse speeds up when I brush my finger over your wrist. The way your eyes seem to always be focused on my mouth.”
“Meanwhileyou’relooking atmylips,” she tossed back, letting out a nervous giggle. I liked it. “And the lean… It’s very flirtatious.” She grabbed a handful of blueberries.
I circled her nose with mine. “I think you want me to flirt with you.”
A couple of the berries fell to the floor. “Oh, shit.” Neither of us attempted to pick them up. She planted her hands on my chest but made no move to push me away. “I think… You should probably finish that tuna salad before Bishop gets here.”
I searched her eyes. “Is that what you really want me to do?”
“I don’t know,” she confessed. “But I’m like two seconds from flipping out because… What the hell is happening here?”
