Page 103 of The Best Thing He Never Wanted

“You will. I’ll give you a call. You should come over for dinner.”

When Katerina glanced at him again, the knowledge sat heavy in Blane’s chest that by the time she came to dinner, he’d be gone.

She’d be part of the life Bea was building here; he wouldn’t.

Chapter Nineteen

When they got back from their walk on Monday morning, Bea reluctantly sat down at the kitchen table and opened her laptop.

“You take your time. Do what you need to do,” said Blane. “I can water the plants if you want me to.”

She stared at him for a moment until his eyebrows drew together.

“I can leave them alone if you don’t want me to.”

She let out a short laugh. “That’s not what I was thinking. I love that you want to do it. I don’t even mind being honest that I want to do it myself.” She glanced at the laptop. “I’d much rather water them than do my client work.”

He pursed his lips at that.

“I know, I know. I can give it all up any time I like. I’m building up to it.”

He nodded but didn’t comment.

“Okay, sorry. It doesn’t matter. If you would water them for me, that would be wonderful, please.” He came over and rested his hand on her shoulder, and she covered it with her own. “It won’t take me long to do what I need to. Then perhaps we should go somewhere this afternoon.”

“Anywhere you like. I’m up for it.”

“Is there anywhere you’d like to see? I’ve dragged you around with me taking care of domestic details. I feel as though you’ve missed out on your chance to be a tourist.”

He met her gaze and held it. “And you think I’m here because I want to be a tourist?”

She gave his hand a squeeze. “No, Blane, I don’t. That was a silly thing to say, wasn’t it?”

“I’d never call you silly.” He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You get to work, darlin’. I’ll go water the plants.”

It turned out that work ate up the rest of the morning. When she checked her email one last time before finally closing the computer, there was a message from the lawyer who had helped her with the house. He had some paperwork for her that he’d rather she collect than send through the post.

She still wasn’t entirely used to Greek bureaucracy and the way it worked, but since his office was in Spili, it would only mean a ten-minute drive, and that might be a good opportunity to get behind the wheel again. She looked out through the window to where Blane was standing with his hands on his hips, surveying the courtyard. She didn’t think he’d mind.

When she went out to join him, he still had his hands on his hips and a dissatisfied look on his face. “Is something the matter?”

“Just thinking you have a lot of unused space out here.”

She looked around. “I do, but it won’t be unused for too long. Thanks to all the work you’ve been doing clearing space for me, I’ll be able to get to work on the garden in earnest far sooner than I expected.”

He came to her and wrapped his arms around her middle, sliding one hand down over her backside and giving it a squeeze.

She smiled up at him, loving the way he chuckled as he said, “Told you this extra set of hands might come in useful.”

She went up on her toes to press a kiss to his lips. “You did. And at the time, I had no idea just how multitalented those hands would turn out to be.”

He kissed her forehead. “I’ve enjoyed finding out just how many jobs they’re useful for myself.”

Something about the way he said it made disappointment settle heavily in her stomach. He’d enjoyed using his hands in all kinds of ways around here, but whether it was his choice of words or simply the fact that her mind kept worrying away at the same sore spot, the truth was undeniable. His hands wouldn’t be here to do any of it for much longer; neither would he.

She pushed the thought away. She could be sad after he’d left. For now, she wanted to make the most of every moment he was here.

“But what were you looking so disgruntled about?”