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She cupped his cheeks and pulled him down for a quick kiss. “You blew off your whole afternoon to stay here with us and I know you had a ton of stuff to do. I really appreciate it.”
“No biggie.”
“Will you get in trouble for not being available?”
Something slipped through his gaze before he shifted to kiss her fingertips. Just that simple gesture set her toes tingling. “Nah, it’ll be fine. I’m actually due back at a donor house this afternoon. Remember that roof I mentioned yesterday? I do volunteer work as part of the Helping Hands charity.” She didn’t quite get why his voice lowered, and his brows pulled tight. “A lot of work for them actually. They provide houses for disabled vets or disadvantaged families, as a way to help get them back on their feet.”
Warmth blossomed in her chest. He must have an understanding boss, if he let Dillon fit in volunteer work around his regular duties. Unless Dillon was self-employed. He’d never said. “That’s great. If you need to go, it’s okay. I have Nellie.”
She glanced up as Nellie rushed toward them, cell clutched in one hand. “Sorry, I’ve gotta go. Jake’s coming by any minute and he scored tickets to tonight’s show at the civic center. It’s a knockoff of Cirque du Soleil. I’ve been dying to go, but it’s been sold out forever.”
“No problem.” Alexa smiled and mentally shifted her plans. So much for picking up the foam things. She couldn’t leave the store unattended. “Have a good time. And thanks again for all your help. You’re a lifesaver.”
“It was fun. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“I can handle the store on my own tomorrow. Enjoy the show, and I’ll see you Monday.”
“Awesome. Thanks. Have a good weekend.” Nellie looked between them, her brows drawing together. “Both of you.”
Dillon’s phone beeped. “Sorry,” he said, glancing at the readout. “Duty calls.”
Alexa nodded and affixed a bright smile onto her face. Boy, he was definitely a wanted man, and not just by her. “Sure thing. I’m good.”
He frowned at the moody gray sky beyond the front windows. “Where’d the sun go?”
“We’re due for storms tonight.”
“It’s been one after another lately. You have a generator here?”
She didn’t know whether to growl or smile at the concern in his tone. “Yes.” With a light shove, she nudged him toward the door. “Go do your manly thing.”
His mouth crooked into a half-smile as he looked back at her. Lingeringly. “I’ll be back at eight. Wait for me.”
“I will.” She returned his smile—and his kiss when he bent to brush his mouth over hers. She shut the door behind him, her smile spreading. A night
with Dillon promised to be very interesting indeed.
…
One night turned into two. Then three. Somehow before she knew it, they’d spent a whole series of nights together. He usually didn’t get to her place until late since he seemed to work all the damn time. That he arrived fresh from a shower and usually with the glow of the sun on his cheeks was a happy bonus.
It wasn’t just about the sex either. They talked. And laughed. God, did they laugh. Night before last she’d helped him put together a scale model of his Harley-Davidson, and he’d helped her decorate her apartment a little more. Which had mostly consisted of nailing pictures and kissing and more nailing…
Last night he hadn’t been able to get away from the donor house he was working on, so she’d kept busy making arrangements to fill the hours he wasn’t around. Not that she’d noticed his absence or anything. She’d—wisely, it turned out—followed through on his suggestion for the fall design. She’d already had to make more cones twice over, so she raised the price by fifteen percent. It was still more than reasonable, proven by how fast they sold out.
By Wednesday afternoon, she’d made half a dozen more with Nellie’s help, plus a couple specialty ones with fancier flowers, more greenery and a slightly inflated price tag. Travis did a splashy poster for the front window—she shuddered only a little—and they sat back to wait for more customers.
They came, with money in their outstretched fists.
It was freaking unreal. She needed to implement some of Dillon’s other suggestions in a hurry, since the guy clearly knew what he was doing. Must be a natural at business or something.
Alexa faced her web designer with her hands on her hips. “I need that site done,” she said in her sternest voice, unwilling to be fazed by Travis’s slightly adoring gaze. “I want it launched within two weeks. There’s online business we’re missing.”And that way if this place gets foreclosed, I’ll still have a storefront. But she didn’t say that.
“I’m on it.”
“And that newsletter we talked about?”
His puppy dog look made her sigh inwardly. “On that too.”
