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Disappointment swamped him. Christ, when did he pine over a woman? Maybe the lack of sleep was finally getting to him.
Or the lack of sex.
Shaking off the insane thoughts, he pointed to the paper. “So, I basically sketched out my ideas for landscaping the entire property.” He went through section by section, outlining his ideas for outdoor hot tubs behind each cabin, firepits also behind each cabin, and through the property in general as well as the foliage and flowers. He’d gone a little crazy with the designs, making elaborate plans and not letting financial implications derail his vision.
“All these areas of flowers will look so beautiful in the summer.”
He nodded. “They will, but I’ve also planned it out with a ton of winter-blooming plants.”
“Really?” She bent over the paper.
“Yep, see here?” He pointed to the top corner of the paper.
“Yeah.”
“Those are called Christmas roses. They are gorgeous in winter. I also deliberately picked trees that will be perfect for twinkling lights once they lose their leaves in the fall.”
Hannah blew out a breath. “Oh, imagine how magical it will be when this entire place is blanketed in snow with fires burning, lights twinkling, and flowers blooming. It will be like a snowy paradise.”
Holy shit. She got his vision.
He huffed out a laugh as his insides warmed. “That’s exactly what I was calling it in my head.”
She stared up at him with wonder and appreciation in her gaze. But appreciation for his mind, not his body, for once. “You are really talented. Are you sure you’re not a landscape architect or something?”
“Nah.” He shook his head. “I work with a friend’s landscaping company when I need some extra cash, but this is just doodling.”
“Well, you should think about it because this is unbelievable. I think you’d be perfect for a career like that.” She shrugged then blushed as she glanced up at him. “Wow, sorry. Look at me telling you what to do with your life. Didn’t mean to overstep. I just think this is so great, and I can see you loving a job like this.”
And just like that, with a few words, Hannah was able to do something no one had ever done for JP before.
She sparked a small ember of curiosity about an actual occupation.
Landscape architecture.
A real job. A career. A car. Insurance. Eventually, a house. He needed all those things now that he had Kayla to think about.
Was that something he could do? Should do?
He loved being outside. Always had. He’d also been drawing and doodling for most of his life. With a mother who passed when he was just a child and a piece of shit father, JP hadn’t had assistance from his parents in exploring interests or options for his future. But he loved the outdoors and had notebooks full of random sketches and drawings. Most of the artwork inked into his skin had been designed at least in part by him.
Shit, inventing elaborate outdoors designs for a living?
That just might be the perfect career for him.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THE MAN WAS a creative genius. This was a side of JP she hadn’t seen and wouldn’t have expected. That’d teach her to judge. He had an out-of-this-world eye for aesthetics and had been able to capture on paper precisely what’d been in his inspired mind.
Whatever he was doing for work, he was wasting an incredible talent.
She glanced up to find him staring down at her. An intensity entered his gaze, chasing away some of his usual playfulness but making him no less appealing. In fact, seeing him without his typical lighthearted personality gave him a depth of character she found herself drawn to. He was multidimensional. Someone who could laugh and have fun but also had a serious side, especially when it came to something he had an obvious passion for. Combine it all with how attracted she was to him physically, and it made an extremely tempting package.
“Did I overstep? I don’t mean to tell you your business.”
“No. Not at all.” Gone was the playful teasing JP she was coming to expect. This wasn’t the angry JP from the other day either. This was a pensive, serious version, and the way he seemed to stare into her mind made her shiver with awareness. It was as though she’d been laid bare and open for him to discover.
He sat so close their sides touched. As soon as his body had come in contact with hers, tingles of pleasure erupted across her skin.
God, how on earth was she supposed to maintain her distance and keep the focus solely on Kayla when the most attractive man she’d ever been around licked his lips like he was about to devour her?
All she had to do was lean in and stretch her neck up a bit, and their lips would touch. Would be a gentle kisser? Or a hungry one?
