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“Was it always like this?”
“No. It was our aunt’s sick room the last year of her life. Before that, it was just an empty room the entire time I lived here. It was Parker’s idea to make it a media room. He designed it.”
“Well, it’s amazing. Oh, a popcorn machine.” She walked over to it. “This is so cool.”
“Come over some night to watch a movie, and I’ll make you popcorn.”
“Maybe.” She wouldn’t. This man was just too tempting. “Aren’t we supposed to be discussing our committee crap?”
He laughed. “That’s a good word for it. Yeah, I guess we should get to it.”
They retrieved their coffee and the cupcakes. At the top of the stairs was an open space, with a wide hallway in the middle. One of the twin stairs continued up.
“Those lead to Kade’s quarters.” He headed for the hallway.
Her assumption that he was taking her to his bedroom had been wrong. He led her to a room that was a total man cave—a cushy brown leather sofa and matching recliner, a slate fireplace, and one of the largest TV screens she’d ever seen. More of what she was sure was Parker’s art was scattered about on the walls. It was a room she could happily hang out in to watch a baseball game.
“I guess we better get down to business.” Before she decided it would be a good idea to snuggle up with him on that cushy couch.
Chapter Fifteen
Tristan set his coffee and the plate of cupcakes on the coffee table. He’d rather get naked with her on his oversize sofa...well, start there, then move to his king bed. But down to business it was.
She settled on one end of his sofa, and he liked seeing her there. Really liked it. He could imagine her here, watching a football game with him...actually, watching anything with him. Even sentimental romance movies if that was her thing.
“Your home is beautiful. I’ve driven by it a lot and always wondered what the inside was like.”
“Thanks. We’ve done a lot to fix it up since our aunt died. All the downstairs renovations are done. We’re in the process of adding a mini kitchen in my quarters so I don’t have to go down for a drink or snack. That’s the last thing to finish on this floor, then we’ll start on Kade’s rooms.”
“I have to say that I’m impressed with how neat and clean everything is considering three men, one child, a dog, and a cat live here.” She brushed her hand over the leather cushion, then held her palm out. “Not even any animal hair.”
“We have Andrew to thank for that.”
“I don’t think I know an Andrew.”
“Andrew Shaughnessy. The sweetest young man you’ll ever meet. He’s been a godsend. Not only does he keep our house clean, and loves doing it, but he does our grocery shopping and cooks a lot of our meals. If Parker’s on duty at the fire station and I’m held up, he watches Everly until one of us gets home.”
“You’re lucky to have someone like that.”
“Believe me, we know.” He picked up the plate and held it out to her. “Let’s finish our coffee and cupcakes, then we’ll get to work.” There wasn’t much to discuss, probably not even thirty minutes’ worth. As soon as they finished, she’d bail. Thus, he was trying to delay her departure.
It had taken a year to get her in his house, and he wanted to keep her here for a while. He wanted to talk about something besides Miss Mabel’s ridiculous plan to reopen the museum. The problem was, although he’d known her intimately, he knew so little about her and wasn’t sure what to talk about.
She moaned after taking a bite of the cupcake. “These are so good.”
Her moan went straight to his groin, and he almost asked her to do that again. His brain jumped in before he got stupid. One wrong move like that, and she’d be gone girl before he could blink his eyes.
“Sweet Tooth is the best.” He finished his cupcake, then picked up his coffee. “What made you decide to leave Florida to come up here?” He’d always wondered about that. She’d been the chief deputy sheriff, the second highest rank in a sheriff’s department three times the size of Horace County’s. Why had she left?
“Just ready for a change.”
Her gaze had fallen to the floor when he’d asked his question, and his gut said there was more to it than that. “Things are a lot quieter here than what you had to be used to.”
“Believe me, I appreciate that more than you can know.”
There was a story there, and he wanted to know what it was. Was it the answer to the puzzle that was Skylar Morgan? The reason she’d erected thick walls around herself...at least where he was concerned?
Over the past year, she’d proven to be intelligent, capable, and better in the role than the previous sheriff. Her deputies liked and respected her. Well, except for Mason, but the man was an ass, so he didn’t count.
