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Sky rolled her eyes at him, then smiled at Angel. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
Angel laughed, holding up her hands. “It’s not like that. We’re… friends from Nashville.” Porter winced, hoping Grey and Sky didn’t immediately ask questions. “Anyway, I’ll definitely let you know when I’ve had enough,” Angel said. “Once I get famished, nothing stands in my way lately. I don’t even stop at ice cream and pickles.”
Porter smirked. She made it sound like she was pregnant. He really needed to step in before Grey and Sky started getting the wrong idea. “She’s always been that way, ever since I met her…” And now that would lead to Nashville questions. He boldly pushed through the complications. “She actually knows a lot about keeping plants alive. She’s helping my mother with her garden.”
Sky let out a squeal of happiness. “Oh, Angel! Please, look at my garden and tell me what I’m doing wrong. My lilac bush is dying, and my tomatoes refuse to grow.”
“Well… I’m not that knowledgeable.” Angel cast Porter a reproachful look. “Lily just took pity on me. She knew that I needed to get out.”
“Don’t let her get away with being humble,” Porter said. Bragging about Angel was something that he could get used to. “I don’t care if she knows anything about plants; she’s a sweetheart for taking care of my mother.”
Angel seemed like she was getting ready to argue and then stopped. Her stormy expression cleared like he’d taken a wand to the clouds. Her mouth trembled. “A sweetheart?”
“Yes, of course.” Porter had never met anyone with her heart of gold, but then again, he’d never met anyone that completely turned him on his head like she did, either. Up was down and down was up with Angel, and he couldn’t seem to keep a handle on his reason when she was around. He got caught in the tumult in her darkening eyes.
Sky pushed a paintbrush into his hand. “We love Lily. She works so hard on her gardens. I’m sure she appreciates the help, Angel.”
Angel nodded, then ripped her gaze away from Porter’s. She cleared her throat. “I’m always willing to look at your lilac bushes. Just don’t expect any miracles.”
“I see what you mean, Porter,” Sky said. “Yeah, you found a good one. Keep ahold of her.” She grabbed Angel’s arm, following her own advice. “I promise, Porter, I’ll bring her right back! This is an emergency.”
Angel glanced over at Porter, maybe for reassurance. He nodded. Angel didn’t need his permission, but for a moment, he had the feeling that she was reluctant to part with him. That made the two of them. His smile brightened.
Friends, huh? Not a chance.
He’d coax a kiss from those tempting lips before the end of the night.
Grey hauled up the paint buckets as his wife disappeared with Angel into the back of their deluxe cabin, and he turned to Porter with a teasing glint in his eye. “What’s with this Nashville thing? I thought you wanted me to find out more about her?”
“I do.” There was still something about her that didn’t click, besides what his brother had done to her; she acted like she was hiding something.
“Even when you’re already friends?” Grey asked.
This would take some tap dancing. “That’s just a super sensitive, long story… you probably shouldn’t bring it up to her.”
Grey’s eyes sharpened on him. “You’re not pulling some stupid Slade twin joke on us again, are you?”
“No!” Porter’s voice broke. Grey knew him too well. “Maybe,” he admitted. He rubbed at the back of his neck. “Look, it won’t be a thing after tonight, so relax. Anyway, I’m here, aren’t I? I’m the one doingyoua favor. You told me that if I came here, then you’d find all there was to know about Emily’s guest with your super spy Jedi skills. It’s your turn to follow through with your end of the bargain.”
Grey smirked. “I have a feeling that you’ll know everything you need to know about Angel by the end of the night. Get to it, Porter. She’s crazy about you.”
Was she really? Or did Angel just have a thing for his brother? He groaned. He’d know as soon as he fessed up to the truth. In the meantime, he wouldn’t let Grey trick them into working for free. “How about you do something useful for me, instead of stroking my ego?”
“What?”
“I don’t know… find out what her favorite ice cream is.”
“You heard it—pickle.” Grey swatted Porter in the back of the head. “Don’t think I won’t enjoy giving you a hard time. You’ve messed with us for far too long with your ‘matchmaking’ for any of us to make this easy on you.”
That’s what Porter was afraid of.
Chapter Fourteen
Cadence moved the paintbrush back and forth, painting the interior of the cabin a barn door red. The movement of the brush felt strangely comforting in its predictable, boring rhythm. Porter, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. His brilliant blue eyes kept catching with hers as he moved around the cabin, and worse, shivers of anticipation ran through the closer he came.
Why exactly?
What did she expect from him? Porter had called her a sweetheart, and she saw the sincerity in his expression; he believed it. Meanwhile his adorable friends had conveniently scrambled away to finish the other cabins, almost like they knew he liked her.
