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It didn’t help the situation any to know that while he was watching Nicole, she was watching him. And it wasn’t irritation he saw on her features as much as attraction. He wasn’t an idiot. He could tell when a woman was interested in him. Usually, he’d be the first one to make a move in this situation.
Pretty woman. Close proximity. All good.
And at least then he’d have something to do.
But he knew boredom wasn’t Nicole’s problem. The woman seemed to be constantly in motion. When she came back out of the garage, awkwardly balancing a huge tray of brightly colored flowers, Griffin scowled. No doubt she wouldn’t thank him for his help, but he couldn’t just stay where he was and watch while she staggered under the heavy weight. He set his beer down and bolted from the hot tub. He was across the patio and through the gate separating the two yards an instant later.
“Give me those,” he said, snatching the surprisingly heavy flat from her.
Nicole swayed a bit when he took the carefully balanced weight from her so quickly. But she recovered fast. Lifting her gaze to his, she said, “I don’t need your help. I can manage on my own.”
“Yeah, I know,” Griffin said amiably. “You are woman. You don’t need a man. Let’s just pretend we had this argument already and that you won. Now, where do you want me to put these?”
He glanced around the yard, spotted the bags of potting soil and headed for them. The grass was warm and soft under his bare feet and water ran in rivulets down his legs from the hem of his bathing suit. The sun felt good on his back, in spite of the fact that he also felt Nicole’s gaze firing jagged pieces of ice at him.
Setting the tray down, he straightened up and turned to find her standing where he’d left her, across the yard, Connor’s hand in hers. The tiny boy was grinning at him, but Nicole wasn’t. Shaking his head, Griffin asked, “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“What?”
“Accepting help,” he said.
“I suppose not, and I should thank you even though I didn’t ask for your help or need it,” Nicole told him.
“Well, very gracious. You’re welcome.”
He laughed a little and headed back toward the fence, the hot tub and his beer. She’d made it clear enough that he wasn’t welcome on her side of the fence. So if he needed something to do later, he’d call his assistant again and bug the hell out of her.
He was almost to the gate when her voice stopped him.
“Griffin, wait.”
He looked over his shoulder at her.
“You’re right,” she said. “I did need the help and I do appreciate it.”
Smiling, he said, “I think we’re having a moment here.”
She laughed and Griffin felt a solid punch of desire slam into him. The soft sound of her laughter spilled out around him. Her eyes lit with amusement and the wariness he was used to seeing glint out at him was gone.
“No moment,” she said after a second or two. “But definitely a truce.”
“Also good,” he admitted and leaned one arm on the top of the gate. He watched Connor run to get his plastic shovel, then he shifted his gaze back to the boy’s mother. “So, want to tell me why we need a truce in the first place?”
A soft breeze twisted a long strand of hair across her eyes and she reached up to tuck it behind her ears. “Okay, maybe truce was the wrong word.” She looked over her shoulder to check on Connor, then turned her gaze back to Griffin. “It’s just, I know Katie and I’m guessing she asked you to look out for me while they were gone and—”
“Nope.” He cut her off with a shake of his head.
“Really?” She didn’t sound convinced.
Griffin watched her, watched the breeze play with her hair and make the dangling blue threads from the hem of her shorts dance. Her nose was pink from the sun, her eyes were as deep a blue as the bowl of sky above them and there was a niggling, gnawing sensation inside him that was hunger. For her.
To remind himself, as well as to put her at ease, he said, “Okay, not completely true. Katie did ask me to keep an eye on the neighborhood—which would, of course, include you. But specifically?” He paused and shook his head. “Katie actually warned us all to keep our distance from you.”
