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He stared at me for long seconds. “You could have been talking about yourself just now.”
“But I wasn’t. I was talking about you.” I gently jabbed his upper arm with my finger. “And I was right.”
His hand curled around the offending finger. “Don’t poke me.”
“Why? You poke me.”
“With my dick. That’s different.” Releasing my finger, he guzzled down a mouthful of beer as he swept his gaze over our surroundings—taking in the pool, the barbecue area, the hot tub, the mini bar, and the spread of land beyond it. “You’ve got a sweet setup here.”
“I want a rooftop terrace after getting a glimpse of yours. Do you use it?”
“I sit up there sometimes.”
I could just imagine him sprawled out on a chair, looking down at all he owned. “Like a lion surveying its domain, right?”
He lifted a brow at me. “A lion?”
“They’re big and bad and fierce and dignified. That’s you.”
“If I’m a lion, what are you?”
“Izzy says I’m like a hummingbird.”
He pursed his lips. “Yeah, that fits.” Facing forward again, he sank deeper into the sofa and hooked an arm over the back of it, looking for all the world like he belonged there.
I shook my head. “How do you do that?”
“What?”
“Always look like you’re right at home no matter where you are.”
He frowned, pensive, and then gave an uncaring shrug. “Maybe it comes from not really having a home. I have a place where I sleep, eat, and keep all my stuff. That’s not the same.”
My chest tightened with a sympathy I knew he’d hate to see, so I kept the moment light. “You know, maybe all you really need is to have someone give it some personal touches so it feels homey. Throw cushions. Candles. Pretty plants. A little ‘pink’ goes a long way to giving rooms a lift.”
His head jerked. “Pink?”
“Don’t worry, you’re far too masculine for that color to give your house a girly feel. Hell, you could even pull off a pink shirt.”
“Fuck that.”
I laughed. “We can call it ‘salmon,’ if it’ll make you feel better about wearing it.”
He threw a distinctly unimpressed look my way. “Drink your tea.”
“In other words, stop talking?”
“Yeah. That.”
I rolled my eyes and took another sip of my tea. Before long, we’d finished our drinks, but he didn’t stand to leave until the sun set and shadows crept along the ground.
I led him to the front door and opened it. “Thanks again for—”
“Shut up.” He swanned out of the house and hopped into his vehicle.
All right, then.
Chapter Ten
