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“I’m not entirely sure he doesn’t want you back, but I am entirely sure that you would be wise to resist. I can have my people look into how much this property is worth, if that would ease your mind.”
“You don’t know?” Kim looked at him with questions in her eyes, but he couldn’t read any accusation there. The idea that she might think that he was after her for her money, or property, somehow infiltrated his brain from whatever the look was on her face.
He gritted his jaw, annoyed that she would lump him in with someone like Todd.
“I don’t know. I rented from your mom because of the connection to you, but not because of any idea that the property might be worth anything. However, because of my business connections, and the different things I’ve been involved in, it would not surprise me at all if property values in this area have skyrocketed because of the growth of Blueberry Beach. It’s working its way north, and it stands to reason that there is potential for development along the shore. That’s all I can say right now, but it won’t be hard to figure out.”
“You’ve already offered to do so much for me, I hate to take you up on anything else.”
“Then think about it like I’m satisfying my own curiosity.”
She nodded and turned away a little. He loosened his hold. He didn’t want to keep her when she wanted to leave, but he did wish that he could push past her resistance. Although, that resistance probably came more because of the pain she suffered at the hands of Todd than from any resistance to him. At least, that was going to be his working assumption.
And he knew, because of that, it was just going to take time for her to see he wasn’t just a charmer, with no substance behind all the flashy, pretty words he threw at her. That he wasn’t going to use her and then ditch her when someone else better came along.
He wished that was an easy thing to show, but he figured he just needed to settle in for the long haul.
Realizing that she might not choose him even after all of his effort.
It would be so much easier if he could be guaranteed the ending, but that wasn’t something that happened for anyone.
“It looks like you had a busy morning. I can leave so that you can take a break before we meet again.” He hoped that was being considerate. He didn’t really want to go, but he heard that pregnant women were often tired. And her face did seem a little drawn, her shoulders a little droopy.
She finished pulling away from him and nodded. “If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to sit down and put my feet up. It does feel like it’s been a busy morning, and I know that the rest of the day is going to be full. Although,” she said, almost as though she’d forgotten. “The daycare owner, Violet, brought me a strawberry coffee cake that Griff made. Would you like a piece before you leave?”
He’d never heard of strawberry coffee cake, but if it meant spending a few more minutes with Kim, he’d eat frog legs.
“It’s so hard for me to picture Griff with an apron on stirring batter to put in the pan and bake in the oven,” Kim said as she moved into the kitchen, graceful despite the swelling of her stomach.
He enjoyed just watching her. The simple sway of her hips, the easy and unaffected movement of her limbs. The swish of her hair down her back, and the calm huskiness of her voice as she spoke.
Her scent lingered in the air, soft and gentle and refreshing. It was unique, and mixed with the strawberry scent that drifted up from the coffee cake, it felt perfect. He could wake up to this every morning.
But she had been talking about Griff. “I think there’s probably more to Griff than meets the eye. Although, I think he’s working at the diner because of Charlotte.”
“That’s what I thought too, and Violet said that when she came. That must be one of those things that everybody knows but Charlotte.”
“She did seem oblivious, although I think she’s probably not the only woman in that position.”
He didn’t mean that as a slam or anything, just thinking that Kim didn’t seem to understand how deep his feelings for her went. It seemed she still saw him as a one-night stand, although he admitted to renting the cottage from her mother because he knew of the connection to her.
She hadn’t had any comment about that.
Patience. Have patience.
She pulled two plates from the cupboard and set a large piece of cake on his and served herself a much smaller one.
“I already had one. I’d like to say that I hate for you to eat alone, but it was just really good, and I’m going to have another while you eat.”
“You’re feeding two.”
“But the second one is much smaller, and this is most likely going straight to my hips.”
“I guess I’m not worried about it, other than seeing you be healthy,” he said, wanting to tell her that her hips were perfectly fine, better than perfectly fine, but he figured that would make her uncomfortable at this point in their relationship.
“Have you ever been to the little church on the hill?” she asked as she settled in her seat.
“I go pretty much every Sunday. It’s a great place. From what I understand, it’s where everyone goes Sunday morning, so if you want to meet the folks of the community, that’s the place to be.”
