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My eyebrows scrunch at her response and I lean forward slightly. “You won’t get hungry later?” I gesture toward the full container and say, “Please, leave some for yourself, Piper.” I’d hate to take all of her food with me, especially when she’s the one who made it in the first place.
She shakes her head and pushes it closer to me, then gives me a tight-lipped smile. “Honestly, I’m not going to eat anymore.” I watch as she walks over to the bowl she had before and dumps the contents into the trash, then places the dish into the empty sink. Her gaze falls onto me and her glare is immediate. “It’s fine, Beau, just take it.”
I flinch at the way she snaps and I nod slowly. “If that’s what you want.” Then I grab the container and nod toward the front door. “I’m going to head to bed, thank you for dinner.”
My imagination is running wild with thoughts as I walk out of the house, all of which have to do with the woman watching me walk away.
Chapter Seven
Piper
I’msurprisedIwasable to make it to my favorite part of the day. Relaxing out on the wooden swing hanging on my front porch, right as the sun starts descending and the moon rises. With my launch approaching, along with everything in the world going wrong at headquarters, I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to do this again.
With my cup of coffee and a book sitting on the side table next to me, this moment couldn’t be more perfect. Well, aside from missing a warm body next to me — one that looks an awful lot like Beau. Who the hell am I kidding? Beau is the exact person I want to be sitting next to right now.
The sound of a saw behind the house has me jumping from the thought and I have to force myself to stay in the swing. I wonder what he thinks about me, especially after the dinner we had last night. There’s no way he wasn’t curious as to why I barely ate anything, or why I wanted him to take the rest of the casserole.
Truth is, I didn’t want to be tempted to eat more than I should.
I shake my head, ashamed of myself. It should be simple — if I’m hungry, eat. But nothing is ever that simple, not in my line of work. I can hear Beau’s heavy footsteps to my right and I turn my head to watch as he strides over to the door of the guest house.
His bare back is nothing but muscles — defined ridges that I can’t help but want to sink my fingernails into. As if sensing my stare on him, he turns around and fixes his gaze on mine. I dart my gaze away and focus on the sky in front of me, then track it down to the horses trotting through the fenced area.
I’ll have to get them into their stalls before I head to bed, but I love letting them roam around at this time of day. It’s usually so hot during the day, that I’m sure they appreciate the cool air once the sun starts to go down.
The steps creak as Beau comes up onto the porch and sinks into the swing next to me. His thigh is inches from mine, not exactly touching, but still close enough to feel the heat from his body. He sighs and leans his head back, my attention moving to the frame of his face.
“Good day?” I ask, my gaze running down the length of his neck.
He leans up, making me dart my gaze away, and nods. “As good of one as it could be. What about yours?”
I chuckle and wave around. “I’m sitting out here before the sun sets, so I’d say so.”
Beau chuckles in response, his gaze looking across my lap and onto the stand next to the swing. “Reading?”
“Not exactly, been enjoying the view too much to actually open the damn thing.”
He hums at my answer and stretches his arms over the top of the swing. My gaze snags onto the tan skin, glistening with sweat, and my tongue darts over my bottom lip. “It really is beautiful,” he rasps.
When I look up, his eyes are on me with nothing but heat in them, and I have to rub my thighs together as discreetly as possible. Before we can ruin the moment, I turn away from him and look back out at the sky, which is dimming more and more as the minutes pass. “My favorite part of the day.”
He clears his throat and says, “I can see why.”
“It only sucks because I rarely get to enjoy it.” I let out a rough breath and lean over to grab my cup of coffee, which has grown cold since I last took a sip, then I look over at Beau. “Not counting on doing so again for a while though.”
“Everything going okay with the launch?”
His words send a wave of warmth through me that he’s paying attention. There aren’t many people whose opinions I care about except for my father’s, so the idea that Beau cares about the launch and wants to know more about it? It flares something up inside me.
Something that has no business flaring up right now.
“It’s… going,” I say with a chuckle and shake my head. “There’s been a few mishaps with the fabric, but I’ve been taking care of everything. My team is working hard to make sure it runs smoothly.” Considering the launch is in a few weeks, I’m praying no other mishaps ruin the launch date.
“As long as everything is getting situated and worked out.” He leans up with a stretch, his muscles clenching tightly with the movement and my breath hitches. “I think I’m in need of a shower, and it seems as though I interrupted your alone time.”
I chuckle and shake my head. “You’re never ruining my time, but you do smell kinda bad.”
He places a hand over his chest, making my gaze snap to the bare skin. “Brutal,” he says with his own chuckle. “Well, goodnight, Piper.” Then I watch as he walks away, his ass looking phenomenal in the jeans that hang low on his hips. I’m so used to seeing men in expensive suits, that I forgot how hot a pair of jeans is.
