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Then he leaned down and whispered, “I think you might be onto something.”
She looked up at him, and he grinned. They climbed into Gray’s SUV and before he turned the key in the ignition, he turned to look at Sam.
“I’ve never had any interest in her and I never will. To be honest with you, I had no idea she had any interest in me. And maybe she doesn’t. Maybe she’s feeling jealous for another reason, but I don’t want you to worry about it, okay? I’ll talk to Ethan about her behavior and see if he’s noticed anything.”
Sam leaned over the console and kissed him on the lips, a little peck at first. That little peck didn’t seem enough, so she kissed him more thoroughly, and then she licked and lightly sucked on his bottom lip. Gray groaned. Part of the fun of a new relationship was figuring out what the other person liked. It was also the worst part of a new relationship.
Then she sat back. “Wow, I’m starving.”
He shook his head. “Tease.”
She winked, and they pulled out of the parking lot and turned toward the restaurant.
Over lunch, they talked about the fourth floor and what else needed to be done this week. Jax and his team were going to start bringing up the pieces from the sewing mill in a few days. They discussed which ones Sam would work on first, second, et cetera and how they should be brought in. Sam told Gray about her ideas for almost all the pieces to be installed downstairs on the second floor. The old wooden bookcases would look great against the brick walls of the conference room. She thought his clients would find them impressive.
There was an old chest that she thought would look great in Gray’s office and the chairs would work in the reception area. Sam continued through all the pieces, including the old barn doors they’d found.
Lunch passed quickly, and Sam groaned. “I hate to go back to work. I want to see what’s happening and watch the progress. But I’ll be there as soon as I can get out of work.”
“Play hooky with me. We can work on the fourth floor.”
“I hate to waste a day playing hooky when I can’t do anything. I don’t want to be in the way,” she responded.
He laughed and the richness of his voice and the beauty of his being threatened to steal her breath. “I thought that was going to be the case with me today, too, but there are a hundred questions from the contractors, and actually, I could use your help with them. Play hooky with me,” he said with a wink and clasped hands as if in prayer. It was hard to refuse him.
Shrugging, she countered, “Why not?!”
Laughing they gathered their things to leave the restaurant. Sam called Jessie and told her she was playing hooky, and if anyone needed anything, they could call her cell.
When they arrived at the office, they observed the progress that’d been made. The tracks for her walls had been installed, and the guys were working on installing the first wall panel. The walls were heavy, but once on the tracks, they would glide smoothly across with little effort. She was thrilled to be able to watch them.
Gray was right. There were tons of questions to answer: Do you like this? What about that? Where will this light go? There seemed to be a never-ending barrage of questions. But, it was also fun. The contractors finished with her walls, and she was terribly excited to play with them and watch them work.
Gray stood in his new office, without furniture, but it was quieter, and he could still watch what was going on. She enjoyed watching him in action. Sexy!
Toward the end of the day, Jax, Ethan, and Sarah came up to see what had transpired. They had stopped in a couple of times throughout the day, so before they headed home, they wanted to see how far along they’d gotten. They played with the walls of the finishing room and were complimentary of the design.
Gray and Ethan went into his office to talk. Sam assumed they were discussing business and maybe Amanda’s attitude toward her, but she wasn’t sure.
17
Five weeks into dating things seemed to click.
”Sam, the firm purchased a table at a fundraising event for Downtown Harmony Lake. It’s black tie a week from this Saturday. Will you join us? Ethan and Eva, Jax, Dani and Nick, and Jamie will be going. We’ll all be guests at Kinkaide & Associates table.”
“That sounds fantastic, Gray. I’d love to go. Do you sponsor a table every year?”
“Yes. It brings in quite a bit of business. We’ll be meeting other downtown business people, including the board members of Downtown Harmony Lake. Plus, we enjoy dressing up and going out on the town. Actually, the girls enjoy that part; the guys aren’t all that interested in it.”
Dani and Sam went dress shopping one afternoon after work. Dani was excited too; after all, it isn’t often they get to dress up in pretty dresses and spend a night on the town, so to speak.
On the Saturday of the Downtown Harmony Lake event, Gray and Sam spent a relaxing day at Gray’s house. She had her own drawers for makeup and necessities now in the bathroom and space in the closet for clothes. Gray had a couple of drawers at her place, but they didn’t spend much time there, especially knowing the house was for sale and not a permanent part of their future in any way. Gray sat on the sofa answering emails on his laptop and Sam was reading a book when her phone rang. She looked at the display, and it was Shelia, her realtor.
“Hey, Shelia, how are you doing?”
“Hey, Sam, I’m good. I have a couple moving in from out of the area, and they’re interested in your house. May I bring them by tomorrow? They’re prequalified buyers, and I think they could be the buyers we’ve been waiting for. I’ve spoken to them at length; it’s exactly what they’re looking for.”
“Fabulous, Shelia. Yes, let’s not let this opportunity pass us by.”
