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“It’s our pleasure,” I concede.
Rose meets my eyes fully now, and my chest tightens as she offers me an appreciative smile.
Why does she have to be so damn beautiful?
“You know what?” I add, breaking the small, awkward pause that has overtaken the room. “I think I’ve changed my mind. I will have a piece of that award-winning pie after all.”
“Good choice,” Connor chirps. “You better get in there before I finish it all myself.”
Katherine titters appreciatively as Rose cuts the remaining slices.
Maybe it’s a good thing Rose came to town. Maybe her arrival will bring Miss Katherine some closure, which it seems she really needs.
CHAPTER4
Connor
Fuck, she is hot.
And not just in the run-of-the-mill, Hollywood dime-a-dozen way, either.
Listening to Rose speak to her grandmother, the expressiveness on her face, the gentle timbre of her voice… all of it is a grand package in an incredibly sexy figure, wrapped in a blonde, slim but curvy body that makes me want to stay and hang out on the Winterbourne ranch all day.
But as the last crumbs of pie disappear off the plate, and Eli rises to leave for real this time, I know my welcome is worn out, too, and I need to leave the women to their privacy.
“We should let Rose get settled in,” Eli tells me meaningfully, and I can see he won’t leave without me.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to argue, but I don’t, because I’m unable to think of a good excuse to say that won’t make me sound desperate.
“I’ll come around tomorrow to check up on you, Miss Katherine,” I offer, but my gaze lingers on Rose deliberately, hoping she can read my true intentions here.
“You’re too good to me, Connor,” Katherine tells me, smiling sweetly as she sees us to the door.
I sneak a last glance at her gorgeous granddaughter and follow Eli outside into the drooping sunshine.
“Where did the day go?” Eli sighs, more to himself than me. I don’t answer him anyway, heading toward my property as he heads to his, both of us lost in our own thoughts. “What do you make of her?”
The unexpected question stops me in my tracks, and I turn to face Eli, blinking. “Rose?”
He rolls his eyes at me like I’m an idiot. “Who else?”
“I don’t know. She just got here. She’s hot as fuck, though.”
Eli grimaces as if my answer was completely predictable. “Are you capable of looking beyond her face?”
I wasn’t just looking at her face,I almost say aloud but manage to choke back the quip. Instead, I scowl at him defiantly. “I just met her, just like you did.”
“But you ran a background check on her.”
I scoff lightly. “I looked her up online… checked out her social media,” I correct him. “That’s hardly a deep dive into her life.”
“You’re sure she is who she says she is?”
My frown deepens, and I turn fully now, wondering what he’s getting at. I lower my voice. “You think she’s a con artist or something?”
Concern springs into my gut, my gaze darting back toward the house. Of course, it was my initial reaction, too, when Katherine mentioned this long-lost granddaughter, which was why I looked into her. An old woman living alone as long as she has, not knowing about a grandchild for a quarter century seemed suspect, but Family Tree Discovery is a renowned business, and the test appeared legitimate from what I gathered.
I raise my brow speculatively at Eli, waiting for him to respond, but he maintains his sternness. “No, I really don’t, but I wouldn’t want to see Katherine hurt. It wouldn’t be the first time some blood relative swooped in and took advantage of an old lady. It’s practically aDatelineepisode.”
