Close to You

ground was
completely cemented over except for the spot where a large tree
stood, and there was one overgrown bush that lined the left side of
the fence. Some buckets and debris was piled into a
corner.
    “ Great tree,” he said
finally.
    Eve laughed. “That’s a polite reply.
It’s hideous back here, but I think it could be really
nice.”
    He nodded, seeing it. “You need a
landscape artist. When you’re ready, I’ll give you the name of one.
She’s really good and fair in her price. You need to fortify the
fence though. A bit more of a wall and you should be nicely
insulated against the wind that whips through here.”
    “ That’s what I
thought.”
    “ The real problem is here.”
He kneeled by the sliding door and pointed. “There’s a slope to the
cement out here and no run-off. If it floods, for whatever reason,
you’re going to have water inside.”
    “ The previous tenant had
that problem once.” She pushed her hair behind her ear. “I’m
banking on our drought continuing.”
    “ If you have a way to
control the weather, please let me in on it,” he said with a grin
as he stood.
    “ You think I should take
care of it?” she asked, looking up at him with those big blue
eyes.
    “ It’s one of those things
that’s not a problem until it suddenly is, and replacing the wood
floor inside because of water damage is an expensive thing.” He saw
the worry in her eyes and couldn’t resist the urge to smooth it
away. “Let me talk to one of my guys and see how inexpensively it
could be fixed.”
    “ You don’t have to do
that,” she said softly.
    “ I want to.” Unable to help
himself, he reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear. His
fingers brushed her silky skin.
    Her eyes widened, but she didn’t move.
Instead it seemed like she waited.
    Trailing his hand down her face, he
lifted her chin. He leaned toward her, inhaling vanilla. It was a
good girl scent—the scent of home and affection.
    Her lips parted.
    Silent assent. He knew women too well
not to recognize that she was willing.
    But as much as he wanted to give her
what she was clearly asking for, he couldn’t do it. You didn’t
simply push a woman like Eve against a wall and take her. She was
the sort of woman who needed candlelight and roses and all those
trappings of romance. “I should go.”
    “ That’s probably a wise
decision,” she said without conviction.
    Fighting every urge to just take her,
he brushed his thumb along her lower lip. “I’m going to be
back.”
    She nodded. “Yes.”
    He nodded too. He breathed her in one
more time before he left, knowing he was going to crave that sweet
scent until the next time he saw her.

Chapter Six
     
    To keep from obsessing about Treat,
who’d stopped by early this morning on his way to work, and Carmen
McKnight, who hadn’t replied to her emailed proposal yet, Eve
decided to clean.
    Actually, Allison had shooed her away
to clean when Eve accidentally made a mocha instead of a
cappuccino—for the third time.
    She hated cleaning, but it was just as
well. This way she could pretend not to obsess in
privacy.
    She wasn’t doing a good job
pretending or not
obsessing.
    But she couldn’t help it. Treat was
different than any man she’d ever gone out with. She was used to
preppy business guys in khakis and button down shirts, not
long-haired bad boys with capable hands that built
things.
    He probably didn’t own one pair of
khakis.
    The clack of heels made Eve look up
from the table she was wiping.
    Her friend Olivia strode toward her,
long-legged and fashionable, her dark hair pulled back so the thick
blond streaks showed. She waved a piece of paper in the air. “Have
you seen this, Eve?”
    “ What is it?” She took the
piece of paper and quickly scanned it. “It’s a flyer for the
teahouse down the street.”
    “ That’s not the
point.”
    Olivia looked dramatic,
with the way she dressed and her exotic beauty. The fact that she
owned the lingerie store down the street added to her mystique. But
in the months since Eve had opened Grounds for thought, she’d come
to see that Olivia was actually very practical and grounded, which
was why this display was so uncharacteristic. “What is the point?”
    “ Where the flyer was being
passed out.” Olivia arched one perfect, dark eyebrow. “In front of
your store.”
    “ Passing out flyers isn’t
criminal.”
    “ It should be, if they’re
giving them to every single person walking in your
store.”
    “