He set his coffee cup down, then grabbed a book off the coffee table as I took a seat on one end of the sofa. He sat beside me, leaning forward, elbows on his knees, flipping the book open.
I chuckled. It was a book of paint colors. He hadn’t been kidding about planning to paint.
When he leaned back, his body close enough to mine that I could feel the heat of him, smell his cologne, it took me a moment to acclimate. I liked him, and with every passing second, I was liking him more and more. I couldn’t fight that fact. As far as what that meant, I had no idea.
But for now, I was content to scan paint options for his condo, to drink his coffee, and above all else, to enjoy how good he made me feel just sitting beside me. The man had the ability to distract me entirely.
Case in point, at that moment, I realized we’d forgotten about lunch altogether.
Chapter Forty-Three
Jake
That promise I’d made to not fuck this up… Yeah, well, it was a hell of a lot harder than I’d thought it would be.
First of all, I liked this girl. Really, really liked her. Not only because she was by far the most intriguingly beautiful woman I’d ever met, but I enjoyed her company, listening to her talk, watching how expressive she was, seeing the smile that lit up her face. And most importantly, I enjoyed her view on things and the fact that she spoke her mind with ease.
“So, when you look around this place,” she said, nudging my arm, “what do you see?”
Leaning back against the cushions, I glanced around. “I see bland walls, weird furniture, and tacky decorations.”
“Like the hideous flamingo lamp?” she asked, nodding toward the wall behind us.
“Really?” I glanced at her. “You don’t like Flammy?”
Presley’s eyebrows lifted and her eyes widened, making me laugh.
“Kidding,” I told her. “It’s terrifying. And so are the ram heads on the wall.”
Presley laughed. “It’s like they’re watching me, which is definitely creepy. But so is the strange coffee table over there.”
I peered over to the small seating area—the one that made absolutely no sense and had never been used since I’d moved in. “The one that looks like an upside-down crown?”
“That’d be the one. And what’s up with the slip covers on the dining room chairs? Looks like something your grandmother would use to decorate.”
I laughed. It did look a little old-fashioned. Turning my head, I looked back at Presley. “I think we need to redecorate.”
Her smile was slow and sweet. “I think that’s a good plan.”
“Oh, my God! I’ve been telling him that for months.”
My eyes snapped up, locating the person who owned the voice, only to find my assistant standing in the living room, her hands on her hips. How the hell had she come in without me hearing her?
“Why are you here?” I asked Josie, the woman responsible for keeping my life on track. “My assistant,” I explained to Presley.
“Assistant?” Presley’s grin lit up her face, but I could see a hint of confusion in her eyes. “Jacob Wild has a personal assistant. Cute.”
“Thanks,” I said with a snort before looking back at Josie. “Again, why are you here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” Josie retorted, tossing her coat on the back of the chair, her eyes sliding to Presley. “Nice to meet you. I’m Josie.”
Shit. I was a crappy host. I hadn’t even formally introduced them. Then again, I hadn’t ever introduced a woman to Josie. It simply didn’t happen.
Until now.
“Josie, this is Presley Abrams. Presley, this is Josie Ingram, my personal assistant.”
Josie held out her hand, smiling brilliantly at Presley. “Very nice to meet you.” Her gaze slid to my face, but I kept my expression masked.
“You, too,” Presley greeted shyly, both women continuing to eye me suspiciously.
“Seriously,” I said. “Why’re you here? It’s Friday. Don’t you have the day off?”
“Usually, yes,” Josie answered with a beaming grin. “But this hard-ass boss of mine has me handling the people coming in to paint his condo.”
“That’s today?”
“Tomorrow,” Josie clarified.
“Shit,” I muttered. “I completely forgot.”
“Of course you did,” Josie stated, sounding not at all surprised. Her eyes slid to Presley. “He’d forget everything if it weren’t for me keeping him on track.”
I felt the heat of Presley’s stare. “Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me.”
My eyes locked on her and I couldn’t look away.
When the silence got to be too much, Josie cleared her throat and laughed, her eyes darting