I nodded, then drew in a breath. “All right, then. So how are we getting him clear?”
“I have an idea,” Cole said. “Let me work out the details and I’ll let you know.”
I started to argue, then decided to stay quiet. I trusted this man, after all.
And that felt pretty damn good.
“So am I forgiven?” Cole asked when we were in his Range Rover.
“Let’s see,” I said, making a show of counting things out on my fingers. “You’ve got my dad under control, I have my closing tomorrow, and we just had really amazing sex. If you take me by my house so that I can gaze longingly at it, then yes, you’ll be forgiven.”
“I can do that,” he said, then reached over and stroked the back of my neck, a sweetly intimate gesture that sent shivers through me. “I like seeing you happy,” he said.
“Convenient, since I like being happy.”
It didn’t take us long to get to the house, and I once again unlocked the door using the combination I wasn’t supposed to know.
“Naughty girl,” he said. “But useful to have around.”
“This is the last time I get to live dangerously,” I said. “Tomorrow I’ll own the place, and letting myself inside will be completely legitimate.”
He followed me over the threshold, then took my hand. With one quick tug, he pulled me close, hard and fast, so that I ended up crashing against him, then laughing as he cupped my ass. “I’m more than happy to provide the danger if that’s what you’re craving.”
“I like the sound of that,” I said, then curled myself around him for a long, slow kiss. “And I like doing that.”
“Once again, we’re in sync.” He drew back, then waved his arm to encompass the house. “Show me everything.”
I did, of course, dragging him through the house. Showing him every room, every closet, every nook and cranny. I told him where I planned to put my furniture, why I was certain I was going to need to add extra shelving, and exactly what kinds of vegetables I was determined to grow in my tiny backyard.
I showed him my bedroom, too. “I plan to spend a lot of time here,” I said. “And I don’t plan to be alone.”
“Lazy mornings reading the paper in bed?”
“I’m more of an aerobic kind of girl. I was thinking wild, hanging-from-the-chandelier sex. But we can relax with the paper afterward if you want.”
I saw the amusement flash in his eyes before he tilted his head up to the ceiling.
“Yeah,” I said, “I know. Buying a chandelier is at the very top of my to-do list. But despite that little flaw, what do you think?”
“I think you got an exceptional deal. Whoever owned it could have sold it for at least ten percent more—maybe twenty—if they’d bothered to do just a little bit of cosmetic work.”
“That’s what I thought. And since I no longer work at the coffee shop, I’ll have plenty of time to spend doing all that cosmetic stuff.”
He cocked his head. “When did this happen?”
“About the time my boss showed his true asshole colors and tried to screw over my ability to go to my closing and then enjoy my house.” I lifted a shoulder. “Fuck him. I can do just fine without him.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Cole said. “But if you need a paycheck, I believe you’re already technically employed at the gallery.”
I smirked. “Careful, or I’ll take you up on that.”
“I’m serious,” he said. “If you need help making ends meet, you know you can come to me, right?”
“I do,” I said earnestly. And the fact was that I knew more than that. I could go to him about my life. About my hopes and my dreams. And not just could go, but wanted to go.
I wanted to share with Cole. Because this thing between us was more than just sex. It was life. It was us. It was everything.
“Hey,” he said, peering at me. “Contemplating the horrors of having me for a boss?”