of me, Ms. Dixon?”
“My daddy always says the best way to deal with people making fun of you is to laugh right along with them. If you can’t laugh at yourself, then you’re taking yourself much too seriously. If you’d lighten up, Mr. Sterling, maybe you wouldn’t have writer’s block.”
“I don’t have writer’s block.” His eyes narrowed. “Is your nightgown on backwards?”
She glanced down and rolled her eyes. “I was in a hurry to catch an intruder. So will you return to the garden room and post a few tweets about how wonderful your stay at the Dixon Boardinghouse has been?”
He paused for a very long moment before he spoke. “And exactly what do I get out of the deal?”
Why did she feel like his question was sexual? She cleared her throat and tried to ignore the melty way her body felt. “You get a free room to write in next to a soothing garden.”
“I wouldn’t call your garden soothing. Every time I tried to open the French doors and work, I either heard you singing badly or talking to yourself.”
“I do not talk to myself!”
“Really? Because when I got up and looked out, there wasn’t another soul around you.”
“Then I was probably talking to Roo or Granny Dovey.”
“Who are Roo and Granny Dovey?”
“Roo is a little rabbit that lives in the garden and Granny Dovey is my great-great-great-great-grandmother who haunts the garden. And yes, I know it’s weird that I talk to a ghost.”
“Actually, I find the rabbit weirder. So we’ve established that your garden isn’t soothing. What other perks do I get for bringing in new business?”
“I’ll bring you breakfast.”
“And dinner.”
She gritted her teeth. “Fine. Breakfast and dinner. But if you complain about either, I’m kicking your butt out again. And I’m not doing your laundry.”
“What about kisses?”
She stared at him. “W-W-What?”
He smiled. “I’m teasing you, Ms. Dixon. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some writing to do.” He toed off his cowboy boots and stacked the pillows against the headboard.
“You’re staying tonight?”
He turned to look at her. “Isn’t that the deal?”
“Well, yes. I just thought you would need to go get your things from the Double Diamond.”
“I think I can manage for one night without my toothbrush. I’ll text Holden and let him know I won’t be coming back tonight.” He laughed. “I’m sure he’ll think he was right and I’m having a relationship with a sweet little Simple gal.” He paused. “And technically, I am. At least a business relationship.”
“So you’ll take some pictures of the boardinghouse while you’re here and post them?”
He pulled out his cellphone from his back pocket and lifted it.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m taking a picture.”
“Of me?”
He lowered the cellphone. “Of course not. I took a picture of the moonlit garden behind you.” He slipped his phone back in his pocket before he moved toward her.
He stopped so close that her body tingled with awareness. For a second, she thought he was going to kiss her again. Instead, he turned her and, with a gentle hand on her back, pushed her out the doors.
“Goodnight, Ms. Dixon.” The French doors clicked closed behind her.
She stood there for a long moment trying to get her wits about her. It was silly. Valentine Sterling was not interested in her and she certainly wasn’t interested in him. The kiss they shared had just been an accidental happening. He wasn’t going to repeat it and she didn’t want him to. But if that was so, then why was her heart beating so fast?
She shook her head to clear it before she started back through the garden to the caretakers’ cottage. Before she reached it, Roo popped out from under a forsythia bush. The little golden-haired rabbit had appeared in her garden months earlier. She should’ve chased it out. Rabbits love flowers and are notorious for chewing up gardens. But it was so cute with its tufted ears and expressive brown eyes that she just didn’t have the heart. So she started feeding it the leftover veggies, hoping if she kept the bunny well fed it would refrain from eating flowers. So far, it had worked—except for the occasional Black-eyed Susan.
“Well, hello, little friend.” She leaned over and held out a hand. Roo moved closer and touched Reba’s palm with its cold little nose. “I’m sorry I didn’t bring you a treat, but I promise I’ll bring you some yummy veggies first thing tomorrow morn—”
The bush rattled and Roo quickly hopped off. A second later,