heels. I grab a big bowl, one of the ones I use when I bake, because a cereal bowl just isn’t going to cut it. I dump half a box of Fruity Pebbles in it, then top it off with milk. I take my bowl of cereal to the living room and turn on the TV. Once I’m seated, I sigh as I put my feet up on the coffee table.
Bruce lies at my feet as I flip through channels. I eventually find something worth watching and dig into my dinner. Halfway through an episode of The Real Housewives, the doorbell rings, so I reluctantly get off the couch. Taking my bowl with me, I step over Bruce, who doesn’t get up. When I pull the door open, Tyler smiles at me, then frowns down at my meal.
“Is that your dinner?”
“Yes.” I leave him to close the door, and I step over Bruce again, taking a seat and putting my feet back up.
“Long day?” he asks.
“The longest,” I respond before filling my mouth with soggy fruity goodness.
He takes a seat next to me so close that his thigh brushes mine, then rests his arm on the back of the couch over my shoulders. “My dog’s abandoned me.” At his comment, I glance at him and see he’s looking at Bruce lying under my outstretched legs. “Since I got home from work, I only saw him long enough to feed him. Right after that, he pounded on the door until I let him outside, and then he came right over here to camp out on your porch.”
“He’s sweet and obviously has good taste in women.”
“I think he and I might have that in common.” He holds my gaze, and my belly dips. Seriously, he knows how to give a girl butterflies with just a few words.
“How was your day?” I look away from him and scoop up another spoonful of cereal, hoping if I keep my mouth busy, I won’t be tempted to use it on him.
“Good. Busy. The job’s half-done, so it won’t be much longer until we move on to another project.”
“Do you know what your next project is?”
“We just won a bid to start renovations on one of the hotels by the beach. We’re doing a complete overhaul of all the rooms on the top two floors.”
“Sounds fun.” I bite my bottom lip when he starts to play with a piece of my hair.
“It’s work.” He slouches back on the couch, obviously making himself more comfortable, and then lifts his boots to my coffee table. His boots are huge, especially compared to my bare feet. I wonder if it’s true what they say about shoe size and the size of other stuff. “Is that any good?”
I look at him with my mouth full and raise a brow as I chew and swallow. “Did you just ask if Fruity Pebbles is any good? Have you ever had it?”
“I haven’t eaten cereal since I was a kid. The only kind my ma ever bought for us was Cheerios, and not the real kind—the kind that comes in the family-size bag.”
“Here.” I lift a full spoon up toward him, and he looks down at it. “Don’t be a chicken; just try it.”
He leans forward, and his lips wrap around the spoon I’m holding, the sight way more erotic than it should be. He chews and swallows, shaking his head. “It’s . . .”
“Delicious,” I finish for him. “Do you want some more?”
“I’m good.” He laughs. “I am worried that you’re eating that for dinner.”
“Why? It’s fruit and dairy,” I deadpan, and he laughs again.
“Whatever you say, gorgeous. Tomorrow I’ll make you breakfast so your body has the fuel it needs before we get to work.”
I haven’t forgotten I’m spending the day with him tomorrow, pretending to help him paint his kitchen. I’ve been thinking about it all day today. I’ve been thinking about him all day today, actually. I really am starting to like him, even if he has the ability to annoy me like no one else I have ever met in my life.
“Will there be bacon?” I set my bowl on the coffee table, then lean back against the couch, looking at him.
“Is that your roundabout way of saying you want bacon?”
“Yep.”
“Then I guess there will be bacon.”
“Now I can’t wait for breakfast.” I smile at him when he grins. “I do have to leave around four, or maybe a little earlier, so I can shower and change to