that very moment how different that smile was from Jordan’s. It was endearing, a little crooked and wide and flashy, but it suited him in a way I couldn’t put into words. “Maybe we flew together.”
Gemma returned the smile. “Maybe we did.”
She gave me a wink on her way out of the office, one that to anyone else would have looked like a fun exchange between boss and assistant. Have fun, good luck, see you for lunch! But since we’d been best friends for decades, we had a whole conversation with that wink.
Um, do you see how hot this guy is?
Look at his freaking muscles!
That smile, I’ve never seen anything like it.
He’s so tall and big. I bet he could throw me around like a rag doll.
And I bet you’re going to do whatever it takes to find out if that’s true.
I smirked, and then the door shut, and I slipped into business mode.
“Mr. Kumaka,” I said, extending a hand for his. “I’m Belle. Welcome to Monroe Designs.”
“Lovely to meet you, Belle,” he said, taking my hand in a handshake that was equal parts firm and gentle. It made me tingle, thinking what else that hand could do. “And please, call me Mak.”
“Mak, huh? Not exactly the first name I expected to be paired with your last.”
I gestured to the handcrafted leather and teak chair in front of my desk, and let my eyes linger on his fingertips as they unfastened the button of his jacket before he sat.
“It’s short for Makoa.”
“Ah, that makes more sense.” I took a seat behind my desk, folding my hands on the sleek marble top and squeezing my arms together just enough to put my subtle cleavage in prime viewing. “So,” I said, picking up his file. “You’re new to Chicago. What brought you to the Windy City?”
“Work,” he answered casually, and the way he watched me was as if he expected me to already know the answer to the question I’d asked.
“And if I remember right from what Gemma told me about your email, you moved here from Hawai’i, right?”
His smile sparked to life again, and I found I liked it more and more each time I saw it. “San Francisco, actually. But yes, I was born and raised on Maui.” He frowned a little. “You really don’t know who I am, do you?”
“Should I?”
He wet his lips, pink tongue swiping out just long enough to catch my eye. “I just never know. I’m…” He paused, like he was hesitant to tell me the truth. “I’m in real estate, and with you being in the field…”
I chuckled. “I assure you, I don’t keep up with the high-profile real estate agents in Chicago, much less the ones across the country. Now, if you were a Broadway star?” I grabbed a pen to make notes in his file, pointing it at him briefly. “Then you might have a stalker alert.”
“Theatre girl,” he said with an appreciative smile. “What’s your favorite show you’ve ever seen?”
I scoffed. “You can’t pick a favorite show. That’s like being asked to pick a favorite child.”
“Hamilton is mine. Hands down.”
I jotted down a note in his file, sitting back with the pen still in hand and what I’m sure was a shocked expression. “Is that right? You see it with the original cast?”
“The only way to see it.”
“Agreed,” I echoed, and a new appreciation for him grew in my belly along with a desire to see what was under his suit. “Gun to my head, I’d say The Color Purple.”
Makoa nodded, lips pressing together as respect twinkled in his eyes. “LaChanze is incredible.”
Surprise found me again. “Indeed, she is.”
I chewed my lip, basking in the golden wheat field rays of Makoa’s stare as I tried to figure him out. “So,” I said, tapping my pen on each fingertip. “A theatre-loving, possibly famous real estate agent from the west coast.”
That earned me a chuckle, one that I longed to hear again.
“And now you’re looking to build a home in the Midwest.”
“And somehow make it feel like home, too.”
I nodded. “I think we can make that happen.” My eyes had a mind of their own, and they trailed Makoa greedily, my knees squeezing together where I had them crossed.
When I met his gaze again, it was just as hungry as mine.
“You’re in the new condominium in Grant Park, right?”
“I am.”
“I haven’t seen it yet,” I confessed. “Not the inside, anyway. I know it’s not what we originally discussed, but… perhaps we could move