hand on his forearm, fighting to not be distracted by how warm and strong it felt beneath my palm. Instead, I smiled up at him and said sweetly, “You’re so not my thing.”
He threw his head back and laughed and pulled me into a hug. “No one ever deserved that more,” he said into my hair before giving me a fast squeeze and letting me go. “I’ll quit teasing you. I lured you up here for a reason,” he said, turning for the door. “Hang out for five minutes, and I’ll be back. Is that okay?”
“Sure,” I mumbled, too dazed by the hug to argue. He slipped out and shut the door behind him, and I stared after him while the aftershocks of his hug rolled over me. How did he go from slightly awkward to dead sexy in the space of ten minutes? From shy to the kind of cocky that made me want to kiss him stupid?
Every single one of my hormones was overheating. This was verging on disaster, and if I hadn’t promised to wait, I’d already be heading for the sidewalk and escape.
I wandered around the gym for a few more minutes, wondering what Miles was doing. It was easy to imagine him in any of the spaces in his home because he’d done such a good job of making them reflect him.
Maybe I should grab one of these heavy weights and pump it like a bro-dude at the gym to clear my mind. I ran my finger along a thirty-pound dumbbell at the same moment the gym door opened, and Miles leaned against the doorframe.
“So?” he asked.
“So...what?” I felt like I was missing the first half of the question.
“Did you hear anything?”
Besides my overly loud heartbeats? “No,” I said slowly. “Should I have?”
He grinned. “I just played live drums along with Metallica on blast downstairs in the studio.”
“And you did that because...”
“Because I wanted to prove to you that you can live literally above the Turnaround and the sound will never bother you. Modern acoustic engineering is that good. I’ll pay for all the upgrades. You’ll never know we’re there, I promise.”
Ha. Like that was possible. I’d constantly be thinking about Miles, one floor below me, wondering what he might be doing. Performing? Nursing a drink at the bar? Flirting with the customers?
I opened my mouth to say no, but I couldn’t.
I flashed to the mental picture I’d already had of how the Turnaround would look in that space. Of Jordan’s face as he worked with the kids at the jazz center. Of Boogey’s hands flying over the piano.
Instead, I sat heavily on the weight bench, knees pressed together in front of me, hands curled around the edges. I stared at the floor in front of me without really seeing it. Was I really considering this?
Miles straddled the other end of the bench, tapping at the padding with his knuckles, like he hadn’t quite gotten the drumming out of his system. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking maybe.”
“Yes.”
“No, not yes. Maybe. Meet me tomorrow afternoon at Miss Mary’s. You’re going to talk us through every idea you have for the place. I need to know what I’d be asking my neighbors to deal with.”
He reached out and wrapped his hand around my wrist, a loose hold that burned against my skin anyway. “Thank you.”
“I’m not promising anything.”
“Thank you for even considering it.”
“You can thank me by letting me drive your Mustang back to my car.”
His hold tightened slightly, and a slow smile tugged up the corner of his mouth. “You drive a hard bargain, Ellie.”
I stood and pulled him to his feet. He ended up standing closer to me than I’d intended, forcing me to peer up at him. “I do. And don’t you forget it.”
“Couldn’t if I tried.” He reached for me, resting his hand at my waist, gathering the soft fabric of my shirt into his fist and pulling me even closer. I let him, helpless against the pull of his eyes drawing me in, refusing to let me look away. His free hand drifted up to brush my cheekbone. “Ellie.” He said it so softly that my name was barely more than a breath.
I pulled away from him and headed for the door, desperately in need of an emergency exit.
He let me go.
Chapter Fifteen
“So this is it?” Miles asked.
“Yeah.” I stared down at the papers that would make it official. “This is it. You are about to be the new tenant of Dauphine