Marc leaned back in his chair and smiled at her dilemma. Lexi had always had a problem saying no. Which was why she often found herself torn between pleasing others and pleasing her need to break out of the box. Too bad that tonight people-pleasing Lexi won out, because the one who waved her finger at the rules was sexy to watch.
“Shit,” Marc whispered, lounging back in his chair. Everything inside of him went still, because Lexi, with all of her polished manners and practiced properness, was watching back.
Their eyes held for a moment and neither moved. Then she smiled. It was small and a little self-conscious, but it was a smile, and he realized that she thought she’d been caught spying on him. Before he could process what that even meant, Lexi made her way over to the window and opened it.
When Marc opened his, Wingman took it as his personal invitation to leap out in Lexi’s direction. Marc snagged his collar and tugged him back inside. “Sit or you get kibble for dinner.”
Wingman’s ears lowered. He glanced at the window and back to Marc, deciding with an irritated snort to plop his big old butt down on Marc’s foot—hard.
“You’re working late tonight,” she said, leaning out the window far enough that her hair, tied back in a single braid, fell over one bare shoulder.
“I was just finishing up your grandma’s books,” he said, resting his palms on the sill and looking up at her. Even from here he could see the way her smile faded a little.
“How bad is it?”
“Bad,” he said, going for honest. “But nothing you can’t handle.”
“Really?”
“Really.” He leaned farther out the window, his stomach groaning when a gentle breeze picked up whatever she had baking up in that kitchen. “Something smells good.”
“Are you trying to charm yourself into a dinner invitation?” She rested her elbows on the sill and grinned down at him.
“Well, unless you invited your entire crew up for dinner”—his eyes landed on the overflowing table set for four—“watching that much meat go to waste would be a sin.”
“We couldn’t let that happen now, could we,” she said with a saucy smile. Cream puff was flirting—with him. “I guess I did overestimate a little.”
“That is why we are the perfect couple.”
She laughed. “Because I overcooked?”
He loved it when he made her laugh, which was probably why he was now drooling worse than Wingman. “And I like to eat. A lot.”
“I remember. But that’s like saying we are perfect for each other because I’m tall or have two eyes.”
“I like my women tall, and two eyes are damn sexy.”
She shrugged. “All right, I guess it’s only fair. You did spend all day working on the bakery. You can break the bad news to me over dinner.”
“Let me take Wingman up to my room and freshen up and then I’ll be over.”
Wingman barked, loud, long, and angry.
“Get out of that suit and bring Wingman.”
“You might want to rethink that.” He looked down at Wingman, who glared back, ready to take Marc out at the knees and make a leap for the window if things didn’t go his way. “Behind that cute face and those big brown eyes lies a fluff ball of trouble.”
“I don’t think so. You’re a good boy, huh, Wingman?” she cooed, and Wingman straightened his spine, and if he hadn’t been a dog, Marc would have sworn he smiled.
“Yeah, that’s part of his charm. Just when he’s got you thinking that he’s trained, he wolfs down dinner, drools all over your couch, and with one last doggie high five to the crotch, he’s running out the door without even a thank-you, dragging your favorite pair of shoes behind him.”
“He’s a dog, Marc. I like dogs.” She raised a brow. “And you just described yourself. Now are you coming up, or should I toss out the meat?”
It took Marc less than five minutes to pull on some clean jeans and a button-up, drag Wingman across the alley, and ring her bell. Then he felt stupid for changing. This was two friends having dinner, not a date. But when she answered the door, he felt himself relax. Because Lexi had been just as confused. She was still in that tissue-thin yellow dress that clung to her curves, all of them, but her silky hair was down around her shoulders, her lips were all shiny, and, aw hell, she looked like she was about to renege on her invitation.