or not, I didn’t intend for that to be an insult.”
“Then you’re on your game more than usual tonight.”
Breathing out a laugh, she shook her head and glanced at the floor, unable to meet his gaze as flashes of their images flipped through her mind. Ever since she’d opened that email, had borne witness to the chemistry she and Cole so very obviously shared, she’d been so far off her game it wasn’t even funny. “I am definitely not that.”
He only offered her a grunt of acknowledgment as he squatted down and lifted a corner of the buffet without strain, sliding one of the round magic gliders under the wood. “You always dress like that for manual labor?”
She glanced down at herself, feeling stupid all over again. She had no idea why she’d worn this today, considering she’d known she’d have to prep the inn for tomorrow—and do it all, more than likely, by herself. No, that was a lie. She totally knew why she’d worn this. Because the rich emerald green set off her complexion, and she’d received enough compliments on it paired with the boots that she knew it was a killer outfit. A date outfit.
Except the Starlight wasn’t a date locale.
Nope, she’d worn this with the sole intention of catching Cole’s eye, should they happen to cross paths. Had been doing the same thing all week, despite hiding from him as best she could.
“Not my smartest choice,” she finally admitted.
Cole didn’t respond as he made quick work of the other gliders, placing them into position before standing to his full height and turning the weight of his gaze on her. He drank her in, his eyes sweeping over her body so viscerally she felt it straight to her core.
“I wouldn’t say that,” he murmured before turning away from her and easily moving the piece where she’d instructed.
Once it was situated in place, he removed the gliders from beneath it and handed her the stack of them.
“Thank you.” It was, quite possibly, the first nice thing she’d ever said to him, and how sad was that? After all, her anger toward this man stemmed entirely from the loyalty she had toward her sister, who didn’t seem to return the sentiment.
“Why’re you tryin’ to do this all by yourself anyway?” He held up a hand and stopped her when she’d opened her mouth to snap back at him. “I’m not sayin’ you can’t, just that it’d be a lot easier with two of you.”
Sadie lifted a shoulder as they strolled back into the great room. “Elise helps me”—rarely—“but she ducked out early.”
He hummed in acknowledgment. “I see. I suppose that means you haven’t had a chance to look at the email Nat sent.”
She rolled her lips between her teeth and quickly diverted her gaze, focusing everywhere but on him. If she met his eyes…well, she had no idea what would happen. She may spontaneously combust—Lord knew it was hot enough between them that it wasn’t completely out of the realm of possibility.
“No, I didn’t,” she said, willing her voice not to shake as she lied her ass off—a new habit she’d picked up while in his presence. She stepped behind the front desk and focused on the computer, closing down each program for the day since it was nearing nine.
“Really.” His tone was flat, disbelieving, and that only sparked her irritation.
“Yes, really,” she snapped. “Is that so hard to believe? Can’t imagine a woman not trippin’ over herself just for a glimpse of you on her screen?”
“Trippin’ over herself, huh? You speakin’ from experience?”
“Absolutely not,” she said stiffly, ignoring Cole’s close proximity as she exited out of their calendar app…realizing too late that she’d pulled up the email on the desktop to see the images on a larger screen. And there they were, for all the world—or at least Cole—to see. The one currently showcased was after they’d turned to face each other, his hands cupping her cheeks and hers fisted in the front of his shirt, their lips a mere breath apart.
He stepped into the tight space behind her and braced his hands on the desk on either side of her hips, leaning forward until the length of his body pressed against every one of her curves. “You might wanna call someone about this. Looks like you’ve been hacked,” he said into her ear, his voice nothing more than a low rumble.
Oh, sweet baby Jesus, she didn’t have enough willpower to resist this man. It was one thing