Total pages in book: 18
Estimated words: 16911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 85(@200wpm)___ 68(@250wpm)___ 56(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 16911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 85(@200wpm)___ 68(@250wpm)___ 56(@300wpm)
I looked at his forearm, thick and muscular, a little bit veiny. I don’t know why that turned me on so much. But it did.
“Good morning,” I said in this breathy, a little bit desire-filled, and embarrassing the hell out of me voice. I hated I couldn’t seem to control my body’s reaction when I was around him. And given the fact that this was the first time I’d actually ever spoken to him in person when it was just the two of us, and we were in this kind of intimate situation, it had me even more anxious.
He stepped aside but still had my hand engulfed within his. I swallowed and once again tried to act unaffected.
It was a losing battle though.
He finally let go of my palm, and I swore it was as if he was a little reluctant. I knew I didn’t want him to let go.
“Come in.”
I gave him what I was sure was an awkward smile, and I curled my hand tighter around my binder as I stepped over the threshold and into his home. The first thing I noticed was the scent of pine. Not that artificial smell, but the kind that was natural, from the wood he used to build his home.
At first glance, I noticed his house was pretty clean, aside from a few sections he was clearly using as storage. For a bachelor, I’d expected far worse. His home was rustic, but not in that mountain man, hermit crab way. There were accents of color here and there—rich reds, deep greens—but no pictures, no decor.
The cabin was two levels, with the lower half being comprised of the kitchen, living room, and a hallway, which I assumed led to the bathroom and maybe a bedroom or two. The living room had one couch, no TV, but the centerpiece in the room was an ornate fireplace. My gaze was trained on it, on the gorgeous stone mantle, the wood carvings around it.
I looked back at Big, lowered my gaze to his hands, and a part of me knew he’d built this place from the ground up. He was just that masculine.
“So, pretty bad, yeah?” He cleared his throat, and I lifted my gaze from his hands up to his face.
I felt my cheeks heat at being caught staring at him. I looked around. “I’ll be totally honest just from looking at the lower level.” I looked back at him. “Although I’d love to take your money, the houses I tend to clean for first-time clients really need more than just a ‘light dusting,’ so to speak.” I gave him another awkward smile. “And that’s really all your place needs.”
“A light dusting?” He lifted a brow, clearly confused by my choice of words.
“I just mean your place really doesn’t need the type of service you thought you may need, because it’s not bad at all.” I looked at the stack of boxes he had placed in a few corners. “I mean, you could probably do with getting rid of some of your....” I didn’t know what to call it. Supplies? Hoarded stuff?
“That’s stuff that has to be donated.” He’d clearly seen where I’d been looking. “I actually just cleaned out the cellar and attic. Once the weather warms up, I’ll be doing the same with the shed and donating it.” He shrugged and then gave me a crooked smile.
I thought it was pretty endearing he’d cleaned before I came over, given the fact that I was a cleaning service.
He looked around the living room and kitchen and lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck. “Let me show you the rest of my place, and then we can talk shop.” There was this tone in his voice I couldn’t quite place when he mentioned showing me the rest of his house, as if he wanted to, as if he hoped I liked it.
Or maybe that was just me projecting once again.
I smiled and nodded and let him take me around to the rest of the first level. He showed me the bathroom, the two small bedrooms. Then he led me upstairs. There were two other rooms, one of them the master bedroom, the other an office. There was a master bath attached to the master bedroom.
I didn’t say anything, but I was thinking about how clean his house was, and how I wanted to take him on as a client for the simple fact that I had these intense feelings for him, even though I also didn’t want to be the asshole business who took advantage of someone.
But it was clear he wanted someone to help him, which was why he’d contacted me in the first place, so I wasn’t going to argue the point.
Once he was done giving me the tour, we sat down at the dining room table and I opened up the binder. I pulled out a pen from my purse, writing down some notes.