Live For Me (Blurred Lines #2)(12)
Author: Erin McCarthy

“Hey, girl,” a familiar masculine voice said. “You glad to see me? Yes, I missed you too.” Then, “Alright, get down.”

Devin.

In the house.

I loosened my death grip on my cell phone and started towards him, relieved and horrified all at once. I was wearing yoga pants and a T-shirt that had an explosion of flour down the front. It was likely I hadn’t brushed my hair that day. Maybe even the day before. Crossing my arms over my chest I paused in the doorway of the kitchen to watch him.

“Hi,” I said when he looked up at me.

“Hello, Tiffany.” He was wearing a leather jacket, and after giving Amelia’s head a final rub, he stood up and assessed me. “What?”

I shook my head.

“No, I recognize that look. It’s accusing. You’re mad at me for not telling you I was coming.”

Yes. “Of course not. It’s your house.”

The corner of his mouth turned up. “Yes, it’s my house, but you’re still annoyed with me. I can see it all over your face. You’re too honest to be a poker player, for future reference.” He moved closer to me and sniffed the air. “What’s that smell?”

“I made cupcakes.”

His eyebrows shot up. “No shit. Can I have one?”

What, like I was going to tell him no? “Of course, Mr. Gold.”

“Oh, I’m Mr. Gold again, am I? You really are annoyed with me.” Though he didn’t sound busted up over that fact.

“Why didn’t you mention you were almost here when I just texted you?” I couldn’t help it. I had to ask. I’d almost had a freaking heart attack when I’d heard the door open. “You scared me.” Even I could hear the reprimand in my voice and I mentally winced. He was my boss, damn it. I needed to watch what I said.

“I’m sorry.” He gave me a charming smile. “It was a last minute thing.” Then without warning his finger came out and brushed over my cheek. “You have flour on you.”

I sucked in a breath and pulled my face away from his touch. I couldn’t have him touching me. Not when he was so close and I was so attracted to him.

“But you’re right. I could have told you when we were texting. But I didn’t want you to go to any trouble or worry about the state of the house.” Then he moved past me into the kitchen. “I wanted you in your natural state. Mea culpa.”

My natural state wasn’t going to be of any particular interest to him, so I found his motives odd. But I was suddenly distracted by the sight of the suitcase he’d left by the front door. It was huge. That was no overnight bag.

Help me, Jesus, he was planning to stay for awhile.

“The house feels different,” he said. “Lived in.”

He went into my fridge and emerged with a soft drink, rolling his shoulders. Glancing around, I wasn’t sure if he was upset with me or not. The kitchen did look lived in. The counter was scattered with baking supplies and the frosting was open and ready to be spread over the chocolate cupcakes.

“Are you learning the language of love?” he asked with a small smirk, gesturing to the laptop. His laptop. I had been using the computer that had been lying abandoned and collecting dust on the kitchen desk.

“It’s just background noise.” I started frosting the cupcakes. “I’ll clean up as soon as I’m done with these.”

“Don’t worry about it. Do what you do. I’m not even here.”

The look I shot him over my shoulder was incredulous. There was no pretending he wasn’t there. Devin laughed out loud.

“It’s very obvious when you’re irritated,” he said. “More challenging to tell when you’re pleased.”

I had been pleased ten minutes ago. Now I wasn’t so sure.

“Why does it matter?” I had imagined him coming back to Richfield and me somehow impressing him. But I didn’t know how to do that. He spent all his time with sophisticated women and I was just… not.

“I want you to be happy here.”

Call me skeptical, but I didn’t believe he really gave a shit. Why would he? He didn’t know me. I was an employee. There had to be an angle, I just didn’t know what it was. But I knew how to play the game. “Thank you. I am happy.”

Frosting a cupcake, I watched him out of the corner of my eye. He had picked up the express envelope and was glancing through it. He didn’t look surprised or upset by anything he was seeing. At one point he did pause on a particular picture and study it, a frown marring his handsome face.

“Something wrong?” I asked.

“Hmm? No, no, not at all.”

So not believable, especially when he folded up the picture he’d been staring at and slid it into his pocket.

Curious which picture he’d taken, I held out a cupcake in offering. “My first attempt at cupcakes. I can’t vouch for how they taste.”

Casually he tossed the whole envelope with all the other pictures into the trash receptacle next to the island and reached out for the cupcake. My eyes followed the motion. I looked at him in question but he just smiled.

“Thank you. I’d love one. I kind of have this sweet tooth, if you hadn’t noticed.”

I noticed a lot of things about him. Everything. “If it tastes awful you don’t have to be polite. Just spit it out.” Okay, that sounded way too pathetic. I decided to rein it in. Be normal.

Undoing the foil wrapper, he gestured with his head to the laptop. “So how is the French going? Seriously?”

“I just started. I thought I would listen to the entire book first, then redo it, stopping to do the written exercises for each chapter.”

“That sounds very disciplined. But I have a feeling that’s your personality.” He put the cupcake between his teeth and held it there so he could free his hands to peel off his jacket. “Mm.” He bit and chewed, holding the rest after he tossed his coat aside. “Good. Delicious.”

Ridiculously pleased, that was me. The corner of my mouth lifted, I couldn’t help it. He looked like he wanted to be alone with his cupcake. “Really?”

“So that’s what you look like when you’re pleased,” he teased me.

My smile disappeared and I rolled my eyes, self-consciously.

“I’m glad you’re using the kitchen. No one ever does.”

Devin pinched off a piece of the cupcake and started to bend down to feed it to her.

“Don’t!” I said, taking a step forward and grabbing his wrist. “Dogs are allergic to chocolate!”