Tempted In The City. Jo Leigh

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СКАЧАТЬ Relaxed grin. His hand had recently pushed back his dark hair, and, oh, God, she’d seen that exact same look in dozens of romantic films. “It’s nice to see you again,” she said, thankful she’d been trained from birth to keep everything she felt to herself. “May I get you anything? Coffee? Wine?”

      He shook his head, but his gaze didn’t budge.

      “It’s a very nice cabernet from a great vineyard in Italy.”

      “Well, as good as that sounds, I am here to work.”

      Catherine felt the heat creeping up her neck. “Of course,” she said, turning away. “I wasn’t thinking.”

      “But as long as the vineyard’s in Italy... I wouldn’t turn down a glass after we’ve finished for the evening.”

      “The offer stands.” Leading him upstairs, she allowed herself a foolish grin, but kept her pace steady. Deciding not to dwell on the the fact that he was probably checking out her ass, she said, “I’ve done a little sleuthing on my own,” she said. “I’d planned on getting a good chunk of the inventory done by myself, but I was foiled by the mystery of what’s hiding underneath the paint on the fireplace mantel.” She pointed to the south wall.

      Tony frowned. “Did you try to remove any paint?”

      “Not really. I read that there was a good chance the paint had lead in it. I didn’t have the right safety gear, which I’ve since taken care of. But I did scrape a bit. It looks like it’ll be worth the work, at least to see if it’s cast iron.”

      “That’s great. Good thinking.” He pulled out his cell phone. “Are you interested in doing some of the restoration work yourself?”

      “I am. Nothing too taxing. I’ve never done anything like it. I’m not all that good with my hands, but it would be nice to know I had a small part.”

      Tony met her gaze, and from where she was standing, he looked pleased. Although it could have been the light.

      Then, he went right back to typing something on his phone.

      “Are you texting Fred or George?”

      “No. I’ve got an app where I keep all my notes and plans. I’ve already put in the basic layout of the house, so I’ll be able to mark it up as we find pieces we want to investigate.”

      Tony pulled out a Swiss Army knife from his back pocket, went to the fireplace and crouched by the side of the unit. Catherine crouched next to him, watching what he did. The first thing she noticed was he scraped a lot harder than she had.

      His next move was to cut the linoleum that butted up against the painted surround. A moment later, he found something that made his face light up.

      “What is it?”

      “Tile. I can’t promise all of it will be intact, but all we really need is one.”

      “You can get it duplicated?”

      “Again, it’s costly, but yes, we can.”

      “Okay, one thing you should know. You don’t have to be concerned with the budget. While I appreciate your warnings, I think it will make things easier for both of us if we just wait until the full estimate is complete. Then I’ll make my choices. Okay?”

      He nodded as he stood up, and once again they were standing too close for politeness’s sake. It wouldn’t have been a problem if they were in Tokyo. But New Yorkers needed at least a thousand square feet of personal space to be truly comfortable. No, this was Manila close.

      “You’ll have to show me your safety gear. I’ll let you know if everything comes up to code,” he said, those damnable dark eyes capturing her own once more.

      The sentence was benign, the look wasn’t. Seconds ticked by as heat circled through her while he stared. It grew stronger when he let out a breath that reached her, minty fresh. Maybe this whole thing was all about scent, but then why had the swirling heat started the second she’d opened the front door?

      None of this was okay. It was bad enough she couldn’t read him, but now she couldn’t even make sense of herself.

      After he inhaled—something that should have given her a hundred clues—he stepped back. Walked to the other side of the room to inspect the crown molding.

      Great. Now she was making him uncomfortable.

      Catherine shook herself out of her trance. “Would it bother you if I had a glass of wine?”

      “Not at all.”

      She made sure she downed half a glass before she rejoined him. She also promised herself that she would focus on learning about her new home, not her general contractor.

      It was an education, walking through each room with him. He welcomed her questions, even though she knew she was going a bit overboard. But with each move, he stepped in closer. First, just their shoulders touched. A brush. Insignificant, but for how aware of it she was. The rooms were small. The physical contact would have happened between any two adults. But by the time they hit the downstairs powder room they squeezed into the tight space as if they were old hands at this touching business.

      “I’m pretty sure that if you want to enlarge this bathroom we can keep to the original aesthetic,” Tony said, his voice a couple notches above a whisper. “But I need to know more about the plumbing before we can make any decisions.”

      “I don’t mind this bathroom being small, if it allows me to open up the living and dining rooms.”

      Tony continued to look directly into her eyes. His lips parted as if he was going to say something. But he didn’t, and it was all she could do not to lean those few inches forward. Unlock his words with a touch of her tongue.

      A honking horn out on the street brought her back to reality and she gained control quickly and moved out of the powder room. “It’s the bathroom upstairs that has me worried.”

      He added a few more notes to his app before they climbed back up the old staircase. He went to the fireplace and picked up her wineglass. “That covers the big things,” he said. “But there are lots of details that we haven’t cataloged.” His gaze skated over the mess, where before there had at least been chairs. Then he took a sip.

      She cleared her throat, not minding that he’d taken a sip of her wine, but worried he’d feel embarrassed. “Sorry about the accommodations. The only place I seem to have left for company is the staircase or my bedroom.”

      Tony blinked at the wineglass, a brief look of shock on his face. “Uh, it’s no problem,” he said. He put the glass back on the mantel, a slight blush warming his cheeks. “Sorry about that. Look, I’ve got something I have to do tomorrow evening, and I’m sure you’ll want some peace and quiet on Sunday, but I could come back Monday. After the others have left.”

      “You?”

      “Or Fred,” he said, taking half a step back.

      “No, that’s... While I’ve got you here, there are a few more pictures I wanted you to see, if you have time...”

      “I’ve got СКАЧАТЬ