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He was so big that it prompted her to stand, too, so he wouldn’t be towering over her. At least not as much as when she sat. Since he stood well over six feet tall, and she was less than five and a half feet, there’d be some towering going on no matter what she did.
But with Brick, she sort of liked it.
The cat squirmed in her arms, so Merrily started to set her down. Eloise had other ideas. She held on while staring at Brick in something akin to challenge.
A small, sexy smile tilted his mouth. He touched Eloise under her chin, and the cat closed her eyes in bliss. “So you’re the boss, huh?”
How did he know that? “It seems the cats are naturally bossier than dogs. And she’s the only female cat, so...”
“Nature’s way, I guess.” His hand went from Eloise’s chin to Merrily’s hair, tucking it behind her ear, then grazing her cheek. “You look nice with your hair loose.”
Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth so all she could do was stare at him. The combo of a casual touch and a compliment packed a wallop to her starved senses.
“But I like the ponytail you usually wear, too.”
“Oh...um...”
That knowing smile of his widened. He ran his big thumb along her jaw...then dropped his hand and looked around her home. “You have a nice place.”
“Thank you.”
He looked up at the cove ceiling. “There’s so much character in an old house like this.”
“I like it.” In a very short time, it had become her home, not just her residence. “The landlord, Tonya Bloom, did a great job in dividing it up for a duplex. In most of the rooms, you can’t even tell that it used to be one house.”
“Who lives next door?”
“She does. The landlord, I mean.” Merrily really didn’t want to talk about Tonya.
“She’s nice?”
“Very nice.” As well as beautiful, incredibly built, smart and successful. The comparisons could depress her, except that Tonya was one of those people who treated everyone like a cherished friend.
She did not want Tonya treating Brick that way.
Time to get him thinking about a different topic. “I was hoping the doggy door could open to the backyard.” Eloise still refused to be put aside, so Merrily carried her in her arms as she went into the kitchen.
Along the way, Brick held silent, and she assumed he was taking in the original high baseboards and the sloping wooden floors. But when she looked back, it was her behind he stared at. She faced forward again and tried not to put any more swing in her walk than necessary.
“Right here would be the ideal spot.” She indicated the thick wooden door that opened to the small fenced yard.
When she turned, Brick was right there, crowded in close behind her in the small confines of the galley kitchen. He was so close, in fact, that Eloise could lean out and rub her head against his shoulder.
A little dumbfounded, Merrily stared up at him while breathing in the amazing scent of hot, hunky male. She’d been around other men and never noticed their scent. Did he smell different? Or just better?
Brick glanced at her with a raised brow and a barely there smile.
She had to get it together or he’d start to wonder at her motives, which, yes, included the desire for more than a doggy door to accommodate her pets.
Sidling around him, Merrily tried to gather her wits. “Would you like anything to eat? Or drink?”
He knelt down to examine the base of the door. His dark T-shirt stretched tight across his broad back and solid shoulders and the denim of his jeans hugged his flexed thighs. “I’ll take a drink, thanks.”
Lord, have mercy. Stalling, Merrily lifted a hand and fanned her face, but it didn’t help with the flash flood of heat.
Maybe she should have started this plan with someone just a little less...everything.
Less macho, less gorgeous, less overwhelming.
Problem was, no one else had appealed to her.
He glanced back. “Merrily?”
Having a big sexy guy around was an aberration and she knew she was bound to trip up occasionally, but still, she wanted to be just a little smoother. “I, ah, don’t have anything alcoholic. I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about it or I could have picked up some beer or something—”
Releasing her from the snare of his dark gaze, he opened the door and asked, “What do you have?”
“Iced tea or coffee. Cola. Maybe some juice...”
“Tea would be great, thanks.” He glanced back at her again, then all over her, before returning his attention to her face. “I’m not a big drinker.”
“Oh. Okay.” Merrily bit her lip at that lame reply. What did okay even mean? Should she admit she wasn’t much of a drinker either? No. Not yet. Not when so many social relationships relied on casual drinking.
After a ridiculous smile, she spun around and almost tripped over Dolly and Dundee. They sat there, staring at Brick with the same fascination she felt.
She put Eloise in a kitchen chair and opened the fridge.
By the time she’d finished filling a glass with ice and pouring the tea, Brick was standing again, his hands on his hips, expression pensive.
She handed him the tea. “Is there a problem?”
“Not a problem, exactly. I can do it. It’s just that I kind of hate to.”
He drank deeply, and she watched the way his throat worked. This late in the day, he had a dark beard shadow. She wanted to touch his throat, to feel the rasp of his stubble, maybe brush over it with her lips...
After finishing half the drink, he frowned at the door. “Your landlord actually agreed to let us do this?”
Merrily had no idea what he was getting at. “I talked with her about it before making any real plans.”
“Well...” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Before I do anything, I’d like to talk to her, too. Do you know when she’ll be around?”
No, no, no. She didn’t want Brick and Tonya in the same room together—with good reason. “You don’t believe me?”
“Sure I do. But I’m guessing neither of you realize the value of that door. Before I start cutting on it, I want to talk to her myself.”
The idea of him meeting Tonya disheartened her, but what could she do? Merrily shrugged. “She’s usually home by now, actually.” Tom stretched up to her leg, so she lifted him. “I don’t understand your concern.”
“That’s one hell of a vintage door to chop up. Solid, probably original to the house, and still in great shape. They don’t make them like that anymore, not unless someone wants to spend a small fortune. People refurbishing old homes would go nuts over it. Seems a shame to mess it up. Once I cut it for the pet door, it’ll never be the same, and replacing it later with another door like it wouldn’t be easy.”
“Oh.” Merrily looked at the door, but to her, it was just...a door. “So I guess a pet entry is out.”
“No, we can still do it. But if your landlord agrees, I’d rather take that door down and store it so it can be put back in if you ever move. In the meantime we can throw up a cheaper door and use it for the pet entry. It’d still look nice, and it’d be plenty secure. What do you think?”
“Won’t that be more work for you?”
“Not a lot. As long as you don’t mind having me around an extra day or so, it’s not a big deal.”
Mind having him around? He had to be joking. “There’s a shed out back where you could store it or maybe in the basement or attic.” She hated to sound unsympathetic to the old house, and she loved the idea of prolonging his visit, but... “How much would a new door cost me?”
“Nothing. Jesse probably has something lying around that would fit.”
“Jesse?”
“My friend from lunch today.” He tipped his head. “You don’t remember him?”
“I do.” Jesse had an engaging smile, blond hair and green eyes, but sitting across from Brick, he’d been almost invisible—at least to her. Without thinking it through, she admitted, “I heard a few of the other waitresses talking about him.”
“Yeah? Saying what?”
She cleared her throat. “Just...girl talk.”
At her show of discomfort, his gaze brightened and a smile played over his mouth. “Tell me.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I couldn’t.”
He set his drink aside and, with teasing intent, stalked closer. “C’mon, Merrily. Out with it.”
She back-stepped until her backside bumped into the counter. Heat rushed into her face. This was a new game to her, but she didn’t want him to know that.
He got so close that her heart hammered and a strange tingling spread out to her limbs.
It wasn’t at all an unpleasant feeling. Not with Brick.
“Now don’t faint on me.”
“No. I won’t.” She might jump him, but she wouldn’t pass out and miss any of this. She cleared her throat. “They, ah, said that Jesse was so sexy, he...”
“He what?”
To get it over with, she blurted, “Made panties drop.”
Brick didn’t put any space between them. In fact, he brushed her cheek with the backs of his knuckles. “And what about you?”
“What about me?”
“You think Jesse is all that?”
“What? No.” She shook her head hard. “I mean, I’m sure he’s nice enough.”
“He is.”
But he wasn’t Brick. She shrugged. “That’s it. He’s nice.”
Brick’s slow smile said a whole lot of stuff—but she wasn’t sure what exactly. “He’s a carpenter, so he always has extra materials on hand. If he doesn’t have a door that fits exactly, he can cut it down to make it work. Piece of cake for him.”
He was still too darned close for coherent thought, but she muddled through. “I’d have to insist on paying him.”
Slowly, his gaze warm and intimate, Brick tucked her hair behind her ear—and finally gave her some space. “You can take that up with Jesse, but either way, it wouldn’t be much. So what do you say? Why don’t we go discuss it with the landlord right now so I can get to work on this for you?”
Darn it. She didn’t want to. If she had her way, Tonya Bloom would never be within smiling distance of Brick. Tonya smiled and men went stupid—she was that beautiful. But with Tonya living next door, the idea of them never running into each other was unrealistic and she knew it. “I could just talk with her and then let you know what she says.”
Brick studied her. She knew he studied her, that he wondered at her motives, and it made her want to squirm.
After a few nerve-racking seconds of scrutiny, he seemed to come to a conclusion. He nodded at her kitchen table. “Mind if I sit down while I finish my tea?”
Oh. “That’d be fine.” She followed him to the table, but when Brick pulled out a chair, he found Eloise curled up in it. The cat gave him a “do not disturb” look and settled again.
“Sorry, old girl.” He pulled out another chair, and there was Tom draped over the seat. In the next chair was Stan, one leg in the air while he “groomed” himself.
Feeling foolish, she explained, “They like to be where I am.”
“Can’t say as I blame them.” Instead of acting put out, he smiled at the cats. “The couch, then?”
“I could move them.” It was a lame, unenthusiastic offer. She hated to disturb her pets when they slept. So often, she would inconvenience herself first.
Brick curved his big, warm hand around her upper arm. “The couch works.” He led her back through to the living room, Dolly and Dundee following hot on their heels. He sat and urged her down close to him.
But rather than finish off his tea, he set it aside and turned to her, his gaze moving slowly over her face. “So.”
So...what? She waited, uncertain what to say or do, not knowing what he intended.
“Why don’t you want me to meet the landlord?”
Wow, intuitive and straight to the point. She wasn’t used to guys being so up-front.
Actually, she wasn’t all that used to guys, period. But the ones she had known weren’t exactly straight shooters. More like vague with hidden agendas.
By way of an answer, she asked her own question. “What makes you think I don’t?”
His gaze softened in understanding. “Not to brag, Merrily, but I know women.”
She was sort of counting on that.
Casually, he put an arm up along the back of the couch—behind her shoulders. “And I see it in your expression.”
Dolly jumped up to the couch and went into his lap, circled twice, then plopped down with a sigh. As if he barely noticed, Brick scratched the dog’s ears with his free hand and continued to stare at Merrily, waiting for her reaction.
Even after Dundee sat on his foot and leaned into his leg, Brick didn’t pull that unwavering gaze from her face.
