Page 12 of Britain

Once they bring our drinks and her cookie to the counter, we grab them and take them back to the love seat.

“Have you always worked on cars?”

She takes a sip of her drink. “Not always, but it was natural for me to do it since I spent so much time at the garage when I was younger. For a brief time I wanted to be a writer, but I just never had the guts.”

“What kind of stories did you want to write?”

Her cheeks turn pink. “Ummm…paranormal romance. I really love shapeshifter stories.” She points at me. “Don’t you dare make fun of me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” My dick twitches slightly in my jeans at the thought of her writing some dirty romances. “Do you have any story ideas?”

“I have a notebook at home that I write ideas in. I’ve got enough ideas for a four-book series.” Britain shrugs.

“You should start writing it. I’ve heard lots of authors work full-time and write part-time. You could just do it as a hobby, too. Come on—you owe it to yourself to give it a shot. Just think: You could write books that people buy and read.”

Britain leans toward me. “That would be freaking awesome.” She takes a bite of her cookie, and when she swallows it down she looks at me. “Have you always wanted to do computer stuff?”

“Yeah, I’ve always been really good at it. I love taking an idea and turning it into a functional app that helps people.”

“Will you show me your apps sometime?” She bites her lower lip, and I’m sure it wasn’t easy for her to ask that.

“Absolutely. If you’re comfortable with it, you can follow me to my place. We haven’t moved into our new office space yet, so everything is still set up in my loft.”

Britain seems to think about it, which I’m glad of because I don’t want her to feel pressured. “Yeah, sure.”

Before she can change her mind, I lead her outside, and not even a minute later we’re heading toward my loft. Luckily for her I have a visitor’s parking spot right next to mine that I pay a monthly fee for. I climb out of my SUV and point to my guest spot. I open her door for her and shut it when she gets out.

With my hand on the small of her back, I lead her to the elevators. We ride in silence up to my floor. I pull my keys out of my pocket and unlock my door, letting her pass by. In the kitchen, I grab us both a bottle of water. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” She looks at me. “Your place is gorgeous.”

I look around, and I have to admit my place is pretty great. The walls are all exposed brick and floor-to-ceiling windows. Artwork decorates the walls, and a dark taupe sectional sits in the living room, facing the window that overlooks the river. A large area rug covers the hardwood floor in front of the sectional. It’s swirls of green, blues, and creams.

My coffee table, end tables, and table that runs behind my sectional are grayish-brown wood. In the corner is my office, and it’s covered in monitors, papers, and a dry erase board. Tidiness isn’t one of my many qualities. Next to my workspace are the stairs that lead up to my bedroom and en suite bathroom. I have a half bath on the main level. “I’d offer to show you around, but this is it. My bedroom is right up the stairs.”

I grab a chair from my dining room and sit it next to my office chair. I lead her to my desk and have her sit.

Chapter Seven

Britain

For over a half hour, Silas showed me the first app he sold, the one his sister used, and then the one that she was beta testing for him. I didn’t understand half of what he said, but he was so passionate about his work I was certainly enthralled. He talked a lot about writing code and stuff that sounded like complex math equations…see, totally lost.

After we finished, or rather he finished showing me his projects, he pulled up the design for his office. It was certainly going to look cool when it was all done.

He then asked about pizza toppings, which leads us to now. He puts his phone to his ear. “Anything but pineapple or sauerkraut?” I nod because I’m not sure how he got me to agree to stay for pizza, but he’s ordering it now, and it’d be rude to leave. Fuck me, I don’t know what I’m doing. Why can this guy get me all screwed up inside? How come I feel so comfortable around him?

Silas disconnects his call and scrubs a hand over his dark blond hair. “It should be here in about thirty minutes. Do you want to see something, beautiful?”

“Yes. Sure.” He grabs my hand, and we head toward the stairs.

I don’t miss the unmade bed up at the top, which sits against the wall of windows. The scent that hits me as we walk by can only be described as manly. My heart races as erotic images assail me, but I shake them off. We reach a door next to the bathroom and head outside. “Wow,” I whisper, because it’s like an oasis up here. There are all types of shrubbery, a little pond, and twinkle lights that surround the entire space.

He leads me toward some patio furniture that looks comfortable. I sit down on the love seat, and he sits at the other end, only a small amount of space between us. “This is my favorite spot when I just want peace and quiet. Sometimes at night I’ll sit out here with only the twinkle lights on and listen to some music, smoke a cigar, and just chill.”

“I wish I had a place like this.”

“Can I ask why you live with your brother and his family?”

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