Page 11 of One Little Spark

“Um, thanks,” she murmured, staring up at him.

The temptation to throw her on to the bed and have sex with her on top of the fallen curtains was intense. “No problem,” he said as he set her on her feet. “I’ll put those up tomorrow for you.”

She bit her lip and nodded at him. “Okay.”

He stared at her for a minute. He needed to stop this shit in its tracks, or they were both going to be fucked.Or get fucked,his preferred method of ending the godawful tension twisting his balls.He cleared his throat. “We need to set up some ground rules.”

“Ground rules?” she asked.

“Yeah. No doing any decorating around the house. If you want something done, you ask me.” He had visions of her sprawled on her back after falling off a ladder or down the stairs. Eyeing the boxes in the room, he said, “No leaving your stuff all over the place. I like the house to be neat. Easier to keep clean that way.” Really, he was afraid she’d hang her underwear to dryin the bathroom or something. He did not need those images in his head.

Her eyes narrowed. “What else?”

“Let me know if you’re bringing anyone back here,” he growled. Mostly so he knew not to come home. He might wring the guy’s neck if he caught them kissing.

Hazel put her hands on her hips. “Are you taking over from Jory now? I thought we were friends. I thought we had an understanding.”

“We are friends, and we do have an understanding. I just have ground rules that will keep”—me from taking you to bed—“us that way. Considering you invited yourself to live here and you aren’t paying me, I think I’m being very reasonable.”

She clamped her mouth shut, but her eyes were shooting sparks at him. It made her look sexy as hell. He wished he could outlaw that as well.No looking sexy.This was going to be the longest month of his life. He wasn’t sure he would survive it.

“Are those all the rules?” she demanded.

“For now. I’m sure I’ll think of others. The main bath on this floor is yours. I’ll stay out of it for the most part so you can leave your stuff on the counter. There’s a linen closet inside it behind the door. I have to get towels out of there, too, so just be aware that I’ll need access. And when it comes to food, I’m happy to buy the groceries if you want to cook. If you change your mind, let me know.”

She nodded once.

He was trying to make this as businesslike as possible, which was hard considering she looked so cute when she was pissed off. He bit back a sigh and turned to go. “If you need anything, just ask.”

He walked out of the room and went downstairs. The farther away he stayed from her, the better off he’d be. He walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and grabbed a beer.He went outside and sat on the back porch.

In the time it took him to drink his beer, he heard another few thumps and one long string of curses. She must have opened the window because those were clear as anything. He thought about seeing what she wanted for dinner, but in the end, he just ordered a pizza.

His life had gotten complicated again. One of the reasons he’d left New York and a promising Wall Street career was because he didn’t want complicated. When his mom died, it put everything in perspective. His boss in New York, whom he’d admired greatly, was only ten years older than Aiden but already getting divorced and working a hundred hours a week. He knew if he’d stayed, he would have been in the same situation. Suddenly, money wasn’t so important. Neither was status or work. He wanted real friendships and family. He was too late for family—until he was ready to have his own—but he wasn’t too late for friends. So, he’d returned to Cherry Valley.

He managed to get on at the fire station with Jory’s help, and life had been nice and calm for a while. He’d been moving along at a slow pace, healing. Until Hurricane Hazel blew in and turned his world upside down again.

He’d been flirting with her off and on, nothing too obvious. It was sort of a little game he played to amuse himself. She was off-limits, so it didn’t matter. Except now she was in his house. She was going to sleep here, shower here, and be here in the morning when he got up.Shit. This was bad.

Thirty minutes later, the pizza was delivered while he was on his second beer. “Hazel, pizza is here if you want some,” he called up the stairs.

There were a few more thumps, and then her feet sounded on the steps. She entered the kitchen, and he handed her a plate.

“Thanks,” she said. “I’m starving.”

He just nodded.

“Do you have any more of those as well?” She tilted her chin toward his beer.

He went to the old fridge and pulled out another beer. He popped off the cap before he gave it to her. Then went back to leaning against the kitchen counter and eating his pizza. Did he need to make a rule about the beer? “If you drink the last beer, you have to buy the next case.”

She snorted as she sat down at the table. “You and your rules. I had no idea you’d be such a tight-ass.”

He wasn’t the only one witha tight ass. Jesus, the images that came to mind. He took a long swallow of his beer.

“Vito’s makes the best pizza,” she said as she took another bite.

He nodded but just kept eating.

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