Page 34 of Love Among Vines

“Well. I wasn’t dancing with a golden retriever who’s searching for some balls to put in her mouth.”

That made two of them.

He chuckled. “Here, let me.”

He kneeled and set his nimble fingers to the buckle on her heel strap. His head was basically at vagina level.Down, girl.

“You are suspiciously adept at removing women’s shoes,” she said. “Fetish?”

“Definitely. I have a whole room of severed feet in the basement.”

His hand glided up her calf before tugging her shoe off, and she bit her lip as her foot planted on the floor. That amount of calf stroking was not strictly speaking necessary for shoe removal. Was he making a move? Or was her drunk brain just interpreting everything as a green flag?

“You can drop the leash,” he said. His green eyes stared up at her as he moved on to the other shoe. “Penny has free rein here.”

“Oh. Thank you.” She unclipped the dog, and Penny gamboled into the house and disappeared.

Her other shoe came off, and Rett stood. There was a sparkle of something naughty in his eye as he shot her a half smile before turning away.

Jade took a second to survey her surroundings as he flicked lights on. The kitchen was predictably massive. Was that a pasta arm? Who lived here, Emeril?

It was also shockingly clean for a bachelor pad. Either he had a dedicated housekeeper, or his list of hobbies did not extend beyond cleaning and winemaking.

Jade’s apartment, on the other hand, was more…free-spirited. It wouldn’t be unusual to find a towel on the floor in thebathroom, or dishes from the night before in the sink. But her apartment was homey, charming, and beautiful in its own way, even when it wasn’t surgically clean.

“Your house is beautiful. Very clean for a bachelor. Not a single discarded Solo cup or bong.”

He smiled. “Thanks. I have a cleaning service in twice a month. They were just here, so I can’t take credit for it.”

Thank god. She had already been half worried he was going to make her wear flip-flops in the shower.

“Let me show you to your room.”

She put a hand on her rolling suitcase, but he tugged it away from her.

“You’re my guest. Come on,” he said, wheeling the suitcase through the kitchen. A dining room stood to their right, lined by floor-to-ceiling windows. It was hard to tell in the dark, but the view of the lake must have been spectacular.

Her bare feet padded over the hardwood floors. They passed through an absurd living room—lots of neutral tones, definitely needed more color—with a double-sided fireplace and what looked to be a very nice patio before finding the stairs.

“You don’t have to take the stairs.”

“Are you going to throw me over your shoulder and carry me? Is that part of the patented Rhodes Hospitality Fake Girlfriend Package?”

He smiled again. “No.” He walked to a bit of molded paneling next to the stairs and pressed a button.

“Your house has an elevator?”

Her apartment building barely even had an elevator. It only worked for one week out of the month if she was lucky. And it was never when she had an armful of groceries.

“I know it’s absurd. In my defense, my grandmother had it installed when they both still lived here. My grandfather had mobility issues.”

She eyed it suspiciously. “Have you ever been trapped in it?”

“Only twice. And it wasn’t for very long.”

“Well, then how can I refuse?” She sidled inside. The quarters were cramped with the two of them and her suitcase.

His eyes locked with hers as the elevator inched up. Her cheeks grew hot. Why did he have such an effect on her? Maybe it was just the wine.

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