He followed me inside.
“I leave the debris of the day at the door.” I kicked off my designerbrown flats I’d gotten on sale at an outlet store two years ago that were both comfy and stylish.
“I like that,” he said, and then mimicked my gesture, putting his shoes neatly on the mat next to my toppled shoes.
Staring at our shoes, I pursed my lips. “Look at them. What do you see?”
Amused, he studied his black Armani shoes that cost more than anything I owned in this house and my fifty-dollar flats. “Shoes, Elena. I see shoes.”
I didn’t know why, but his casual tone made me laugh. “Use your imagination.” I bumped my shoulder into his arm because he was like a head taller than me. “They’re more than shoes. They represent how different we are.” I pointed to his perfectly placed loafers. “You live in luxury. Everything is neat, organized, and shiny.” I straightened out the flat that was toppled on its side. “My life is messy, unorganized, and not shiny.” I tapped a stain on my shoe with my toe. “We are so different.”
“But I like that.”
His calm voice pulled my attention to his face. “You’re showing me something I never thought of.”
What did he mean by that statement? Part of me wanted to know, but another part was afraid, so I switched on my sarcasm.
“Like sarcasm laced with wisdom?” I winked. “You can always depend on me for shoe jokes.”
A laugh roared out of him, filling up my home. I could almost imagine the walls and all the furniture blinking awake.
I like that his energy differed from mine. Maybe that was why I was attracted to him. But drastically different couples couldn’t last. In the beginning, differences were intriguing, but in the long run those differences could turn them against each other. They’d wear each other out. That was what happened to me and Liam.
“You have an ability that no one else has.”
“And what is that?” Iwalked down the hallway.
“You can yank me out of my anxiety and drop me into another world.”
I turned to look at him, his expression serious and vulnerable. I’d never seen him like this. This wasn’t the man displayed to the public.
My heart danced because I got to see a side of him that no one else could. “That’s a good thing, right?”
Nodding slowly, he stepped closer. Only a few inches separated us.
I swallowed. “What are you doing?”
“Experimenting.” He tipped up my chin with his fingers. He was so beautiful.
“With what?”
“With how many abilities you have that affect me.” Something flashed in his eyes, and he stepped back from me. His hands dropped to his sides. What had just happened?
I ambled into the kitchen. “Please excuse the mess.”
I had several boxes in the hallway with some winter jackets toppled over them. I hadn’t had time to drop them off at the donation center.A box of tools sat on the floor of the family room. Though thehouse was old, it had character.
I picked up a small cardboard box that had fallen over and placed it on top of the stack of bins and boxes.
“Looks like you’re still moving in.”
“Not moving in. Been here a while.” I gestured to the boxes. “This is from the upstairs guest room where there’s a leak in the roof. I had to move everything out of the room for the guys to repair it.”
“Is it fixed?” he asked.
“Getting there.”
“You’ve a lot going on.”