Page 62 of I Choose You
Me: Which one are you leaning towards?
Claire: I’m not telling. You’ll choose the opposite just for the heck of it
She would want the ornately designed one. I already knew that. She loved the character in the curved, sculpted wood and the details that handcrafted work left behind.
Me: Option 1
Claire: Seriously! That one was my favorite, too :)
Of course it was. I smiled to myself. I caught Dale’s look from the corner of my eye, but he could go and fuck right off if he wanted to say something. He didn’t, and neither did I. I pocketed my phone and picked up where I left off, laying new subflooring in place.
We finished the day and packed up. Richie and Shawn had already left. Dale clapped me on the shoulder before he took off too. He shook his head at me, but his small grin gave him away. He was worried for me, and I appreciated that, but this was my business.
I waited for Claire to finish up whatever she was working on, listening to her sing to herself as her fingers clacked against the computer keyboard. She must have thought she was alone because she started belting out the lyrics like she was performing in her own private concert.
My wide smile couldn’t be contained as I sat back and admired her. She radiated sunshine, even when she was by herself.
She came out a few minutes later and found me leaning against the makeshift table from our lunch earlier, my arms crossed over my chest.
“Holy hell! You scared the crap out of me. I thought I was by myself,” she said after jumping out of her skin.
“When have I ever left you alone here? What if the ghost attacked and I wasn’t here to protect you?” I smirked.
She rolled her eyes, and then they landed square on my chest before they dipped lower. My cock twitched, liking the attention.
“What are you doing for dinner tonight?” she asked, going for conversational.
“Are you asking me out?”
“No, I just thought no use in us both eating alone. Now that you’re not grumpy all the time, you can be good company.”
“Well, I know one surefire way to keep my grumpy attitude away,” I teased.
“Oh my God,” she huffed. “Looks like you’re going to staygrumpy, then.”
“I was talking about food. What were you talking about?”
She laughed loudly, throwing her head back. Fuck, I loved that sound. She laughed with her whole body, just like her smile. A real smile by Claire DeLuca could illuminate the darkest cave. And her laugh was like that first step into the sunlight.
“Follow me to my house. I want to shower, and then I’ll make us something to eat,” I told her. Her eyes widened slightly, and her brows rose. “What? I can cook.”
It was true that I didn’t cook often, mostly opting to eat out, but I could throw together some pasta. Maybe I’d call Sheila on my way home, see if she had any easy meal suggestions.
I pulled into my driveway five minutes later and waited for Claire to pull up right behind me. I was at her driver’s-side door before she had a chance to unbuckle.
“What a gentleman,” she crooned. “This still isn’t a date, you know.”
“I don’t reserve being a gentleman strictly for dates.” She took my offered hand and stepped out of her car. I didn’t give her any room, crowding her space as soon as she was out. How could she still smell so good after working in a construction zone all day? “And date or not, if I have an opportunity to put my hands on you, I’m taking it.” Her tongue swiped over her lips, my gaze zeroing in on it.
Slowly, she pulled her hand from mine, her fingers dragging across my palm and trailing up my fingers. Her eyes locked on where we were touching. She swallowed hard and dropped her hand. “We should head in. It’s freezing out here.”
The signals she was sending were mixed as fuck, but that was fine with me. She wanted me, I could see it in her eyes,in the way her breathing turned shallow when we were alone. She could only fight it for so long, and I would be ready to listen to her beg for it when she finally snapped.
My house was warm and toasty. Claire and I both took our coats and boots off at the door.
“I’m just going to take a quick shower first. Make yourself comfortable,” I told her.
I showered fast, resisting the urge to wrap my fist around my dick, even with images of Claire’s naked body playing in my head, the smell of her perfume lodged in my mind. Did I want her to come in here, strip down to nothing, and join me for some shower fun? Fuck yeah, I did. Did I think it was going to happen? Hell no. Unfortunately, I was right. She didn’t appear in my doorway, ready to tell me she was wrong and we should definitely hook up again.
