Page 15 of Pretend You Love Me
“Sort of,” he says as he hops out of the cab.
A big yellow blur flashes by, and then I see it jump up onto Kip.
“Calm down, Blue.” The dog licks him on the face. “What have I told you about jumping?”
So he tells the dog tocalm downtoo. Perfect.
Blue is turning in circles now in front of Kip, and Kip is smiling. It’s the first time I’ve seen him smile, and holy hell, it lights something on fire inside me. His eyes flick over my direction, and I cross my arms over my chest becausethat lookwiththatsmile has made my lady parts all stand at attention including my nipples.
Traitors.
Blue sees me and bounds my direction. I’m thankful for the distraction.
“Don’t you even think about it, Blue,” Kip calls. Blue slows down but continues to walk toward me—tongue hanging out of his mouth and tail furiously wagging.
“Oh, I bet you’re a terrible watchdog.” I reach down and pet him on the head.
“Follow me,” Kip says without looking back. He leads me up the steps to a huge wraparound porch and pushes the front door open. It isn’t locked.
I hesitate.
“Is this where I’m staying?”I ask.
“Yes.”
“With you?”
“No. I live there.” He points to a little cabin behind the house.
“Oh, who lives here?”
“You at the moment,” he says as he walks inside.
“By myself? I really can’t afford this whole place. It’s huge, and I don’t...”
My voice trails off as soon as I follow him into the cabin. It’s even more stunning inside. Large windows overlook the most gorgeous, sparkling blue lake. The kitchen is enormous with high end appliances and marble countertops. From where I’m standing, I can just make out the patio with hanging lights and long farm tables.
“No one lives here?”
“Just you.”
“Do you rent it out?”I ask.
“Nope.”
“Why don’t you live here?” I ask, furrowing my brow. I’m missing something here.
“You ask too many questions. Has anyone told you that before?”
“Has anyone told you that you need to work on your people skills?”I fire back.
“A million times.”
“I’m not surprised,” I say, flatly.
He drops my bags by the kitchen and heads to the cabinet. After he grabs something and pours a glass of water, he walks over to me and holds out his hands.
“What is this?”
