Page 7 of New Girl in Town
Was he flirting with me? I opened my mouth to speak and saw the way he licked his lips at the gesture. The way he leaned toward me when I shifted my weight.
Oh. My. God.
He was.
The realization stunned me, and I managed to stammer out a jumbled, “Well—ah, I just…”
He smiled at my mini meltdown and then shook his head. “Would you like to see the apartment now, Aurora? It’s on the second floor.”
I was grateful for his mercy at not pushing me further while I grappled with the realization that this man was attracted to me. It had been so long since I’d held a man’s interest like this. I sucked in a breath, basking in its warmth for a second more. I wasn’t ready to let this go, not yet, so I pushed forward with a smile.
“Do I get your name now, or do I have to sign the lease for that information?” I asked, following him up the stairs. My eyes dropped to his toned ass. The universe had to be playing a practical joke, throwing us together again like this. He’d been on my mind since I’d settled into Melinda’s, and the wine-filled catch-up hadn’t done much to dampen my initial attraction to him.
There were hot men. Attractive ones, even. Handsome, too. But this man? This man was gorgeous. And that meant I couldn’t be blamed for letting my eyes do a little wandering when presented with the opportunity. I was a hot-blooded woman in her prime, after all.
“Ahem,” he coughed when we reached the second floor, “my eyes are up here.” He pointed to his face.
My eyes darted up to meet his and I pushed down the embarrassment I felt at being caught checking someone out. Playing it safe hadn’t done much for me, so why not allow myself some indulgences now that I was able to? If I had read this man’s body language right, he was more than interested in any attention I might send his way. Forcing my eyes to stay locked with his, I stepped up the last step until I was just inches away from him and smiled.
“Where’s the fun in that?”
His eyebrows shot up, and for a second neither of us moved. It was so still and quiet around us that I panicked, my mind already jumping to a way to allow us both a graceful exit from a situation I had somehow misread.
Maybe I could blame the long road trip? Would he believe it was altitude sickness?
“You want to have fun with me, Aurora?”
My heart stopped at the rich timbre of his voice, just a shade lower than it had been only seconds before. My mouth went dry when he leaned into my space, his eyes moving over my face with such naked intent that I swore I felt the ghost of a touch against my lips and cheeks.
“Maybe,” I whispered.
He licked his lips. I had to bite back a groan. This man knew what he was doing.
“Name’s Grant,” he said. He stood so close that I could feel his voice rumbling.
“You got a second name or are you doing the first name only thing, à la Cher?”
He laughed, one hand coming up to slap his chest. This man laughed with his whole body, so hard that you felt it and it made you smile too.
“My name is Grant St. John, and you are funny,” he told me as he walked backward toward the door to the apartment. “Funny and beautiful.”
I worked to keep my pulse from speeding up to the speed of light. “I try,” I demurred, a smile still on my face as he unlocked the door and stepped aside for me to enter.
“I better watch out,” Grant sighed from behind me.
I froze and looked over my shoulder with a raised eyebrow. “Oh? And why is that?”
He nodded at the room behind me. It was all pine wood and cream walls with lots of natural light and what looked to be turn-of-the-century fixtures. “Because if you like this place, and I’m just saying you won’t find anything better in town, there’s something you should know.”
“And what’s that?” I asked, my eyes already moving off to take in the adorable kitchen, complete with cream tile and a silver tin backsplash.
“I live here and that means we’ll be—”
“Neighbors,” I said, finishing his sentence with a voice that sounded far too breathy.
He leaned against the doorway and shot me another devastating smile. “I’ll be right downstairs.”
“You will?”
“Mmm,” he said, and I didn’t miss how his blue eyes dropped to move over the length of me. “How do you feel about that?”
I held out a hand and took a step toward him. “I’ll take it. Where do I sign?”
