“Not the way you tell it.” She lifted a box. “I always knew you’d make it happen, Colt. You’re one of the smartest, most motivated people I’ve ever met.” And with that, she headed down the hall.
For only a moment, Colt dropped his head. The short laugh took him by surprise. Charish had sounded proud of him.
It pleased him, but also left him...insulted?
After all, she’d dumped him. Cut him loose. Moved on with her life. So why would she...
Hell, he wasn’t sure what he felt, and he knew he wouldn’t figure it out today. Finishing up with the TV, he used the remote to make sure it worked, then went after her.
He found her putting sheets on a bed.
Oh, he knew what he felt now. And it was just the focus he needed.
CHAPTER THREE
“COLT?” THE HEATED look in his eyes sent awareness flooding through her. Dropping the sheet, Charish put a hand to her heart and back-stepped.
Her reaction brought him to a halt and his mouth tightened. “You’re afraid of me?”
“No, of course not.” She was more afraid of herself because she knew if he got too close, if he made a single move, she’d revert to that adoring high school girl she used to be, forgetting all her plans. “You just surprised me.”
Eyes narrowing, he leaned back on the wall. “Forgot I was here, huh?”
Like any woman could forget him. “You know better. I was just lost in thought.” About you. About how we used to be. “I drove most of the night, and after that delicious burger, I’m fading fast.”
With new determination, he stepped forward. “Then let me help. You’ll be that much closer to a nap.”
Forget a nap. Once she wrapped it up, she planned to crash in the bed to sleep for ten hours. “I think I’ve imposed enough for one day.”
“No imposition.” He went to the bed and lifted a corner of a crisp white sheet, then expertly hooked it over a corner of the mattress. “We’re old friends, right?”
If only she could think of him as a mere friend, but that didn’t seem possible. Every time she looked at him, memories intruded...how he’d kissed her, the feel of his hands moving over her body, tentatively at first, then with hunger.
Losing her virginity.
They’d been so young, so curious, and so incredibly explosive together. She’d been with other men since then—obviously, given her present circumstances—but no one had ever replaced Colt.
She’d long ago accepted that no one ever could.
He snapped the top sheet, casting her a glance as he smoothed it out. Gaze knowing, a little too intimate, he asked, “You still with me, Charish?”
“Sorry.” Hoping to cover her distraction, she took care of her side of the bed. “I’m just amazed that you do everything so well. From what I remember of your bedroom, your bed was never made.”
“I was a slob,” he admitted. “I’ve gotten a little better, so dirty clothes don’t pile up on the floor anymore and I tend to keep the pizza boxes and cola cans in the kitchen.”
Her mouth twitched. His bedroom had been a disaster zone when he was in high school and lived with his dad. The rest of the house was orderly, but stepping into Colt’s room was like entering an alternate reality where organization didn’t exist.
She hadn’t been in his room often, but she remembered the mess because it was so opposite to everything she knew about Colt. Overall, he was a perfectionist. When it came to his room? All hell broke loose.
“What caused the big change?” she asked.
“Owning my own stuff, I guess. Since I pay for it, I want to keep it nice.”
“Makes perfect sense.” She didn’t have a lot of her own things yet, but she valued what was given to her. Right now, she was all about priorities, and that meant job security, getting enough money in the bank, setting up the baby’s room—
Without waiting for her, Colt shook out a blanket. “These days, the biggest messes are in the laundry and the kitchen, where Diesel keeps his balls, chews, and toys.”
Time to get her head back in the here and now. “That dog was always such a character. I’ve thought about getting a dog of my own, but I’m not sure I’ll be around enough once I start working.” Teasing, she added, “Not everyone has multiple households to welcome a dog.”
“True. Diesel has it made.” As they finished up, Colt said, “It just occurred to me. Shouldn’t you use the master bedroom?”
“That’s Mom and Dad’s room, you know?” Plus it’d be easier to fit in the crib, a rocking chair, and changing table for the baby.
“What will you use it for?”
Oh, um...she hadn’t expected that question. She put him off with a lame shrug—as if she didn’t already know.
Unconvinced, he asked, “Is there a half bath in there?”
“I know some of the houses around here have them, but I only have the hall bath and this room is closer to it.”
“I bet it would be easy to add one. I’ll take a look.” And just like that, he headed out of the room.
Shock kept Charish still for three valuable seconds, then she raced after him. “Colt, wait—”
Too late. The house was small, and by the time she darted around the bed and reached the hall, he already stood in the open doorway to the master bedroom.
The set of his shoulders, the stiffness of his neck, showed his surprise.
Rubbing her palms nervously on her shorts, Charish reminded herself that he would have found out soon enough. But today? She would have liked a week, maybe a month, before all of Clearbrook learned her personal business.
On the heels of that thought was another: her life was her own and she wasn’t accountable to anyone.
Moving up behind him, she peered into the room around his wide shoulders. In the center of the floor was the crib, still in a box, with a new crib mattress atop it.
“I’ll have to put it all together,” she said, making sure not a single note of uncertainty sounded in her voice. She wasn’t ashamed of having her baby. In fact, she was ecstatic about it.
Slowly, Colt stepped into the room, still not looking at her. Hands on his hips, he dropped his head forward. With a small laugh, he said, “You’re pregnant.”
Indignation ran up her spine. What did that laugh mean? “Yes.”
He shot her a look that turned into a slow perusal over her body. “It doesn’t show.”
Notching her chin higher, she stared back. “I’m not that far along.”