Chapter 18
18
KAISEN
I ’d decided something. I really, really wanted to kiss Dorie again. But she was shy—painfully so—and I knew she wasn’t going to grab me by the shirt and throw me on her bed. That wasn’t her style. And my usual charms? They weren’t going to work on her. I’d already figured that out.
So now what?
She was unlike any other woman I wanted. With them, it was pretty easy to figure out what made them tick. And I didn’t typically need to put a lot of effort into getting them in bed.
But Dorie was different.
I pulled into a spot in front of her condo.
“Uh, you don’t really need to come in,” she said. “I can figure out the machine. I just don’t have the time.”
I killed the engine and turned to her. “I told you I would install it. I’m not going to leave you with a box of parts and instructions in Italian at midnight. My gift shouldn’t be a burden on you. So let me help.”
Her cheeks flushed, and she looked down at her hands, fidgeting with the strap of her purse. “Right. Yeah. Okay.”
She stepped out. The rain had slowed to a drizzle, but it was still enough to make her hair cling to her gorgeous face.
Dorie unlocked the door to her condo. I followed her inside, immediately greeted by her cat who was doing his usual routine of hissing at me while simultaneously rubbing up against my legs. It was like the little guy couldn’t decide whether he wanted to hate me or adopt me.
“Sorry,” she said. “He really has a thing about men. Not just you. All of them.”
I decided I’d had enough of the cat’s mixed signals and scooped him up, holding him at eye level.
“Listen, buddy,” I said, staring into his unimpressed blue eyes. “I’m going to be around for a while, so you need to get used to it.”
Rick blinked at me, then let out a disgruntled meow before going limp in my hands. I set him down on the couch, and he immediately curled up into a ball, pretending to ignore me. I turned to Dorie, who looked uncomfortable. Or weirded out. She was avoiding eye contact and doing her very best to fade into the beige walls. I didn’t have to guess why. She was still reeling from the kiss in the car. I wasn’t going to apologize for it. I wasn’t sorry in the slightest.
And she did kiss me back.
It had been the result of building tension between us. I knew she felt it just as much as I did. We were both drawn to each other. We couldn’t ignore it.
“Alright,” I said, clearing my throat. “Let’s get this contraption hooked up. Do you have some basic tools?”
“Like?”
“Screwdrivers,” I said. “Probably a wrench. Where is the manual?”
Dorie shuffled over to the box in the corner of her small kitchen and grabbed the manual. She handed it to me, her fingers brushing mine for the briefest moment before she pulled back like she’d been burned.
I smirked but didn’t comment. Instead, I flipped through the manual, which was a lot of nonsense. “I don’t know why they make it so complicated.”
She shrugged, leaning against the counter. “I figured I could just wing it.”
“Have you seen how many moving parts this thing has?” I raised an eyebrow, trying not to laugh.
“It’s not like I have a choice,” she muttered, crossing her arms. “I can’t exactly afford to hire someone to do it for me.”
“Tools?”
“Um, yeah.”
She opened a drawer and pulled out a small toolbox that looked like it got very little use. “Here. It’s not much, but it’s all I’ve got.”
Inside I found a screwdriver, a pair of pliers, and a wrench that looked like it could be from a child’s play set. “Not a lot to choose from,” I said, trying to keep the skepticism out of my voice.
Dorie hovered nearby as I started unpacking the machine. She was nervous—I could see it in the way she chewed her bottom lip and kept glancing at me out of the corner of her eye. But there was something else there too, something that made my chest tighten. She was trying so hard to act normal, to pretend that kiss hadn’t rattled her, but it was written all over her face.
I knelt to start assembling the base of the machine.
“Do you, uh, need help? I can hold things or something.”
I glanced up at her. She looked so unsure, so unlike the fiery woman who’d kissed me back in the car. It was endearing, and it made me want to rattle her even more.
“Sure,” I said, holding up a piece of the machine. “Hold this steady while I screw it in.”
I spent another ten minutes screwing this and that and attaching the waterline.
“Why are you so handy if you sit in front of a computer all day?” Dorie asked after a while.
I glanced at her, smirking. “I don’t sit in front of a computer all day. Not anymore, at least.”
“Now you sit and count stacks of money?” she retorted.
I chuckled. “No. I have people who do that for me.”
“Then what do you do?”
I shrugged, tightening a bolt. “I run a company. Well, companies. Seely Enterprises has a lot of revenue streams. Real estate, tech, hospitality. I’ve got a pretty large property portfolio. I’m frugal where I need to be, but I like expensive watches and bottles of scotch.”
Dorie nodded, her expression thoughtful. “I bought myself a bracelet from Tiffany’s after I graduated from pastry school,” she said softly. “It cost more than my old rent in New York.”
I looked at her, surprised. “Why haven’t I seen you wear it?”
She shrugged, her cheeks turning pink. “I’m afraid to lose it. I just look at it sometimes, imagining what it would be like to have opportunities to dress up and wear it.”
So, she had a thing for jewelry. I wouldn’t have known if she hadn’t said something about it. The woman barely wore any makeup, let alone rings or necklaces. She had on a pair of simple diamond stud earrings but that was it. I filed that information away for later.
After I finished setting up the machine, I gestured for her to come closer. “Alright, let me show you how to use this thing.”
She hesitated, then stepped closer. “You know, you could’ve just replaced my old Mr. Coffee for fifty bucks at Target instead of going through all this hassle. This thing is all bells and whistles. It looks like it belongs a hundred years in the future.”
I chuckled. “Where’s the fun in a boring machine? Bells and whistles are good. I mean, a good cup of coffee in the morning can make or break your entire day.”
Having Dorie this close was doing weird things to my brain. I felt short of breath and my pulse quickened as she moved closer to me. Her natural scent was sweet and intoxicating. I was drawn to her in a way I couldn’t explain. That was when I knew I was done for. I wanted her. Badly . More than anything I’d ever wanted in my life.
I had a feeling I could probably take her to bed. That kiss said there was definitely a chance. But Dorie wasn’t a one-night stand. If I crossed that line, there was no going back. I would create a chasm between us that would cause problems for the actual wedding. I didn’t want the drama even if I wanted to taste her lips and explore all her curves.
I backed away from her like she was a live bomb about to go off and ruin my life.
“Thanks for the machine and setting it up,” she said. “And for saving me tonight. I needed a friend, and you were there. Thank you.”
Her friend .
I should’ve been happy that she liked me enough to consider us that close, but deep down, it felt like an insult. I wanted to be so much more than her friend. Even for a night. An hour. A single second. I debated pressing her up against the counter right then and there, doing things friends definitely shouldn’t do together.
The little devil on my shoulder was whispering in my ear, telling me it wouldn’t hurt to steal another kiss. Maybe get my hands on those beautiful breasts.
Just as I was about to make a move, her phone rang.
She looked at the screen. “Sorry.”
She walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. I tried not to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help overhearing bits of the conversation. She mentioned finding another letter on her door that morning and not knowing who to talk to. I heard her mention something about a lawyer and an investor. When she hung up, her expression was shattered.
“What was that about?” I asked. “Is everything okay?”
She hesitated. “There’s been some issues with a developer that wants to buy up most of the waterfront area. They’re trying to buy out the building. They are not kind. It started out friendly enough, but they are becoming more insistent. They’re pushing my fellow business owners, and some have caved to the pressure. But I’m not going to let them bully me. They keep leaving messages on my door as if I’m just suddenly going to change my mind.”
I frowned, my mind racing. I knew realtors and brokers—hell, I owned several brokerage firms. They could, would, and did bully until they got what they wanted. And they played dirty when they needed to.
“That’s up my alley,” I said. “I can look into it for you. Tell them to back off.”
She shook her head, giving me a sad smile. “No, it’s okay. I can handle it. They can’t bully me out of my building. I’m dug in.”
I wanted to argue, to tell her that she didn’t have to handle it alone, but I knew better than to push. Instead, I let it go, for now.
“Alright, but if you need anything, just let me know. I don’t mind.”
“Thanks.”
I could tell she was looking for a polite way to ask me to leave. “I’ll go,” I said.
“Thank you for setting up the machine,” she said with a smile. “It will come in handy tomorrow. I have an early start. I accidentally volunteered to help with the Easter egg hunt at Annie’s kid’s school.”
I cringed. “I don’t envy you.”
“You could help.” She grinned. “I mean, you’re always saying you’re bored here.”
“Me? At an Easter egg hunt?”
“Sure.”
“Okay,” I said. I had no idea what made me agree to do it.
“Great, meet me at the local elementary school at eleven,” she said.
“I’ll be there,” I said.
I left and found myself actually looking forward to the egg hunt. Not because I wanted to be surrounded by a bunch of little kids, but it was a chance to see her. I wanted to show her I wasn’t just a rich asshole. I could be a good guy. At least she made me want to try.
As I drove back to the house, I wondered if I should do some digging into her issues with the bakery. If I could help her, that would certainly win me some points.
And I immediately felt guilty for thinking like that. I was still working an angle. I wanted her to think I was amazing so she would be more inclined to get in bed with me.
When I pulled up to the house, I saw an SUV. Lights were on inside. “What the hell?”
Then I remembered Cullen telling me a couple of the other groomsmen were coming into town. They were going to be staying at the house since Cullen and Eliza were in their own place.
I was no longer going to be kicking around the house alone. But it also meant I was going to have to play the role of roommate, something I wasn’t sure I was going to be any good at.
I sighed and got out of the car, bracing myself for the inevitable small talk and forced camaraderie. As I walked up to the door, I could hear voices inside—low laughter, the clink of glasses. It sounded like they’d already helped themselves to the liquor cabinet.
Pushing the door open, I was greeted by two familiar faces. Liam, Cullen’s childhood friend, was sprawled on the couch, a glass of whiskey in hand. Beside him sat Marcus, who I’d met at a couple of business conferences over the years. They both looked up as I walked in.
“We were starting to think you’d bailed on us,” Liam said.
“Just had some things to take care of,” I said, tossing my keys onto the counter. “Didn’t realize you guys were coming in tonight.”
Marcus shrugged. “We figured there was no time like the present to get this party started.”
“I’m not sure how much partying you’re going to find here,” I said. “Pretty sleepy town. I’m headed up to bed. You guys found rooms?”
“We did.” Liam nodded. “Goodnight. See you in the morning.”