6
Well, now that she’d made a complete fool of herself, Glory wondered how to proceed. Deflecting seemed her best bet. “I should
head back to Callie’s. I promised her she wouldn’t have to lift a finger.”
“How about we go together?”
“Because . . . why?”
“You agreed to let me stay for a while, right? Well, I’ll need some clothes.” He put up a hand. “I know. You’d prefer I go
around in just jeans, but really, Glory, think of Old Lady Simmons. What if she has a weak heart?”
Though she knew he was teasing, he wasn’t wrong. She’d love to have Kam strutting his goods for her from dusk to dawn. That
could be her fantasy, except that reality intruded. “We could drive separately.” That would help to quell suspicion.
“Trust me, Callie, Tanner, and Addie, all three would think that was silly. There’s no reason to take both cars, so how about
I drive? I have more room.”
“How much stuff do you need?”
“I have the essentials boxed up already.” He leaned back against the counter. “But you need to understand, I’m not moving
in on you. You won’t have me underfoot forever.”
Bummer. Since she couldn’t say that, she lifted her brows in silent query.
“I have my own place. An apartment. Very near here, in fact. When we head out, I can show you.”
Very near sounded good to her. Not as good as him being underfoot, as he’d said, but still. “I’d like that.” For now, she needed to understand the scope of his . . . Well, not a proposition. “So what will you be bringing here?”
“Some clothes, toothbrush, razor. That sort of thing.”
That was not excitement zinging around in her heart. “Sounds reasonable.”
“I’ll get everything moved to my apartment over the next few days, then while I’m here, if I need something, I can easily
run over there and grab it.”
Glory nodded. “Okay, then.”
A new sultry, suggestive light came into his eyes. “I’ll be handy to have around. I cook, you know—not like Addie, but you
won’t starve.”
“I’ll want to see Ted and Ed again, too.”
“We’ll go together.” He stepped away from the counter. “Tonight, though, I think Addie would like us to eat with her. What
do you say?”
“I say we have a lot to get done in the next few hours, so how about you show me the apartment now?”
Dazed at how easily he’d convinced Glory to let him stay over, Kam unlocked his apartment door and walked in. Had she agreed
because Mike scared her? Because she’d enjoyed their frenzied hallway sex?
Or was she starting to care for him?
Not knowing kept his thoughts churning this way and that. He cared, damn it. Far more than he’d expected. In a single night, everything had changed. The threat of another man hurting
her—and yeah, that awesome sex against the wall—had conspired against him, making him face up to unfamiliar feelings. Things
he didn’t want to feel. Emotions he hadn’t known existed.
He’d gotten the apartment for independence, to prove—to himself more than anyone else—that he was more than others had so
often claimed, more than the genetic makeup of an absurdly awful father.
More, damn it, than either of his parents had expected.
Seeing the apartment now, he accepted that it wasn’t much. Not big. Not open. Not new. Nothing like her stylish house, but
he refused to be self-conscious about it. “Once I get more furniture in here, put some stuff on the walls and things like
that, it’ll look better.”
Keen interest took Glory’s gaze everywhere, scrutinizing in minute detail. “It’s nice.”
Scoffing would only make him feel more absurd. “I haven’t done much yet. Just got furniture dropped off and sort of shoved
around.” The couch was against a wall with end tables shoved up against it. His TV, the only new item, sat across the room
on a peach crate. “We had the wedding, and Addie’s been so emotional about it . . .”
A smile preceded her teasing, “Forever blaming Addie.”
Skipping past that, especially since he knew it was true, Kam concentrated on the living space. “You’ve given me some ideas.”
“Sexual ideas?”
Her quick wit continued to amuse him. “So you always have sex on the brain, huh?”
“I . . . What? No.”
The flustered denial certainly gave him ideas. “So only around me?”
Folding her arms, she pinned him with a direct look. “Ideas for the apartment, Kam?”
“A mirror and table just inside the door. Maybe with a bowl or something to drop my keys and change. New bedding? I don’t
know. I never much thought about pillow shams and all that goofy shit but seeing your place so polished put the ideas in my
head.”
“You don’t have nice bedding at Addie’s?”
“A navy blue corduroy bedspread, probably ten . . . no, thirteen years old.” Mouth twisting to the side, he admitted, “It
was a big deal when I got a full-size bed instead of the twin I’d been sleeping on.” And that had been better than anything
he’d had before coming to live with Addie and Tanner. “Addie went all out, getting me new sheets and pillows. Damn, those
pillows were big and soft.” Such a great memory, one he hadn’t thought of in a while. “I can still remember that first night,
settling my head back, pulling up that soft corduroy spread . . . I was on top of the world.”
Somehow, his reminiscing brought her back to him, now with her gaze soft and misty. “I love seeing your life in the way you
tell it.” Her small palm settled over his heart. “I can almost feel it with you.”
Seeing her like this did crazy things to him. It was such a contrast to his first impression of her, when she’d seemed too
perfect, icy and untouchable. “How was it when you first moved in with Callie?”
The gleam faded from her eyes. She ducked her head, hiding her face from him.
“They were really kind. Before I ever got there, they converted the guest bedroom for me. It was this huge room with a massive walk-in closet and my own bathroom. Everything was brand new. I could smell the newness, know what I mean?”
Just as she’d felt his description, he felt hers, and his heart cracked a little at what sounded cold, too formal, and detached.
To lighten the mood, he asked, “Was everything pink and fluffy?”
“Of course not. It was stylish, like something out of a designer magazine. Beige with accents of black and gold.”
For a kid’s room?
“It was really beautiful . . . but it kind of overwhelmed me.”
“Were your folks well-to-do like Callie’s?”
“No.”
The simplicity of that answer said a lot, all of it adding to the ache in his chest. “Did you—”
Stepping away from him, she faced the living room and asked with a deliberately brightened tone, “So what are you envisioning
here?”
Never call him insensitive. Questions bombarded his brain, but he put them on hold so she could relax. “I couldn’t pull off
anything as nice as what you’ve got going on at your place, but I wouldn’t mind some finishing touches.”
“You’re the one who put it all together for me.”
“Not all of it.” Just a few things she’d already bought but hadn’t gotten around to unboxing.
“I could help you.” Diving in with enthusiasm, she started a tour around his space. “It would be fun, right? You can tell
me your ideas, your preferences—”
“In bed?”
This time, she only said, “Ha!” and proceeded into his bedroom to gaze at the white walls and a window. “I’m guessing you’re
a neutral color scheme kind of guy, but pops of color are always great.” Turning to him with eagerness, she asked, “What’s
your favorite color?”
“I’ve never really thought about it.”
In response to that, she touched his chest. “You wear dark green a lot.”
Did he? At the moment, with her looking at him like that, he couldn’t recall.
“T-shirts, sneakers, even a few button-down shirts.”
“Noticed that, did you?” How long had she been noticing him?
With a nod, she glanced around again. “I have some great ideas.”
“Hate to break it to you, babe.” His hand over hers kept her close. “We have very different budgets.”
“I understand that, but that’s another thing we could work on.”
Skeptical, he asked, “What?”
“The budget. You already have the bones in place. Nice neutral couch and some tables, bedroom furniture, blinds on the windows.
We could work on one room at a time. What do you think?”
Testing the waters, he said, “That could take a while.”
Her chin notched up. “I’m patient. Are you?”
Patience wasn’t the issue. What she suggested was more of a commitment. Not necessarily romantic, but he wouldn’t mind any
excuse to lock down more time with her.
Lacing his fingers through hers, he led her back out of the room. “I was thinking of a round dining table here, in front of
the patio doors, since the kitchen is so small.”
The sight of her top teeth sinking into her bottom lip told him that wasn’t the right idea.
“Or,” she said judiciously, “you could set up a narrow rectangular table that could act as a divider between the living room
and this space. It would naturally lead people to the kitchen, or the hall to the bath and bedroom. Then when you decorate
the balcony—”
“I was just going to put out a lawn chair.”
“You could bring just a few elements inside, so the space feels like it flows from the outside in.”
“Yeah . . . I have no idea what you’re talking about.” But he enjoyed her animated expression as she shared it.
“I have an idea.”
The way she said that alarmed him. “No.”
“It’ll be my gift to you!”
“Hell, no.”
“But you’re playing bodyguard!” Jerking free of his hold, she propped her hands low on her hips.
“Also bed companion. Fantasy fulfiller.” Snarky grin in place, he overly enunciated, “Lover.” Closing the space between them made him feel better, even if it caused her to stiffen. “You don’t see me asking for compensation
for that.”
She went soft and sweet. “It would cost me a fortune.”
“You little flatterer.” Now he had all kinds of ideas, like getting her on his bed, and she could even keep her silly rules
in place.
“Be serious, Kam.”
“I am serious.” Serious about having her again, knowing waiting until tonight would be excruciating.
“You’ll be staying with me when you could be sprucing up your own place.”
“Not really, because I ran out of spruce-up money already. It’ll be a few paychecks before I do more.”
“Oh.”