Chapter 4
NOLAN
“You didn’t have to book us separate rooms,” Bree insists when she pulls her hotel room door open at my knock. She steps aside, inviting me in. “Nana’s a bit of a bottle rocket, but I know how to handle her. I promise I’m not going to smother her in her sleep.”
“Smother—”
“You also didn’t have to get our luggage. We don’t exactly travel light.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Kat says, popping her head through the doorway to the adjoining room and wriggling her eyebrows at me. “You can use those big, strong muscles for me anytime you want.”
“I’d apologize for her, but really, it’s your own doing.
You encouraged her,” Bree says, shrugging.
Her hair is messier than it was before, probably from pulling off the hoodie that’s discarded on the bed.
I yearn to tug those chestnut locks free from her loose hair tie.
A few escaped strands hang several inches past her shoulders, right above her nipples.
I pretend not to notice those peaks pressing against the tight purple fabric of her long-sleeved shirt, but I’m only a man.
“Your rooms are connected, so you won’t get lonely unless you want to,” I explain.
“And it’s perfect in case I want to entertain a gentleman suitor,” Kat adds, winking at me.
“Nana!”
I bite back a silent laugh as I position Bree’s suitcase on the luggage stand.
Fuck, I’ve smiled more in the last two hours around these women than I have since I moved to North Haven six months ago.
I’m not a stuck-up grump by nature, but having a woman call off an engagement because she admitted she was only after my trust fund has left a lingering sour taste in my mouth.
Until tonight, I thought the pucker from it might be permanent.
“I like you, Kat,” I say. “You’ve got spunk.”
“You hear that, Bree? The man says I’ve got spunk.”
“I heard him, Nana.”
I move into the adjoining room to situate Nana’s suitcase, feeling suddenly despondent at the thought of leaving them. Of not seeing Bree until morning.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
Bree is my employee—a temporary one at that. She’s not my…
Your what?
I step back into Bree’s room and force myself into boss mode. “I’ll have a printed copy of that itinerary delivered to your room tonight. We need to get an early start—”
“I have a better idea,” Bree says, unzipping her suitcase and shuffling through what looks like a crumpled pile of laundry.
Is anything folded? Or at least rolled? The lack of organization living inside that bag is almost too much for my tired eyes to handle.
Fuck, I hope this isn’t a reflection of her work ethic.
I consider giving Tony a call, but it’s four hours later on the east coast, and he was always the early-to-bed type. Besides, there’s no time to find another web designer. One way or another, I have to make this work.
“What’s your better idea?” I ask cautiously.
“Take me to the building site.”
“When?”
“Right now. Well, give me ten minutes to grab a shower. I need to rinse off the travel grime before I go anywhere else.”
“You want to go tonight?”
“Tony told me you were the workaholic type. Do you not burn the midnight oil?”
“I do, but—”
“Great. You can hang out with Nana until I’m ready to go. I won’t be long.”
“Why tonight?” I ask, confused by this sudden shift as she moves past me toward the bathroom. Her tropical scent might be fading, but its original effects are just as strong.
“There’s twenty-four-hour daylight right now, right?”
“More or less—”
She removes her purple-rimmed glasses and sets them on the counter, revealing the deep emerald color of her eyes as she grabs the doorknob. Before she pulls it closed, she says, “So why not tonight?”
Bree doesn’t give me the opportunity to answer that question before she shuts the door in my face. The second I hear the spray of water, I move away before I start picturing water droplets running down all those delicious curves.
Too late.
“Bree’s a genius,” Kat says, reappearing in the doorway wearing a nightgown that goes to her ankles. Wow, she changed fast. “You’ll see.”
“Is she always this…” I glance at the open suitcase but immediately avert my eyes when I notice a pair of purple lace panties hanging off the side. It’s impossible not to picture her wearing them, that ass popped in my face…
“Messy?” Kat finishes, thankfully yanking me out of that forbidden fantasy land. Fuck, I need a good night’s sleep. But tell that to the woman intent on visiting a pile of dirt before we call it a night. “Yes. But it’s part of her creative process.”
“I’m taking your word for it.”
“Nolan, you seem like a smart man. One who does all the extra credit assignments,” Nana says.
“Guilty.”
“Then I trust you’ve researched Bree’s work.”
“I have.”
“She did that all by herself. She doesn’t outsource a thing.”
“Really?” Her websites are stunning. Either she’s stealing someone else’s credit or she’s incredibly talented.
“Really. Just don’t get tripped up trying to control her process. It won’t go well for you if you do.” She hardly takes a breath before adding, “Now tell me, where’s the best spot in this town to see a moose?”