Chapter 9 #2
They walked up the porch stairs, and she admired the mix of petunia and geraniums in the baskets. “Did the owner buy all these flowers? Who waters them?”
“I bought them,” he said, ducking his head slightly. “I water and fertilize them according to my phone’s alarms and my mom’s instructions. They remind me of my mom.” He smiled, but it had a tinge of embarrassment. “I suppose that’s not very manly.”
Chloe wanted to protest. Flower maintenance might not be viewed by Jaxon, Dylan, Adam, or Smith as very ‘manly’, but she appreciated the gorgeous flowers. The fact that Davin took good care of them, and the fact that they reminded him of his mom, was endearing.
He swung open the door, gesturing her in.
She stopped in the foyer that was open to the massive living area and gaped.
The view was every bit as incredible as she’d imagined.
The sweeping lawn and the ocean captured her attention initially.
There were more flowerpots on the wood deck out back, and flowering vines twisting from an overhead wood covering.
A hot tub rested next to a cushioned patio set and an outdoor table, all sheltered from possible rainstorms by the overhang.
Hot tub? Could they soak in that hot tub, or would they be in danger?
She pulled her gaze from the exterior views and slowly trailed it around the house.
A staircase was on her right, ending in a floating balcony that led to several rooms on the left, above the garage area.
The rest of the main living area was an open two stories.
There was an office on her immediate left and she could see a door that probably led to a mud room or laundry room and the garage past the kitchen on the far left.
The living room was combined with the kitchen and dining area.
It was spacious and took up most of the main level.
“Wow,” she whispered. “This is even more beautiful than I imagined.”
The kitchen cabinets, window trims, fireplace mantle, and bookshelves were a modern white with gray granite counter tops. The floor was a grayish brown hardwood that she couldn’t identify. The furniture was gray leather, the appliances stainless steel, and everything looked expensive and clean.
“It’s a beautiful home. I wish they’d let me buy it, but …” He shrugged.
Chloe glanced sharply at him. He did want to buy a house on the island?
Could that be why he had spent so much time with Robinette?
She immediately dismissed the idea as wishful thinking.
Maybe he’d fallen in love with the Windows to my Soul home, as named by her friend Teresa, and wanted to purchase it to be a rental of his own, but she highly doubted he was relocating to the island.
He’d told her he traveled to do his ‘deep-dive research’ and usually stayed in that location while he wrote the series.
“They won’t even let me use the garage,” he explained. “It’s all locked up. Apologies for not parking in there and keeping you safer.”
“I feel plenty safe.”
Their gazes caught and held. She edged just a bit closer. He released the suitcase handle, set the grocery bags on the floor, and straightened. “Third of all…”
“We’re back to that, and you’re on number three?” Chloe smiled, but her voice was unsteady. She bit at the inside of her lip to hide the slight tremble.
“Yes, we are. To recap, my number one was that I’m your friend who you know very well.”
That darn ‘friend’ moniker again.
“And my number two was you should trust me.” His grayish blue eyes were piercing.
“I suppose number three could actually be considered an appendix to number two … I promise I am not going to use you for wild experiments.” He smiled, but then he grew serious.
“I would never do anything to hurt you, Chloe. You’re safe with me. ”
Chloe swallowed. She was safe. With Davin.
There was an edge of danger to that safety. Was it because they were in danger from whoever hurt her, possibly some Central American escaped convict crime lord, or was it because Davin was a danger to her heart?
“Thank you,” she managed. Glancing around to catch her breath from the intensity in his storm-cloud blue eyes, she gestured to the beautiful, spacious, and light-filled living space. “You have a place like Windows to my Soul to write in, but you come into my shop to write each afternoon instead?”
He nodded.
“Why is that?”
He gave her a smile that was enticing and adorable at the same time. Like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Why do you think?”
“Um …” She bit at her lip. “Being surrounded by books inspires you?”
He chuckled and eased half a step closer. “Something about the bookstore inspires me, yes.” He studied her face and she felt the compliment clear through.
“Hmm,” she said noncommittally, wanting him to admit outright he was interested. “So it’s too quiet and beautiful here, and you get distracted by the view?”
A few more inches of space was eradicated between them. He didn’t touch her, but she could smell the sweet tang of his cologne and feel the warmth of his breath. “The view at the bookstore is breathtaking,” he said in a deep timbre, “but it does distract me.”
He always sat in the chair that looked straight at her counter and desk.
“The view of Main Street?”
He chuckled and then he did the opposite of what she hoped. Instead of leaning in or giving her another compliment or maybe even capturing her lips with his, he cleared his throat and stepped back, lifting the grocery sacks off the floor.
Striding to the kitchen, he set the food on the countertop. “Let me get you settled in your room then we can figure out lunch with the surfeit of food from your house and mine.”
He smiled, his dimple showing. How could he be so endearing but so clueless at making a move when they were in the perfect moment? And who used words like surfeit?
Chloe’s shoulders rounded. He might not want to make a move. If he was dating Robinette, it was all kinds of wrong for Chloe to want him to ditch Robinette and go for her. She never wanted to take a page out of the book of someone who had hurt her so badly, but it was far too tempting to try.
“All right,” she managed.
Davin gestured to the stairs. She walked in front of him, hoping he was simply clueless around women. If that was the problem, she could help him overcome inexperience or lack of confidence around the opposite sex. They could work on it together.
Wouldn’t that be incredible? To be the only woman for the right man for her.
Sadly, she doubted that was the case.