“I couldn’t ask…” she started as she thought about all the work that had to be done at the cottage.
“I offered,” he countered quickly.
“Why?” She shook her head, not fully understanding why he was offering his help.
Again, he looked uncomfortable as he avoided her gaze.
“It beats helping my brother out today,” he answered with a shrug.
“I thought you and Jacob got along.” She leaned against the edge of the table and crossed her arms over her chest. Everyone in town knew the Jordan clan was as thick as thieves.
Here, in the daylight, she could take her time and fully assess the man. Not that she hadn’t before, but after the other night, she realized she’d never really given him a full chance.
He, of course, had the standard good looks that all the Jordan men had. He was probably the tallest out of all of them, though Iian Jordan did tower over everyone. She figured Conner was easily six-four or six-five.
His dark hair was a deal curlier than his younger brother’s.
“We get along great,” he said easily as his eyes met hers. “It’s Jacob and Rose that don’t get along. They fight like… well, siblings. The thought of getting between them while they work on this project scares me.” He shivered clearly for show since he had a smile pasted on his lips. “Besides, if I tell my mother that I’m helping you fix up the cottage, she won’t pressure me as much to moderate the fights I know are ensuing up at the job site.”
“Jacob and Rose?” she asked, watching him closely.
“Rose Derby, a friend of the family. My uncle hired her fresh out of college as head architect to design the new neighborhood. As I said, she’s like a sister to us.”
“Jacob doesn’t get along with her?” She couldn’t imagine it. Jacob was easily the most outgoing Jordan man she knew. He was always laughing and joking about something.
Conner chuckled and leaned a little closer. “Riley’s always joking they should just sleep together, then the fights would end.”
Kara smiled. “I had wondered if he had someone.”
Instantly, Conner’s eyes narrowed as he leaned back.
Kara could tell that he was thinking she had an interest in his brother and for a moment thought about telling him she didn’t. But something made her keep her mouth shut. She liked thinking that he was a little jealous. After all, that would mean that he had an interest in her. Right?
“If you want to help,” she continued with a shrug, “we were going to pull up the old carpet. It stinks.” She frowned. “It means pulling out all the furniture thought and, well, Robin and I haven’t had the time or the energy.”
“I’m your man then.” His smile was back. “If you show me what you want done, I can start today.”
“Today?” She thought of the mess she’d left in her bedroom and wondered about the rest of the place. Robin was the tidy one. Kara wasn’t a slob, she’d just been busy that morning. Robin had taken the truck into Edgeview early that morning to get supplies, and Kara had been tasked with picking up the flowers today. Actually, the more she thought about it, it had been her only task. She’d expected the job to take several hours since she would be walking back and forth to the flower shop.
There were parts of her that wished she still had her old car, which she’d sold to pay for the new BlueStar platinum series natural gas range for the kitchens. Then she remembered that everywhere she had to go in town was within walking distance. Besides, they depended on that stove for the business.
“Sure, I mean…” Conner broke into her thoughts. “I’ll have to head back and grab some tools first. If you want paint, I can swing by and grab that and some supplies.” He was thinking out loud, which gave her more opportunity to watch him.
With the sunlight streaking into the building, she could see honey colored specks mixed in his blue eyes. She got so lost in looking at them that she lost track of his conversation and when he stopped talking, she had to blink a few times to try and catch up.
“Sure,” she answered and started towards the door. “You can start in the living room. That carpet is the worst. We haven’t picked out what we’re going to replace it with, but at this point, exposed boards are better.”
“Some of these old homes have hardwood underneath. The last time I was in the cottage—”
“You’ve been in there before?” She stopped on the pathway between the two buildings and he almost bumped into the back of her.
“Yeah, I knew the Rogers family. They had a son around my age. He left shortly after high school and joined the Marines.”
“Of course.” She started walking again. Everyone in Pride knew everyone. She should have thought of that before.
When they stepped through the front door, she glanced around with a slight groan. Yup, the place was a mess.
Conner instantly knelt inside the door and yanked the carpet back.
“Yup.” He smiled up at her. “There’s some nice hardwood under here. I bet we can sand it down and stain it and this place will look good as new.” Then he glanced around. “How do you feel about the yellow walls?”
She winced. “Hate them. Both Robin and I were thinking of going with a light sky blue or a robin’s egg blue.” She walked over and grabbed the paint samples they had chosen.
Conner held them up and squinted his eyes as he looked around the room with them in front of his eyes.
“Sky blue.” He held it up and then moved closer to her. “Squint your eyes and look between the color and the walls.”
He was standing so close to her now that she could almost hear his heartbeat. She tried to focus on doing as he asked, but then his soft sexy scent filled her senses and her knees almost buckled.
“Okay,” she said after a moment, not caring really what color the walls were just as long as the dirty yellow was gone.
“I’ll head into town and pick up the supplies.” He glanced around and tucked the paint sample into his pocket. “If you want to get the smaller items out of the room, I’ll help you move the bigger ones into the dining area until the flooring and paint are done.”
“Sure.” She glanced around.
“You weren’t doing anything else today?” he asked suddenly.
“No, thanks to you, my one job today is done,” she answered with a smile.
His smile was quick. “Good.” He turned towards the door, then stopped. His eyes ran over her slowly. “You may want to put on some work clothes. Even though you look great in it, I’d hate for your dress to get dirty.”
She glanced down and nodded slowly.
When he walked out of the door, she slid onto the sofa and melted.
Damn. How could the simple look from him do that to her? She’d seen him around town for over a year and had hardly given him a second thought other than to recognize he was a sexy piece of meat. Now that he’d given her a little attention, her body was practically bursting into flames when he looked at her.
She fanned her face, and took a moment for the heat to leave her face. She got up and rushed around the room, tossing all their personal items into their own rooms.
Less than an hour later, when she heard Conner’s truck pull up outside, she had everything removed from the living room except for the big furniture. She’d also changed out of her skirt and blouse into a pair of worn jeans and a tank top under the oversized sweatshirt she always wore when she painted or sketched.