Other than to close the door, she didn’t move. “I was about to pour myself coffee, would you like some?”
How long she’d let him stick around tonight was anyone’s guess, but if she was offering him coffee, she intended to at least let him stay for more than five minutes.
“Sounds good.”
He caught another whiff of jasmine when she passed by him, and the memory of Courtney resting her head on his shoulder while they sat on her balcony formed. They’d done it countless times during their two weeks together, sometimes talking about whatever came to mind and other times simply enjoying the view. His eyes dropped to her feet as he followed her. It didn’t surprise him that she was barefoot. On vacation, she’d left her shoes and sandals behind whenever possible.
“Did you have dinner in the city?” Courtney entered the kitchen and removed two coffee mugs from a cabinet. Unlike his brother’s kitchen, which consisted of sharp angles, black cabinets, and a lot of chrome, this one incorporated dark woods, granite, and an inverted ceiling that echoed back to the grand hotel the building had once been.
“We went to Mon Soleil. Laura loves it there.” He’d meet Laura at the age of ten, and even though she treated him like a son, he’d never called her “Mom.”
Picking up the French press coffeepot, she poured coffee into the mugs. “That’s possibly my favorite restaurant in Providence.” Courtney added cream and sugar to her drink, then took a sip, but her eyes never looked away from him as he fixed his coffee. “Unless you visit Paris, you won’t find better French cuisine.” Rather than set down her mug, she gestured toward the doorway with it. “We’ll be more comfortable in the living room.”
Josh took that as another good sign she didn’t intend to kick him out anytime soon.
A unique combination of wood, leather, and various shades of red filled the living room. A door in the left-hand corner led out onto a balcony that wrapped around the corner of the building. Tonight it would be far too cold to sit out there, but in the spring and summer it would be a fabulous spot to sit and enjoy breakfast or dinner. Floor-to-ceiling windows provided an excellent view of the city, and during the day they would allow natural light to fill the room.
“This afternoon when you said you’d thought about calling me several times, I wasn’t sure I believed you.” She opted to sit on the sofa and set her coffee down on the end table.
On his way over, he’d run through various conversation starters. He’d settled on asking her about how her new job was going. Evidently, she had ideas of her own, and he was fine with that.
“Honestly, Josh, I’m still not sure I do,” she added with a slight shrug.
Considering the favor he’d asked her prior to telling her that, he understood her reluctance. “I—”
“But if you were being honest, I guess I should be too.” She sounded conflicted about whatever she intended to tell him. “A few times, I pulled up your number and almost called you.”
Despite the many places to sit, he dropped down onto the sofa with her. It might not be the wisest of decisions, since the urge to kiss her was growing stronger the longer he was with her, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’d done something stupid. And it probably wouldn’t be the last.
“I wish you had. I’ve missed you.” Perhaps he should keep the truth to himself, since she might assume he was simply trying to convince her to do what he wanted. But he didn’t want to. He wanted—no, he needed her to know the truth.
Josh’s words were just what she wanted to hear. Despite all the warnings she’d issued before he showed up, reminding herself to be cautious, a sliver of delight erupted in the vicinity of her chest.
He wants my help. Don’t forget that.
She didn’t want to believe it, but it was possible he’d say or do anything to get her to go along with his marriage proposal—a plan she’d been thinking about constantly since leaving his brother’s office. No doubt about it, the entire idea was crazy. Unfortunately, the absurdity of the plan wasn’t stopping her from seriously considering going along with it. She could honestly say she cared about Josh, and given time, she could see her feelings growing into much more.
Josh’s request for help wasn’t the only thing she’d thought about since the meeting this afternoon. She’d also spent more than a few minutes replaying their two weeks in Hawaii. While it was possible she was wrong, everything about their time together hinted that there had been more between them than sex. His words just further strengthened her belief.
“You had my number, Josh. You could have called me.” Courtney knew full well what had stopped her from reaching out. She wanted to know his excuse.
With his coffee mug almost to his lips, he lowered it and nodded. “Yeah, I know. Like I said earlier, I thought about it. But the last time we saw each other, you didn’t say anything about wanting to stay in contact. And this custody mess with Naomi....” Josh stopped and raked his hand through his hair. “I haven’t been myself since I found out what Naomi was doing.”
She could only imagine what he was going through. His daughter had come up more than once. While Josh might have the reputation of a carefree playboy, when it came to Adalynn, he seemed like a loving father who would do anything for his daughter. And he was right about her not bringing up the topic of staying in contact. Of course she had kept her mouth shut because of his well-known relationship history.
“Fair enough,” Courtney admitted.
Again Josh raised his coffee mug toward his mouth. Like before, it didn’t reach its final destination. “Why didn’t you call?”
Did he really need to ask? She thought the answer would be obvious. “You don’t exactly have a great track record when it comes to relationships, Josh. You’re known to sleep with two different women in the same weekend. That’s not the kind of behavior that suggests you’d be interested in something serious.”
A muscle in his jaw clenched.
“You’re right, I haven’t been in a serious relationship since Naomi. But I’ve never slept with two different women in the same weekend. Gone out with two, sure, but that’s it. Yeah, I know the media claims I have, but you know how good the media is at twisting the truth.”
Countless times she’d seen how reporters made up stories or changed facts when writing pieces about her family. The same could very well be true in Josh’s case. She wanted to believe it was, and for now she’d give him the benefit of the doubt.
She watched as the mug finally touched his lips, and he took a sip. What would he do if she removed it from his hands and settled her lips on his? She’d stopped herself from doing it when she opened the door tonight, but it had taken considerable willpower.
Start talking again.
If she kept her mouth busy talking, maybe she’d keep herself from kissing him. And kissing him before she had answers to her questions would be a bad idea. No, correction, it wouldn’t be a bad idea, it would be a colossally bad one, because once they started kissing, she might give in and agree to anything.
Clearing her throat, she reached for her coffee and forced her gaze back to his eyes. “I’ve been thinking a lot about our meeting this afternoon.”