Eliana’s short-sleeved black top boasted a V-neckline and left a strip of lightly muscled flesh at her midriff bare. “Thanks. I’m lucky I had a spare set of clothes in my car. We both got muddied up at work, and Nick was kind enough to let me use his shower.”
“Oh.” She glanced at Nick, who waited on his barren back patio with his hands tucked in his pockets. Eliana made it sound as if they had showered separately. “I don’t think I’ve ever asked what line of work you’re in.” Or how it got them muddy. She vaguely recalled Nick mentioning something about security and had pictured him as a guard of some sort.
“Global security,” Eliana responded with a smile. “I can’t tell you who we were protecting tonight, but some assholes thought they could take our clients out, and proving they couldn’t got a bit messy.”
Kayla wasn’t sure how to interpret that. Global security? Take them out? As in kill?
Were Nick and Eliana part of one of those high-end security firms that protected executives and billionaires and the like? Had someone tried to kill one of their clients? Did that sort of thing happen often? She hadn’t realized Nick had such a dangerous job.
She sent him a questioning look.
Before he could respond, Eliana said, “Nick, you should ask Kayla to help you do something about this backyard because… damn.”
Kayla bit back a laugh. There wasn’t a single potted plant on the back patio, just a table with four comfy chairs. The large oak tree in the center of the yard thrived. But the grass beneath it was spotty. And there weren’t any shrubs or flowering plants to draw the eye aside from the weeds that thrived in long-abandoned flowerbeds.
“Seriously,” Eliana continued. “Did you see Kayla’s backyard? It’s beautiful! I’m going to start hanging out over there if you don’t fix yours up.”
Nick’s handsome features contorted in a grimace as he glanced around. “Yeah. It is pretty pathetic back here. But Oliver doesn’t have a green thumb and I have no idea what kind of plants do well in this region.”
Eliana rolled her eyes. “You’ve been here like ten years.”
He arched a brow. “And you’ve been here two. Can you tell me which plants can survive the long droughts, the extreme heat, and whatever level of sun and shade each of the flowerbeds receives?”
“Hell no.”
Kayla laughed. “I’d be happy to help if you’re really interested in sprucing things up back here. I like gardening. It relaxes me.”
Nick grinned. “Except when snails devour your hard work?”
“Exactly.”
“I’d like that. Thank you. Now that temperatures are cooling down a bit, I enjoy sitting outside and winding down after a long night’s work. It would be nice to have some color to enjoy when I do.”
A black cat appeared atop the back fence and began slinking its way across the planks’ edges. When Eliana made kissy noises to try to draw it closer, it froze, stared at them a long moment, then scurried to the far side and ducked out of sight.
Eliana laughed. “Not very friendly, is he?”
Kayla smiled. “He’s a stray. I think the neighborhood kids torment him, so he tends to keep his distance.”
“Poor little guy.”
Nick opened the back door and motioned for them to enter.
Kayla stepped inside his home for the first time.
Wow. It was the polar opposite of his backyard. And much nicer than her own. She glanced around. Either Nick or the previous owner had put some serious work into updating the place. Beautiful wood floors that she thought might be bamboo shone beneath her sneakers. His kitchen had definitely been expanded and boasted gorgeous granite countertops and a large island with barstools pulled up to it. Appliances that looked as though they cost as much as Becca’s tuition gleamed in the bright overhead lights.
The living room looked just as high-end. The large open space was dominated by a sofa so huge that she suspected she’d look like a child if she sat on it. Would feel like one, too. But damn, it looked comfortable. A matching ottoman nearly the size of a single bed was parked in front of it. A large flat-screen television hung on the opposite wall.
The other walls drew her gaze. Even the artwork appealed to her. Modern paintings bursting with color joined framed sketches so detailed they could’ve been photographs. She wished she could have such awesome art hanging on her walls. But anything that good would be way beyond her budget.
Eliana and Nick entered behind her.
Kayla glanced up at him and told the butterflies in her stomach to simmer the hell down. He was so close she could feel his heat and catch his scent. No cologne. Just Nick. “You have a lovely home.”
He smiled. “Thank you. It used to belong to a friend of mine. I bought it when he moved to North Carolina.”
She studied the paintings that graced the walls. “I love the artwork.”
“You do?” He seemed particularly pleased by that.
Eliana chuckled and nudged her with a shoulder. “Nick painted those.”
Kayla stared up at him, eyes wide, totally impressed. “You did? They’re fantastic.”
His smile widened into a charming grin that carried just a touch of aw, shucks. “Thank you. I’m glad you like them.”
“Did you do the sketches, too?”
He nodded.
“Wow. You are really talented.”
“Yes, he is,” Eliana agreed, then narrowed her eyes at him. “So why does every sketch you do of me end up looking more like a caricature?”
He laughed. “You can blame Max for that. He wanted to see how long it would take you to say something.”
Eliana rolled her eyes. “I should’ve known. That man loves to aggravate me.”
Nick chuckled as he headed into the kitchen. “Is fruit okay, or would you like something more substantial to eat?”
Eliana arched her brows at Kayla.
She smiled. “Fruit sounds good.”
“For me, too,” Eliana called, then lowered her voice. “Let’s go claim our places on the sofa before Nick sits his big behemoth ass down and takes up all the room.”
“I heard that,” he called from the kitchen.
“I notice you aren’t denying it,” Eliana said on a laugh as she guided Kayla over to the sofa and sat on one end. “Is this thing huge or what?” She patted the cushion in the middle. “Have a seat.”
Wondering what Nick would think about having to sit beside her instead of Eliana, Kate perched on the edge of the cushion. “Oh wow. This is ridiculously comfortable.”
“I know, right?”
“I could sleep on this sofa.”
“I have slept on this sofa. Scoot all the way back.”
When Kayla did so, her feet dangled quite a distance above the floor.
Eliana did the same. “I swear it makes me feel like a five-year-old sitting in her dad’s favorite chair.”
Kayla laughed, wondering if Eliana had slept on this sofa with Nick. “So, who is Max?”
“The man I live with,” she replied with a smile. “I love him to pieces, but he lives to tease me.”
Kayla glanced over her shoulder at Nick, who was pouring fresh blueberries into bowls. “Aren’t you and Nick…?”