“Did you check the city code or something?”
“No. I asked my grandmother. Let me just say that I got an earful.”
Darius refrained from pointing out that she could have done that from the beginning. “Technically, that’s not true. You have every right to evict me.”
She pointed at him in triumph, her work glove aimed at his chest. “Exactly. Didn’t I say that a few times in my emails?”
“You did. More than a few. It was annoying. Want a hand with your furniture? The outside stairs are a bear.”
Reluctantly, she nodded. “I lost my helper. So sure, that’d be great. I can handle most of it, but the couch—”
“I’m happy to help,” he cut her off. “Don’t worry about it.”
They moved toward the bed of the truck. The sight of the load made him cringe. Did she know nothing about loading trucks? “Where are you from?”
“You mean, where am I moving from? Petal to the Metal, my grandmother’s farm. Let’s start with this rug.”
“No, I mean where’d you come to Lost Harbor from?” He moved aside a chair that had made the trip balanced between a coatrack and the rolled-up rug.
“Why are you asking?”
“Why not? For instance, I moved here from Texas.”
She narrowed her eyes at him as she grabbed onto the end of the carpet roll. “Okay.”
“In Texas, we learn that it’s important to use ratchet straps and bungee cords to secure your load, otherwise something could fly off and hit someone. That’s one of the reasons why I’m curious about where you’re from.”
“I’m from the Kingdom of Cities,” she said grandly. “Home to an amazing invention known as a moving company.”
He chuckled as he helped her slide the rug off the tailgate. “I’ve heard those legends, but I paid them no mind. Surely such tales can’t be true.”
“Many wonders can be found in the Kingdom of Cities. Imagine food brought right to your door. It’s called ‘delivery.’” Together, they carried the rug toward the blue staircase.
“Impossible. Next you’ll be telling me the WiFi always works.”
She giggled, looking behind her to make sure she wasn’t missing the bottom step. Her ponytail swung over her shoulder, drawing his attention to the tanned skin of her neck. Farmer’s tan, the kind you could get even in the chilly temperatures of April because the sun stayed so long in the sky.
He found it sexy as hell—that, and the way her twisted position emphasized the deep curves of her chest and waist…
He fixed his gaze on the carpet and as a result, stumbled a bit as his foot hit the bottom step.
She swung her head back to check on him. “You okay?”
“Yup. Keep going.” He adjusted his grip on the roll. “Do you have a body wrapped up in here or something?”
A laugh floated across the carpet. “Knowing Emma, anything’s possible.”
“I believe it. She heard about my Harley and tracked me down to talk shop.”
“She’s a badass. Best grandma ever. Even though she doesn’t want me to move out, she’s helping me furnish this place. She insisted I take this rug because the floors need finishing.”
They reached the landing of the upstairs apartment. Kate fumbled for the doorknob as she propped the rug on one knee. When it turned, she pushed it open with her foot. He followed her through a short hallway to the front room with its breathtaking view of the town and the bay beyond it.
The floors were unfinished plywood and the pink fluff of insulation showed through a few gaps in the walls, but other than that it was a lovely space. Much smaller than his apartment, but that view made up for it.
“Here.” She stopped in the middle of the front room and set her end of the carpet roll down. He followed suit.
“Let’s roll it out,” he suggested. “See how it looks.”
Her face brightened eagerly. “You don’t mind?”
“Sure, why not? We carted it all the way up here, why not get some satisfaction?”
“Let’s do it. I’ve never actually seen what the rug looks like. She told me it’s an antique from India.” She crouched down and grabbed one end, holding it in place while he unrolled the bulk of it while backing across the room.
A bit of dust rose into the air, along with a faint sweet smell, like old rose petals.
“You might need a vacuum. Not to mention some weights to keep the corners down.”
“We can use boxes for now. Stay there.” She hopped to her feet and dragged a box his way, then used another one to anchor her end. “There!” She gazed at the unfurled carpet, and slowly her expression turned puzzled. She tilted her head, then walked around to the other side of the carpet.
He rose to his feet and stepped to her side. Then blinked.
Was he really seeing what he thought he was seeing?
“Is that…” He pointed to what looked like a…a penis. About to touch the mouth of a smiling woman. Who was being held by a naked man fondling her breasts. Who was….Where did it end?
“Oh my God.” Her face turned red as she took in the decadent backdrop of the carpet. “Emma gave me a Kama Sutra carpet.”
They both stared down at the panorama of naked figures in naughty and astonishingly flexible positions. Then they both burst into gales of laughter.
Darius’ whole body shook with the force of his amusement, so much so that he had to bend over and rest his hands on his knees, gasping for breath.
“I didn’t…even know…such a thing…existed.”
As soon as she could stop laughing, Kate blew out a breath, sending strands of her hair wafting away from her face.
His hands twitched again. He wished he could touch her.
“Oh, Emma. You win.” Kate planted her hands on her hips and gazed down at the carpet. A light flush still colored her cheeks. “No wonder she wanted me to have this. She’s probably laughing her ass off right about now. I need to get her back somehow.”
“What’s your move?”
“I don’t know.” Thoughtfully, she tapped a finger against her chin. “I’m kind of tempted to pretend there’s nothing unusual about the rug. I bet that would drive her crazy. Oh!” She clapped her hands together. “I can tell her that the floors are just fine without a rug, and that I’m going to donate it to her church—in her name.” Her cackle of glee made him smile.
“You could probably sell it on eBay for a ton of money. It’s such a find.”
“That’s true.” With a thoughtful expression, she traced the border with her toe. “I think it might be hard to part with, though.”
He lifted his eyebrows. Hard to part with? Was that an intentional double entendre?
Her eyes went wide, and she clapped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry, that just slipped out.”
She clapped her other hand over her mouth, realizing she’d done it again.
He burst into laughter all over again. “Blame it on the rug. Bad influence.”
Above her hand, her eyes flashed with naughty laughter. Lust tugged at him, hot and fierce.
He cleared his throat and stuffed his hands in his pockets, hoping that would hide the beginnings of his erection. “So you’ve decided that you can’t evict me. That’s good news.”