And that was her weakness – whether he knew it or not.
There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for her great-grandfather.
Even put herself in an incredibly painful and awkward position with the man she wanted more than anything and couldn’t have.
Sighing softly, she turned and looked at him – swore she saw a flare of heat in his blue eyes. “Okay,” she forced herself to say. “For Pops.”
Before she could say another word, Jake’s hand slowly skimmed down her arm - giving her chills - and he took her hand in his as he led her from the study.
What in the world had she gotten herself into?
6
He was having fun.
And that was a huge problem.
The entire week had been…pleasant. Enjoyable.
Fun.
Beside him, Mallory was testing paint samples on Zeke’s wall. Jake had refinished the bookshelves and replaced lengths of crown molding and now they were making the final decision on the wall color. Standing back, Jake watched her carefully paint a patch and then step back to consider it. So far there were four different colors on the wall that looked incredibly similar and he already had his favorite, but he was curious what she was going to decide.
Actually, he was curious about a lot of things where she was concerned. For all the years they knew each other, he found that he was learning something new about her every day.
She had a spray of freckles across the bridge of her nose that she hated.
Strawberry ice cream was her favorite.
She had a mild obsession with boy bands.
And she had the throatiest, sexiest laugh he had ever heard.
Every day they ended up spending some time together due to the work he was doing around Zeke’s house and rather than avoiding it – like he thought he was going to do – Jake found himself looking forward to it. Mallory seemed more relaxed with him with each day that passed and it made him feel like they were back on even ground.
Except he was more aware of her than ever.
Although, he had to give her credit. She hadn’t been spiteful about his request not to walk around in skimpy attire. All week long she’d been dressed conservatively – all girl-next-door and fresh-faced – and it was still driving him mad.
Only he had no one to blame but himself for his wayward thoughts.
It wasn’t even as if she were doing anything deliberate to be sexy – she just was. Like now, for instance. Mallory was standing on the other side of the room in a pair of faded denim shorts that weren’t Daisy Dukes or anything remotely short like that, and a simple white t-shirt. Her hair was up in a ponytail and she was barefoot and…he almost groaned. She did have a tiny silver ankle bracelet on and her toes were painted a sweet shade of pink.
He needed to get a grip.
Fast.
All she was interested in was helping Zeke and for some reason, that was more appealing to him than anything else. It had always been obvious just how much affection the two had for each other. They had some kind of special bond. Maybe it was because Sam and Mallory’s dad had taken off and they’d been without a father-figure for so many years, or maybe it was because they were the only two great-grandchildren who didn’t live here in Magnolia Sound. All Jake knew, however, was that none of the other kids were here helping out with the work on the house or spending the kind of time with old Zeke like Mallory was.
Walking over to her, Jake noticed her biting her lip and his gaze lingered longer than was appropriate, but she didn’t notice. She was still studying the colors on the wall.
“Which one are you leaning toward?” he asked, forcing his attention to the wall.
“I love this one here,” she said, pointing to the third sample. “It’s got a hint of blue to it but…I don’t know, my eye keeps going back to that one.”
Oddly, so did his.
“Then that’s the one we’ll use.”
Turning her head, Mallory looked at him, her dark blue eyes a little wide. “Really? You think it’s okay? Think Pops will like it?”
Laughing softly, Jake took the paintbrush from her hand and placed it on the drop cloth at her feet. “He said he trusted you and it’s a great color. You’ve got a good eye for this kind of stuff.”
She blushed and quickly averted her eyes. “I never really thought about it. I enjoy decorating and shopping for new things for my room back home, but…” Stopping, she shrugged. “I’ve never had the opportunity to do anything like this before.”
“Well, I think Zeke’s going to love it.”
Beside him, she smiled broadly. “Thanks.”
“You know…that color could also work down in the boathouse. Maybe not on all the walls, but maybe as an accent wall.” Then he paused and found he felt a little silly offering decorating advice. “If that’s the sort of thing you were thinking of.”
Again, Mallory turned and studied him. Then, without a word, crouched down and picked up the can of paint and a brush. “Let’s go find out!” she said excitedly, walking out of the room.
He followed and it was hard not to smile. Her excitement was contagious. As they walked through the kitchen, she grabbed a couple of cookies that she’d baked earlier and encouraged him to do the same.
All without skipping a step.
She was in constant motion and soon they were outside, walking down the wooden steps to the lawn and then out to the pier. This was his next project. As he walked, Jake made note of how many boards they were going to have to replace and the time involved to get it done. He stopped to examine a particularly rotted piece and when he looked up, Mallory was already inside the boathouse.
Taking a bite out of one of the chocolate chip cookies in his hand, he made his way down the pier and joined Mallory. She already had the paint can open and was coating the brush.
“I think the idea of a feature wall is fantastic,” she said without looking at him. And this one has the most wall space so I think this should be the one with the color. The rest will just get a fresh coat of white.”
Nodding, Jake watched her paint a larger area than she had back in the study. Her body swayed with each brush stroke and by the time she was done, he was starting to sweat. To keep himself from doing something stupid, he focused on eating the rest of the cookie in his hands. Mallory moved to his side and took a bite of the one she was still holding.
“I think it might be too dark for in here. The ceiling is lower than in the study and it’s more cluttered,” she went on. “Even with new furniture, I’m not sure it’ll work.” She looked at him. “What do you think?”
That you’re beautiful…
Clearing his throat, he pretended to study the wall. “Um…I think it will look great. Paint always looks darker when it’s wet and I’m sure with whatever furniture you decide to put in here, you’ll make it work.”
Rather than say anything, she simply nodded and popped the last piece of chocolate chip cookie into her mouth.
“Have you started looking at furniture yet?”
Smiling, she turned her head and looked at him. “I have! I was down at Barb’s Beach Buys and found some really cute things already. Most of it is small stuff – a bistro set, a small coffee table, new lamps…” She shrugged. “I’m going to buy the sofa online and have it delivered because I have something specific in mind and I don’t think I’ll find it here in town. Barb’s holding all of the stuff I’m interested in for me. She’s getting in new inventory tomorrow and I told her I’d like first dibs on it before she puts it out.”