Paislee hasn’t said a word since I told her that I wanted her naked in my bedroom.
“Want me to drive you home?” I find myself asking. It’s the right thing to do, I guess, even though my cock is trying its best to bust out of my jeans.
“No,” she says slowly. “But I don’t know if I need a tour of your bedroom.”
It’s a line, and I’ll respect it. She needs some time to get comfortable with me, and a couple pieces of fried chicken and a beignet isn’t cutting it. I add a mental yet on the end of her sentence and give her a nod of agreement. “Bedrooms are out, but the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and backyard are in.” As if I am not willing and able to fuck her in any of those spaces, but if she feels safe outside the bedroom, I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize that. There’ll be plenty of time to strip off my princess’s armor. No need to rush.
I climb out of the car and hurry over to open the door. “You need to see the inside to assess what pet fits the best. I’ve got space for a lizard tank.”
“So you never want to see me again is what I’m hearing,” she jokes.
“Suddenly I hate lizards,” I reply immediately, leading her up the front porch to the door lock. I fit my key into the door and let her in.
Her eyes light up at the sight of the cozy place. “My sister decorated it,” I inform Paislee, giving her a nudge inside and then closing the door. “I’d have never picked an orange sofa myself, but it works.”
“It’s actually gorgeous,” Paislee breathes. “This place screams dog. You should get a poodle.”
“Why a poodle?” I nudge her into the kitchen and push her into a chair at the kitchen island.
“They’re very smart, and they don’t shed much. I think the orange sofa looks good orange and if you got a collie or a shetland, it’d just be dog hair.”
“That’s a good reason. I like smart. I like my orange sofa.” I put a beer in front of her. “I like you.”
She blushes again and ducks her head.
“Too strong?” I ask, popping my own beer open. I stay on my side of the counter, letting her breathe a little.
“How can you say that? We’ve only spent a few hours together.”
“Some things you just know. There aren’t any good explanations other than the obvious. You’re gorgeous, you’re funny, you’re smart, and every minute I’ve spent with you has been a good one. I’m not saying that you should move in today, but let me court you. Let me show you that the best thing this town has to offer isn’t Marguerite Abbott or her money.”
Paislee’s head shoots up, and there’s fire in her eyes that isn’t the result of me stoking an ember of desire, but me shooting an arrow into a flame of anxiety I hadn’t even known existed. My momma didn’t raise a dumbass, but I just stuck my foot so far down my mouth, I’m choking on the ankle bone.
“Do I look like a gold digger to you? Because I’m not. I didn’t search Grandma out. She came to find me.” She tilts her chin in the air and hops off the stool. “I’m ready to go home now. Date’s over.”
Chapter Thirteen
Paislee
“What do you think of this?” My grandma holds up a blue velvet box with a pearl necklace tucked inside of it. We just left the bank where she’d pulled it and a few other things out of a safety deposit box. She’d asked me to accompany her and I needed something to keep my mind off what happened with Gant last night.
“It’s pretty.” I reach out and run my fingers along the pearls. My mom and I used to always play dress-up when I was little. We never had anything remotely close to this, but none of that mattered. I still have the box of plastic gaudy jewelry we’d put on. And I’ll always have the memory. Grandma’s face lights up with a smile at my approval.
“I want you to have them.” She picks them up out of the box. I shake my head no. Not that it ever stops her. When she wants something, she pushes until it happens. I’m getting used to that fact.
“You’ve already given me so much.” I don’t want my grandma to think that I’m out for her money too. Obviously everyone else that runs in these circles already thinks that.
Gant’s words still sting. I saw the regret on his face the moment they passed his lips. He might not have meant it in the way it came out, but it still hurt. It made me question if I’d read him all wrong.