“Yes.”
“I love the products there.”
“I’ll tell her. Anyway, I want to be here for them in any capacity possible. Before, I just saw them on vacations, but now... I want to be a bigger part of their lives. My niece is already— What’s with that smile?”
I caught myself smiling from ear to ear. “I just really like that you’re a great brother and uncle.”
“That’s all?”
“What did you think I was thinking?”
“You really want to know?” There was a playful glint in his eyes again. Wait, no—it turned from playful to smoldering in a fraction of a second. Oh, goodness. I’d come here tonight hoping to establish a neighborly relationship with him and smooth over my blunder. Okay, so maybe those weren’t the only reasons, but I hadn’t expected to be completely smitten with him. Why was I being inappropriate? Then again, my appropriateness compass wasn’t working quite properly after all that wine.
I blushed, focusing on my glass again. “Maybe not.”
“Good. I’ll keep that info for the next dinner.”
“You’re not letting that go, huh?”
“Absolutely not.”
***
Rob
Once her plate was empty, she rose from the table with it.
“I’ll deal with this later. Sit down with me.” I didn’t want to waste one minute focusing on anything but her.
“I like doing it,” she murmured. I watched her intently, rising too, joining her at the counter with the rest of the dishes. It took no time to clean up.
Skye checked her watch when she returned to the empty table. She didn’t sit down, just leaned against it, sighing. “It’s so late. I’m going to go. This dinner was really delicious. Thanks.”
“Happy you enjoyed it.”
“Is it your secret weapon to charm women?”
“So you’re charmed?”
She chuckled, blushing, but didn’t respond. I moved closer until our hips were touching, leaning in.
“My answer is no. I haven’t done this in years,” I said.
“Why not?”
“You’re different from anyone I’ve met, Skye. You do things without expecting anything in return, like going to all this hassle for your neighbors. And you’re so sexy that it drives me crazy. I want you. From the moment I saw you, I wanted you. And now? I can barely think straight.”
“Rob...,” she whispered.
“I’m Rob now? Not Robert. Good to know.”
Blinking a few times, she rubbed at her eyes. “Oh, why did I have so much wine?”
She’d had a little too much, and I wasn’t going to take advantage of it. I had to clasp my hands behind my back to make sure I wouldn’t be tempted to touch her. But damn it, it was the hardest thing. All I wanted was to be closer, erase any distance between us.
“Come on, I’ll walk you to your door.”
“Afraid I won’t find the way?” she teased.