Before the doors closed again, he saw Meg pull a cell phone out of her purse. His instincts told him she was calling a friend to share she’d just met J.T. Williamson.
He had the elevator to himself for the rest of the ride. When he rang the doorbell, Courtney opened the door almost immediately, as if she’d known he was on his way up. With her phone against her ear, she gestured for him to enter but didn’t stick around to make sure he did.
“Meg, I promise I’ll call and explain everything tomorrow.” Courtney’s voice reached him as he shut the door. “I forgot that’s tomorrow night,” she said as she pulled out the sticks holding her hair up. He assumed they had a proper name, but to him, they resembled fancy chopsticks. “I might have to skip this month. I’ll let you know.” She dragged her hand through her hair. The innocent gesture conjured up all the times he’d done something similar while kissing her—an activity he’d love to engage in this evening.
After she ended the call, she set the device down on an end table and turned her attention on him. “That was my friend Meg. You just met her in the elevator. She was merely a little curious why I never told her you were moving in with me.” A hint of frustration echoed in her voice.
So much for honesty being the best medicine. “Sorry. She asked if I was visiting when she saw the suitcases.” If he’d known they were friends, he would have gone along with Meg’s guess and let Courtney explain the truth when she got around to it.
“It’s better that you ran into Meg rather than some of the other people who live in the building. She won’t tell anyone tonight. Some of my neighbors would be posting it all over Twitter right now.” Courtney gestured to his two suitcases. “Is that all you have?”
“Yeah. I packed light for this visit.”
“I have three guest rooms. You can pick the one you want, but the one down the hall from me is the largest.”
After her question last night about how real of a marriage he expected this to be, he’d known it was a long shot, but he’d hoped they’d pick up where they left off in Hawaii. If she was sticking him in a guest bedroom, that would not happen. At least not right away. If she was completely indifferent to him, she wouldn’t have responded to his kiss the way she had yesterday. Instead, she would have pulled away and told him not to do it again.
“Put me wherever you want.” This was still her place, and she was doing him the favor. The least he could do was play by her rules.
“Take the biggest one.” She grabbed the handle of a suitcase and pulled it behind her.
As he followed her through the living room and down the hall, his eyes were more interested in checking her out rather than the place he’d be calling home for the foreseeable future. Tonight she was wearing a dark gray skirt that fell just below the knee, hiding the legs he remembered being wrapped around his waist while they made love. She’d paired the skirt with a silky-looking top the same shade of purple as he’d noticed her toenails were painted last night.
“That’s my office.” She pointed to a closed door on her left. “I don’t use it too often. I prefer to get everything done while I’m at the foundation. Feel free to use it while you’re here.” She walked a little further before opening a door. Switching on the overhead light, she wheeled his suitcase inside.
“You’ll be living here for a while, so if you want to redecorate I don’t mind.”
His gaze fell on the king-size bed, and ideas of all the ways they could have fun in it assaulted him. And although his brain knew it would never happen tonight, his body had other notions. Before the night was through, he’d be enjoying an ice-cold shower.
“I’m going to change while you unpack. Then we can decide on dinner.”
He watched her exit the room before turning his attention to his new home. Various shades of red dominated the room, including the bedding. If he’d been decorating the bedroom, he would have gone with a different color. He saw no reason to change it though, since with any luck his stay in here would only be temporary while he lived with Courtney.
“Brilliant, just brilliant,” Courtney muttered as she tossed clothes in a bag intended for the dry cleaners. It would be hard enough to sleep every night knowing Josh was under the same roof, but knowing he was just a few steps away would make it impossible. When he told her to put him anywhere, she should have stuck him in the guest room on the opposite side of the penthouse, as far away from her as possible.
“At least I put him in a guest room,” she told the reflection in the mirror.
The bad girl in her, the side she’d only ever let out once and that had been in Hawaii, had urged her to escort him to her bedroom so she could enjoy all the perks of their current arrangement. And she’d been half a breath away from doing it. The only reason she hadn’t was because she wasn’t sure if mixing sex into their bizarre situation would be a good idea. Until Courtney decided, she planned to keep the bad girl in her gagged. Well, she at least planned to try. Since her hormones went into overdrive every time they were in the same room together, it might be a battle she’d eventually lose. Tonight she would not worry about what might happen in another few days. She would focus on getting through dinner.
She hated living out of a suitcase. Whenever she traveled, regardless of how long she planned to stay, she unpacked. Since this was now his home, she’d expected him to unpack before he did anything else, but either he held the world record for emptying suitcases or he’d left it for later, because he stood in the living room, his cell phone against his ear when she entered. While he might not have unpacked, he’d changed out of the sweater he’d been wearing and into a dark green T-shirt that showcased his broad shoulders and sculpted arms. Jeans, which he’d never worn when they were together in December, hugged his lean hips and long legs, and her palms itched to slip into his back pockets.
“Dad, I understand. But I’m not changing my mind,” Josh said, turning his head in her direction.
She’d missed the first part of their conversation, but she had a good idea of what they were talking about.
“Have fun on vacation, and we’ll talk when you and Laura get back.” Ending the call, he slipped the device into his back pocket.
Lucky phone. Clearing her throat, she forced the thought away. “Is everything okay?”
He rubbed a hand across his sexy barely there beard. Oh, how she’d love to feel it against her thighs again as he—
Stop. Right. There. The last thing she needed was to let her mind wander down that particular avenue while he was standing only a few feet away.
“Dad wanted to share his opinion about our wedding date again.”
“Let me guess, he thinks it’s too soon.” She didn’t know how their parents would get along, but at least they had one thing in common. “I got a similar response from my mother.” Courtney gestured toward the kitchen. If they sat in there, she could put an entire island between them. “I’m surprised my dad hasn’t called to tell me the same thing yet.” Since he hadn’t, Courtney assumed her mom hadn’t shared the news with him.
Opening a drawer, she pulled out all the takeout menus she had. While she was a decent cook and often prepared her own meals, tonight seemed like a good night to have someone else do all the work.