Reaching for a bag, she threw it over her shoulder and walked out of her apartment. “Well then, I hope you’re up for the challenge. It will make it all the more sweeter when I get my way.”
Jesus, are we talking about sex? I fucking hope so.
The drive up to the cabin proved to be the best hour and a half I’d had in a long time. Kilyn’s sense of humor was amazing and she could say the craziest shit with a deadpan expression.
“Have you always used humor to ease tension?”
She stared at me with a serious look. “Is that what I’m doing? Easing tension between us?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t feel tense, actually the opposite. I haven’t felt this relaxed in a long time. You bring out something in me, Kilyn.”
Her face blushed the most beautiful rose color. The way it caused her eyes to stand out had me wishing I knew what to say or do to make her blush like that all the time.
“Well, I could say the same thing about you, Thano.”
I slowed down and put my signal on before pulling into the long driveway that led to my private paradise. A part of me felt guilty Savannah wasn’t here for me to show her first, but having Kilyn here felt . . . right. That was the only way I could explain it.
“This driveway is amazing.” Her hands came up to her mouth as she gasped when the cabin came into sight. “It’s beautiful, Thano! I cannot wait to see the inside!”
With a chuckle, I pulled up and parked. I could hear the excitement in her voice and it made me happy. She was out of the car before I even had my door open. With her bag thrown over her shoulder, she quickly ran up the stairs and walked around the wraparound porch.
“This is amazing! The view is the most beautiful view I’ve ever seen.”
My chest swelled with pride. I had known the moment I pulled up and saw this spot that it was the one.
Spinning back to me, she smiled. “I already have an idea.”
Lifting my brows, I asked, “You do?”
“Yes!” she squealed as she grabbed my hand and pulled me to the back of the house.
“Imagine a flagstone patio down there. With a pit, table and chairs, and some amazing, yet low maintenance flowers because you won’t always be here to take care of them. Oh my gosh, it will be your heaven on earth!”
I chuckled at how practical Kilyn was even in her excitement.
Walking all the way around the wraparound porch, she turned and said, “Let’s see the inside. My head is swimming with ideas.”
The wind picked up out of nowhere and we both turned and looked west.
“Did you check the weather before we came up here?” she asked.
My heart dropped. Fuck. I was so excited about spending the day with Kilyn I forgot to check the weather.
When I didn’t answer right away, her face dropped. “You didn’t, did you?”
THANO STOOD THERE staring at me with a blank expression. “How could you forget to the check the weather?” I asked.
He frowned. “Did you check it?”
I narrowed my left eye and shot him a look. “Why would I check it?”
“Oh, I don’t know, Kilyn. Maybe because you were headed up to the mountains?”
Folding my arms over my chest, I slowly tilted my head and glared at him. “Call me old-fashioned, Thano, but I was kind of leaving that up to you since you invited me up here and even mentioned a storm coming in.”
He threw his hands up. “It doesn’t matter who checked the weather.”
“You mean who didn’t check the weather.”
If looks could kill, I was pretty sure I’d be on the ground. “Fine. I fucked up and didn’t check the weather. Let’s get in; the temperature is already starting to drop.”
It was then I noticed he was right. And the wind had picked up even more.
“Wait. I thought it wasn’t supposed to move in until later tonight?”
Thano unlocked his door and walked inside. I followed him in and smiled wide when he turned on the lights. It was an open canvas and I couldn’t keep the flood of ideas at bay.
Designing wasn’t always what I wanted to do. At one point in my life, I wanted to follow my dreams of singing. Of course, that all changed after Peter. Everything changed after him.
“Let me turn on the weather radio. Can you pull up the weather on your phone?” Thano asked while he walked toward the massive kitchen. For a few moments, I was lost in the beauty of the dark granite countertops, natural stone backsplash and the most beautiful copper oven vent I’d ever seen.
“If you can’t get a signal, I have Wi-Fi. The password is mountain.”
Thano’s voice snapped me out of it. I was pretty sure I had drool dripping from the corner of my mouth. I quickly reached up and wiped for good measure.