A surge of attraction passed through me when she pushed her sunglasses up and her eyes met mine. A soft smile curved her lips, and she took a step forward and held her arms out slightly to her sides.
“Surprise,” she said.
I blinked at her, staring as I uttered the only word my racing mind could come up with right then. “You.”
“Yep. Me.” She left the car door open and wiped her hands on the front of her jeans before coming closer. “I’m Larisa, and I promise I can explain.”
I moved forward, offering her my hand but still unable to stop staring at her. “Tanner. It’s nice to officially meet you, but if you don’t mind me asking, what exactly are you doing here?”
“Like I said, I can explain.” She shook my hand, and since I was still trying to figure out what the hell was going on, I held on to it for a beat too long. Those deep brown eyes that had plagued my dreams after the event moved from one of mine to the other. “I know you weren’t expecting me, but you can let go. I promise I’m not here to rob you or anything.”
“Shit.” I dropped her hand and took a step back for good measure. I shook my head. “Sorry. I’m just surprised, is all. ‘I’m not here to rob you’ seems like something any robber who gets caught out would say, though.”
She chuckled. “Fair enough. To be honest, from the pictures I saw, there’s a ton of stuff in this house I would steal if I was so inclined, but I’m not. On the other hand, if you can think of a way to steal the property itself, I’m all ears.”
“If I could think of a way to steal the property itself, I’d have done it already,” I joked. “Nice, right?”
“Nice?” Her dark eyebrows shot up. “The cup of coffee I had on the way over here was nice. A bit mediocre but still nice. This place?” Slowly shifting her gaze away from mine, she swept it across the façade of the house behind me, her head shaking as she took it in. “I don’t even have words for it, but it’s not just nice. It’s like someone sketched it straight from one of my dreams.”
“Yeah, same,” I said, my voice coming out unusually quiet. I cleared my throat, tearing my eyes off her and looking back at the car instead. “I’m still waiting on that explanation, but how about we get your bags first?”
“Wow. The place even comes with a porter service,” she teased. Then she seemed to remember that she didn’t really know me and clapped a hand over her mouth. Horror crept onto her features. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. I know you’re not here to wait on me hand and foot. It’s nice of you to offer, but I can get my own bags. Don’t worry about it.”
“You ramble when you’re nervous, huh?” I commented, chuckling. I descended the few steps and motioned to the trunk of the car. “I didn’t think you meant it like that. I can take a joke, Larisa. Relax. I’ll get the bags. You go inside. I’ll be there in a minute.”
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other but then seemed to decide to do what I said. “Oh, uh, okay. I’ll meet you in there, then.”
Pulling her sunglasses off her head, she folded them and kept them in her hand as she disappeared through the door. I stared after her for a minute, a grin spreading on my face as I thought about the lucky turn things had just taken.
I hadn’t been looking forward to spending the weekend with her married friend, but spending a couple days here with Larisa instead? Now that was something I could get excited about.