Page 46 of The Fireman and the Flirt

“Sturdy,” I corrected.

I stepped away from Derek before his manly scent could fully intoxicate me.

“Plus you’ve got brand new, stainless steel appliances.” I smoothed my hand over the microwave, then the stove, like I was a model showing off a prize onThe Price is Right.

“So we’re not going to talk about it anymore?” Derek asked.

“There’s nothing to talk about, so no. We’re here to find you a house, not to rehash old high school drama. Now will you look at all these cabinets? You have tons of space! You can stock the kitchen of your dreams. Ina Garten could never.”

I spun on my foot and led us into the living room. The less direct eye contact I made with Derek, the better.

“We have a vaulted ceiling with a skylight. You rarely see this in these kinds of houses. It really opens up the room, makes it feel bigger don’t you think?”

“Is it an organic skylight, though?”

I made the mistake of glancing at Derek as he said it, catching the sly smile forming at the corner of his mouth. Derek was a really cute smiler.

Commission, not coming.

“The flooring is hardwood laminate, which is a great alternative to hardwood floors. You get the look without all the upkeep necessary. You could spill anything on these floors, and it’ll come right up.”

You could even have dirty sex on them without leaving a mark.

“And the windows…” I pointed to the row of windows looking out onto the street. They were windows. Unspectacular, doing-their-job windows.

“Lots of natural light?” Derek asked.

“Exactly. The front yard has lots of big, mature trees.”

So if you did fuck someone on the hardwood laminate floors with the windows wide open, the mature trees would provide some privacy.

“There’s a fireplace, too,” Derek noted.

“It’s gas. Much easier to maintain than wood.”

“I prefer wood,” he said.

Well, buddy, at this very moment, I unfortunately have lots of it.Why the fuck was I gettting turned on by Derek after telling myself to cool it? This was bodily rebellion. I had to stay in charge and calm.

“You don’t have to spend time buying firewood or chopping wood.” The image of Derek chopping wood shirtless popped into my mind, and then I ushered it out so fast I gave myself whiplash.

“I love a warm fire on a cold night.”

Sex in front of a fireplace…was something I would not be thinking about. Why the fuck did Derek have to look so sexy at a house showing? With his damn black T-shirt and big arms and thick legs. Why did I have to be attracted to men at all? Homosexuality was being very annoying at the moment.

“Excuse me a minute.” I darted into the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. I wasn’t a fan of the mauve paint color the builder had chosen, but that could be an easy fix.

The more difficult fix was getting Derek off my mind. It seemed that him knowing about the letter was supercharging my circuits. Sex was in the air thanks to that handwritten missive.

“Pull it together,” I whispered to my reflection. “He is aclient. You are aprofessional.”

I splashed more cold water on my face, then realized there was no hand towel. That left me no choice but to squat over the heating vent to air dry.

Nearly twenty years in the real estate game with my own business, and here I was reduced to waving hot air onto my face like a maniac.

I left the bathroom once I looked presentable again.

“Derek?” I didn’t see him in the living room.

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