Page 6 of Late to Love

Yes, I can totally admit I’m snooping. Of course I am. But since I’m not an unhinged girlfriend, that’s okay, right? No shade to unhinged girlfriends. In fact, let’s not call them unhinged. We’ll say they’re…over-invested.

Toothbrush, whitening toothpaste for sensitive teeth, some ibuprofen, Q-tips, and ooh, what’s this? Beard oil.

With zero hesitation, I grab it, twisting the lid off and bringing it to my nose to sniff.Whoa. This smells amazing. Like a winter bonfire on the beach. Bet it’s even more amazing when it’s on the man himself.

“Darcy?”

Shit.

I screw the lid back on and shove the oil onto the tiny shelf, then pray to the gods that the door doesn’t squeak when I close it. It’s quiet, thank goodness. Then I flush, again, and wash my hands a second time to keep the ruse going.

Opening the flimsy door, I flash Anthony a bright smile. “Mr. Hall!”

He frowns. “Anthony.”

God, it’s ridiculously fun to annoy him. I shrug. “I like Mr. Hall better. Let’s not rehash it.”

His frown deepens, and honestly, I didn’t know that was possible. “What are you doing in there?”

I tilt my head. “What was I doing in the bathroom? What do youthinkI was doing in there?” I consider waving my hands in his face and asking him if he wants to smell them, then reconsider. He’d probably lose his mind.

Also, that’s gross. I wouldn’t want anyone doing that to me.

He makes a noise that sounds suspiciously like a grunt, then turns away from me. “What is all this?”

“The drywall? It’s…drywall.” I follow him to the kitchen. It’s the only area that’s clearly seen some updating, but it’s still in desperate need of some design love.

With his back to me, he reaches to grab a glass from the cabinet, and the movement serves to bring my focus entirely on the way his T-shirt rides up, revealing the tiniest strip of skin above his jeans.

Damn, Mr. Hall is giving some serious ass. It’s not as noticeable behind the bar because it’s dark down there, but up here, where the sun is streaming and I’m not waiting on a drink, there’s nothing to do but watch this behemoth of a man move around his kitchen.

Our eyes meet when he faces me again, and I snap my mouth shut—because clearly I was this close to drooling—and I think…was he…?

Did his eyes do what I think they did?

No. No way. Anthony Hall isn’t interested in me. And I don’t think I’m interested in him. Notreally.Unless I am.

That’s probably not the best idea since I’m going to spend the next few months working in his loft.

Eh, good ideas are overrated. Why be cautious when you’re twenty-four?

Okay, that’s such a lie. I have spent my entire life being cautious. Hard not to when you learn to wield a saw before you’re three feet tall. And being raised by an overprotective yet remarkably oblivious father who would sooner put me in a bubble than see me do anything that could harm me. Are those two things a little opposed to each other? Yes. But Jim Belle is a man of contradictions, and I am his unwilling victim.

It’s one of the many reasons I moved out of our house. That, and if I ever want to prove to him that I have what it takes to make it on my own, then I need to get out from under his wing.

“Water?”

“Huh?”Wow, Darcy. Excellent conversational skills.

“Would youlike some water?” Anthony holds the glass out for me. And it’s actual glass, too, nothing like the plastic cheap cups I got for five for a dollar at the Dollar General when I moved into the cottage behind Agatha.

I take it, admiring the pattern cut into it: one row of diamonds surrounded on both sides by smaller diamonds, then parallel lines cut around the glass for even more texture. It’s a dusty rose color, too, something I wouldn’t have placed in this man’s house if you held a nail gun to my head.

“Thanks.”

We drink and stare at each other for longer than is polite. When I realize what’s happening, I blink and look away.He clears his throat and busies himself with getting his own glass of water.

Have I mentioned how sexy smelling that beard oil was? And why am I thinking about it when I should be drinking my water and getting on with it?

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