Page 26 of Tyler

A smile spread across her face and gaze grew soft. “Sorry.”

He smiled. “Not sure I believe you.”

“You’re just going to have to take my word for it,” she said.

Even though he wanted to continue their banter, he glanced at the front door. Something was niggling at him about it. “Would Brandi have left the door open when she went home?”

“No.” Piper frowned. “I don’t think so. Why?”

“Because it was open when I came rushing in.”

“Well, it does stick, so it’s possible it didn’t close when she left. See?” Piper walked to the door and tugged it behind her but the top stuck. “You have to give it a real hard tug. But don’t worry, she’s going to get it fixed. Restored, actually. Isn’t it gorgeous?” she asked, her gaze bright with joy as she lovingly caressed the weathered wood.

“Absolutely,” he replied, totally not talking about the door. A gust of wind blew her hair into her face. He stepped close, and using his finger, he pushed the strands behind her ear. “Gorgeous.”

A blush colored her cheeks, and she smiled softly. “You shouldn’t look at me like that.”

He ran his finger down to her jaw before releasing her. “Like what?”

“Like I’m the best thing since sliced bread.”

He grinned. “But you are. You’re so much better.” He loved how her gaze grew bashful. She was adorable. “Why don’t you want me to look at you that way?”

“Because you make me want tothrottleyou.”

His pulse tripped at her possible meaning. “Define throttle.”

She flashed him a sinful grin. “Open it up. Full speed ahead. But we need to take pictures first.”

His heart went straight into a barrel roll as his mind took a naughty turn. “Pictures of what?” he asked, his voice a little hoarse because his throat had gone bone dry.

She smacked his shoulder. “Not those kinds of photos. I meant photos of this place.”

“Hey.” He choked out a laugh. “Sorry. I was only picking up the same context you used.”

Smiling, she shook her head. “Sorry, my bad. Allow me to clarify. They’re starting the remodeling tomorrow, so I’d loveit if you could take photos of every room and wall. I want to chronicle the process.”

Ah. “Yeah, those are completely different photos.”

She snorted then gave him the grand tour and explained the renovations for each part of the building while he took the photos she requested. The fact that she trusted him enough to share her vision with him filled him with joy and some unfamiliar warm emotion that made his chest hurt.

He’d never been a confidant before. A keeper of a dream. He felt special, like he’d been given a precious gift.

The more he was around the woman, the more he felt, and what he felt was good. Real good. Damn. Her presence was addictive. So was her laughter as he took photos of her while she hammed it up.

“Oh, hey, the sun is starting to set. Come on,” she said, grabbing his hand. “There’s something I want to show you.”

He followed her downstairs and out a back door into a courtyard with an old fountain and a few weathered statues.

“Can you take shots of these too? I’m going to keep what can be saved and recreate the ones that can’t. Plus, I thought the lighting at this time of day would be perfect.”

“Sure,” he said, lifting his camera, his eye already drawn to the way the setting sun was visible through a crack in the architectural wall feature.

Nearly ten minutes had passed when he stopped and looked for Piper. He found her sitting on the ground in front of overgrown bushes, watching him with a look of awe on her sweet face.

His chest tightened. Damn, she was good for his ego and his heart. He’d only known Piper for such a short time, but it was enough to know he wanted to give her the moon.

He snapped a photo of her on his way over. “This place is great.”

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