Page 12 of Mister Curb Appeal
I clear my throat. “I don’t know what got into him. I think he just lost his bearings for a second, he does that sometimes. He’s almost ten.”
“My leg is fine. I already put some salve on it.”
“Are you sure? I feel like you’re just being nice,” I say, because that’s just like Josh.
“I promise. Like you said, he just got disoriented and went a little nuts. I can’t say I blame him. I would’ve reacted the same way if I were in his shoes.”
I swallow hard. “Again, Joshie, I’m really, really sorry.”
He holds up a hand, easily carrying his woodpile under the other arm. “Stop apologizing. Am I embarrassed? Yeah, a little, but as long as we keep the whole shower thing to ourselves, nobody has to know.”
He thinks I’m going to run and tell Ali about what happened? I’m definitely not, but I will be texting my best friend, Megan, because this is too good not to share.
Of course my bestie knows all about my little Joshua fetish, so she’ll be tickled pink by the news.
Somewhere buried within the depth of me, I remember I’m Alexis fucking Kennedy and straighten my spine. “Well, for the record, you’ve nothing to be embarrassed about.”Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.
His eyebrows shoot up for a fraction of a second. For the first time in history, is Joshua Lucas stumped? “Thanks, Lex. I should, uh, get this wood inside,” he says finally. “Oh, and I poured you a glass of wine, it’s on the counter.”
“Thank you.” I follow him inside.
In my bid to get another gander at his hot body while he chopped wood, I completely by-passed the wine, and the chickensalad he spread across a couple of crackers. I don’t think he could get any more adorable if he tried.
“Figured you might be hungry after that long drive,” he says, hauling the wood over to the already full wood basket. This man is also meticulous.
“I’m actually starving,” I admit. “I’ve also got some bad news.”
He dusts his hands off, then turns to look at me. “Oh, is everything okay?”
I wave my phone at him. “I checked online and there’s no accommodation this weekend.”
“I know, I checked as well. But you don’t have to worry about that, I’ll figure it out.”
I try not to let the disappointment show on my face that he may still leave. “Why, where are you going?”
He shrugs. “I’ll find something. I may even just drive back home.”
“Joshua,” I say, a little more sternly. “You can’t drive back tonight, it’s getting dark, and I feel bad enough already that you’re planning on leaving after I ruined your weekend.”
“You didn’t ruin anything.” Is it just me, or do his eyes darken? I didn’t think that was even possible with blue eyes like his, but I’m slowly learning there are all shades of blue when it comes to him.
“So, tell me the truth. Where are you planning on sleeping?”
He looks a little sheepish when he palms the back of his neck in that way of his, then meets my eye again. “I was probably going to camp in the back of my truck.”
Chapter Seven
JOSHUA
My girl’s eyes widen, then she does the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen; she crosses her arms over that ample chest of hers and shakes her head.
Since when did I start thinking of her as my girl?
“Absolutely not!” All that’s missing is the stamp of her foot.
“I’ll survive.”
“You’re not camping out in your truck when there’s a perfectly good bed in here,” she says, making my heart pound in my chest. My palms begin to sweat. As if realizing what she could be implying, she quickly adds, “I meant, you take the bed, I’ll take the couch. I wasn’t implying that we… uh…never mind.”
