Page 21 of Love, Always and Forever
—
Amy bit into the thick sandwich and almost moaned. She had to give Mikhail credit. The man definitely knew where to eat in this town.
She realized he was watching her rather than diving into his own lunch. “What?”
“I like watching a woman enjoy her food.”
Her face flushed hot as she set the sandwich back down on the plate. “I guess I was pigging out, wasn’t I?”
Mikhail immediately frowned. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you, Amy. I meant that as a compliment. I’ve been out with a couple of women over the years who would order a meal and then barely eat a bite. I never could figure out if they were really that worried about their weight or if they thought guys actually like watching someone starve herself to death.”
Okay, then. She had no right to hate the idea of him being with someone else. A man that good-looking was bound to have had his share of women in his past.
“It’s a crime to let food this good go uneaten even at the risk of adversely affecting the way my jeans fit. I’ll make up for indulging myself by spending extra time on the treadmill when I get home.”
Mikhail finally picked up his own sandwich. “Those jeans fit you just fine. If you don’t believe me, ask that guy in the corner who was checking out your ass when we walked by him on the way in.”
Resisting the urge to glance over her shoulder to see who Mikhail was talking about, she settled for saying, “Thanks. I think.”
Mikhail laughed and waggled his eyebrows. “It was meant as another compliment, not to make you self-conscious about your, um, damn fine assets.”
“Jerk,” she said with no real heat. “Why don’t we change the subject unless you’d rather we talk about the fit of your jeans, too? I’m sure I could round up some women who wouldn’t mind voicing their opinions on the subject.”
It was really cute that Mikhail actually blushed as he held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, a new subject it is. What would you like to talk about?”
There was one thing. She only hoped he didn’t laugh at what she was about to ask. “Do you think I should buy my own motorcycle? Not one as big as your Harley, but one more my size.”
At least he didn’t start laughing or choke on the French fry he’d just eaten. Maybe he was taking her question seriously. “Are you sure you want one? You’ve only ridden on one twice.”
She took another bite of her sandwich to give herself some time to think before she answered. “I have to admit that it is a spur-of-the moment idea, but I’m at least halfway serious about it. Between school and work and other things, I’ve never had much chance to do anything even remotely adventurous, and the idea holds a lot of appeal for that reason. If you don’t think I should, tell me why.”
Again, he took her request seriously. “Well, it goes without saying that riding a motorcycle in heavy traffic is a helluva lot more dangerous than driving a car. It’s worse when it rains, and we both know how often that happens here in the Puget Sound area. You’d also have to take lessons before you can ride out on the road. The classes aren’t prohibitively expensive, and I’ve heard they even do sessions designed especially for women.”
“I was hoping that was the case. Maybe I’ll see what I can find online after I get back to the house.” She gave him a hopeful look. “Any chance we can take the long way home? You know, because it’s such a nice day.”
“Sure, why not.” Then he sighed as if much put-upon. “I’ve created a monster.”
“Yep, it’s all your fault. But to pay you back, I’ll start working on plans for your yard this afternoon.”
“It’s a deal.”
For the next few minutes, they both concentrated on finishing their meals. As they were gathering up the trash, Mikhail frowned. “I meant to ask what you were doing out in your backyard this morning. I could tell you were busy, but not what you were up to back there. Something for the puppy?”
“No, I bought a greenhouse kit at the building supply store, and they delivered it yesterday while you were at work. I was laying out all the parts and trying to make sense of the directions. I’ve assembled things like bookcases before, but nothing the size of this greenhouse or as complicated. It also came with shelves to hold the plants, so there’s lots of pieces to the puzzle.”
“I’ve got a couple of things I need to do when we get home, but then I’ll have time to help you figure it out. If we end up needing extra muscle, I’ll call Jay or Jack to help out. Better yet, I’ll draft Ricky.”
“Tell him that I’ll pay him. That would only be fair, and it will contribute a little more to his car fund.” She took her helmet from Mikhail. “I feel like I’m really imposing on you and your family, but I have to admit that I bit off more than I can handle on my own this time. I can’t see how one person can put it together without having someone else there to hold the pieces in place. If Ricky isn’t available but one of the other guys can help out, I insist on paying the going rate for his time.”
“Here’s the thing about Jay and my brothers,” he said as they headed toward the door, leaning in close as if about to divulge top secret information, “they can be bought for a home-baked pie or even a batch of cookies.”
The heat from the sun overhead had nothing on the warmth radiating from Mikhail’s big body. She knew she sounded a bit breathless when she asked, “And what do you charge for your services?”
His blue eyes twinkled with a touch of wickedness as he brushed the pad of his thumb across the corner of her mouth. “Something just as sweet, but doesn’t involve you having to bake anything.”
How could such a small touch reverberate through her entire body, leaving an achy hunger in its wake? The promise in his smile had her curling in toward him, wanting to bask in the growing heat between them.
“And that would be?”
