Page 47 of Summer Tease
“Of course,” he says.
“If you can lift that end of the couch, I’ll straighten it out.” It doesn’t actually need straightening, but I’m grasping for any other subject of conversation at the moment than my fake, 18th-century boyfriend.
Beau obediently lifts while I pretend to tweak the rug. It’s probablylessstraight now, but whatever. Maybe I can get Cat to help me fix that when she comes. It’ll drive me crazy otherwise.
“Well,” Beau says, setting down the couch.
I give one more tug to the edge of the rug, then stand and find myself face to face with him.
He’s got the same twinkle in his eyes that makes me think he might still not believe me. “You tell Jamie for me that he’s a very lucky man.”
Heat creeps up my neck and into my face, and my heart hammers. What’s he playing at here? Is this some twisted way of establishing dominance over me—messing with me and making me react to him?
“He already knows that,” I say, pulling my phone out of my back pocket as it vibrates.
The text preview displays across the screen.
Mia
What’s the latest? How’s Officer Palmer?
I angle the screen away from him, but he’s not trying to look at it. He’s still looking at me.
Gemma
Evil
I turn off the screen and hold up the phone. “Just Jamie checking in.”
Beau smiles. “Good man.” At least that’s what his words say, but his face and tone say something more likeI don’t believe you for a second, Gemma Girl.Stupid cop intuition. “So, what’s next on the list?”
I hesitate. We’ve moved the big stuff in this room, but ideally, I’d like to switch things up in the master bedroom and on the deck. I also don’t need any excuses for Beau to stay longer, though. I’m already struggling as is.
“You don’t need to stick around,” I say. “You’ve done your job, and I should get ready for my date.”
Beau raises his brows and glances at his watch, then up at me again. “Early date?”
“He really misses me,” I say.
“That’s sweet.” Beau scrunches his nose in a way that makes me want to punch it. “What is it, ten in the morning there?”
Shoot. I forgot about the time difference. Fake boyfriends are such a hassle.
“Well,” he says, not even waiting for my explanation of my mid-morning date, “if you just tell me what you need done, I can probably do it while you shower and get dressed. Ididpromise to help you get the house ready for sale, and I’m a man of my word. You said pictures are Monday?”
Ugh. I didn’t need that reminder. It’ll take more than twice as long for me to try to do things on my own when I could use the warm body right in front of me.
“Maybe I’ll just ask Jamie if we can push back the show a bit,” I say.
“Good idea,” Beau says. “He’ll understand. He’s a reasonable guy.”
I shoot him an unamused look, pull out my phone, and send another text to Mia with the wordsso evilwhile Beau watchesme with the hint of a smile. This man will drive me absolutely crazy.
I ignore him and lead the way to the deck, while Xena follows at our heels. I explain the adjustments I want to make to the setup, and we get to work unsecuring the furniture from the anchors that keep things in place during the tropical storms Sunset Harbor gets.
Beau’s about twice as fast as I am, but that’s only because one of my anchors has rusted and is completely rigid, trapping the carabiner so I can’t take it off. I growl with frustration, and Beau crouches beside me to give it a shot.
I suppress a smile when he too fails.
