Page 71 of So Not My Thing
“Here. Uh, okay, look, I’m heading home soon, and I’ll pop in and take a look.”
“Great.” He sounded relieved, and I liked the flutter of warmth that created in my chest a little too much.
“Actually, why don’t you text over the choices? Then you don’t have to wait until I get home.”
He paused for a second. “This works better if you stand in the space while you’re looking at the options, don’t you think?”
Miles Crowe wanted to see me, and he’d made up excuses three days in a row to get me downstairs. He wanted me in his space, and it didn’t have anything to do with chair legs.
How did I feel about that?
I had been so good. Keeping it professional, keeping Miles at a distance. But my instincts said Miles would need only the tiniest sign from me to close that gap.
What if I did it? Would it be so bad to flirt with the cute guy downstairs? Would it be so bad to find out how his lips felt instead of wondering about it?
Maybe. But I didn’t care anymore.
A smile curved my lips. “Sure, I’ll check it out when I get home.” And there was another warm flutter at using “home” to refer to a building we both occupied.
“See you then.”
When I pulled in after work, I was glad I’d worn my favorite green top with a pencil skirt. I’d had a client lunch, and the outfit flattered my body while still being completely professional.
I walked around to the front and pushed through the front door of the club. “Show me what you’re working with,” I said.
Aaron snorted, and I realized that Miles wasn’t alone. I didn’t like the snort. It made my words sound vaguely dirty.
“Hey, Aaron.”
“Hey, Elle.”
That was a surprise. I didn’t think he even knew my name. But he didn’t look up from his phone, so that at least was normal.
“I don’t know how I can like three such different chair designs, but I do. I’m serious. This is what breaks me.” Miles placed his phone in my outstretched hand, his fingers brushing mine and sending tiny sparks through my palm.
I gave the screen a quick glance and handed it back. “You know what to do.”
He stared down at the options. “The first one?”
“Bingo.”
The brick was the only place he’d gone wrong. I could imagine everything else he’d shown me over the last few days in here, and I liked the way the pieces worked together in my mind.
“I feel better.” He slid his phone into his pocket. “I’m hungry for dinner. Want to grab a bite?”
Aaron’s presence changed the whole vibe, and for once, I probably owed him a thank you for snatching me back from a stupid mistake. I gestured down to my clothes. “I need to go change and get in a run but thanks for thinking of me.”
“Next time then.” Miles’s tone was laid back, like the rejection hadn’t stung at all.
“I’d better get going while I’ve got some light,” I said, turning toward the door. “Good luck with the rest of the renovation.”
“I’ll walk you out.” He held the door for me like a perfect gentleman. “Thanks for coming down. And Ellie?” he said, as I stepped past him to the sidewalk. “Seriously, feel free to come in through the kitchen next time.”
I gave him a polite, noncommittal smile and headed upstairs to change. When I came back down, Aaron was waiting for me at the back door.
“Hey, Elle,” he said. “Wanted to chat for a minute.”
A chat with a guy who’d never once tried to make conversation with me? This should be interesting. And probably annoying based on every previous second I’d spent in Aaron’s company.
