Page 25 of Grinchland
I pressed my fingers to my lips and nodded. Then I motioned for him to follow me. I held the door open as he passed through to the foyer, kicking his shoes off as he entered. With the door now shut, I led him through the house and into my bedroom. The lights on the Christmas tree in there were on, creating a warm ambiance. I pulled back my covers and patted the bed.
Silas was gentle as he lowered her to the mattress. She whined and wiggled for a moment before she stilled. It was doing strange things to my insides, watching him sweep back the hair that had come loose from her braid, before he studied her to make sure she was comfortable and then straightened.
When his gaze met mine, I realized that I had been staring, so instantly I looked away.
What are you doing? the voice from earlier hissed in my ear.
Being an idiot, apparently.
“She good?” I whispered after I’d gathered my wits and turned my attention back to Silas.
He was still studying Isabelle. It felt like an eternity before he glanced up and nodded. “I think we’re good.” He glanced around my room, and I watched as the realization that he was in my room passed over his face.
His cheeks reddened and he looked panicked when he met my gaze.
“Let’s leave her,” I said as I began to shepherd him to the door. I wasn’t messy, but I also wasn’t a clean freak. The last thing I needed was for him to see my bra dumped on the floor because I’d been too tired last night to put it away.
Once we were out in the hallway, I quietly closed my door until it was open just a crack. That way, he’d hear Isabelle if she got up, but she wouldn’t be bothered by us moving around.
I glanced up to see Silas studying me. The narrowness of the hallway forced him close to me, and suddenly, I wasn’t just looking at him, I was looking up at him. I could feel his body heat and smell his scent. It was a mixture of rough, outdoorsman with the scent of clean laundry.
This interaction was too intimate.
In an effort to focus on something else, I dropped my gaze to his chest and gave his outfit a once-over. He was wearing a black sweatshirt and a pair of grey sweatpants. He went more casual this evening, a stark difference from the suits I’d thought he lived in.
“What?” Silas was frowning when I glanced up. Finally, an expression I recognized.
I shook my head. “Nothing.” I turned and made my way through the hall and back into the kitchen to find that the microwave had finished. I was pulling out the bag of popcorn when Silas appeared in the doorway.
“What were you staring at?” he asked as he glanced down at his clothes.
“Nothing,” I said again. I pulled open the sides of the bag and then dumped the popcorn into the bowl on the counter.
“It’s not nothing. You were staring at my clothes with a strange look.” He folded his arms and rested his shoulder on the doorjamb. He really wasn’t going to let this go.
I sighed. “Do you own anything that’s not basic?”
He frowned. “Basic?”
I crumpled up the now empty popcorn bag and tossed it into the nearby garbage. I assessed the popcorn pile and concluded that we had enough.
“You know, brown, white, black.” I ticked the colors off on my fingers and emphasized the last color by pointing to his sweatshirt.
“What’s wrong with basic?” he asked as he once more glanced down at his clothes.
I shook my head. “Nothing.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“Besides, I can solve”—I waved my hand in his direction—“all of this.” I smiled at my ability to mirror the gesture that he made toward me on the first day back at him.
He paused as his expression grew contemplative. “I never agreed to having you dress me.”
“You agreed to everything,” I said as I waggled my finger at him.
He shook his head. “I do believe my words were, within reason.”
I blinked, startled that I was going to have to explain this to him. “A Christmas sweater is within reason.”
