Pretend You're Mine(22)

Harper kept her outfit casual with capris and ribbed v-neck in emerald green. She added a little more curl to her hair, letting it hang loosely past her shoulders. A hint of smoky eye and a slick of lip gloss, and she was ready to go.

She checked her reflection in the powder room downstairs and realized she had forgot to put in earrings. She went back upstairs to the bedroom and was rummaging through the drawer when Luke came in from the bathroom.

Wearing only a towel.

Droplets of water clung to his chest. The ink on his arms, as always, drew her eye. The towel hung indecently low on his hips, showing off the plains of his chiseled abs.

The silver hoop she was holding slipped through her fingers and clattered on the floor.

“I ... uh ...,” she stooped and picked up the earring. “Um. Sorry.”

Cheeks flaming, she hurried out of the room, leaving Luke grinning after her.

Harper dashed into the kitchen and stuck her face in the freezer to cool the blush until she heard him on the stairs. She made a show of filling and drinking a glass of water from the faucet and avoided eye contact when he came into the kitchen.

“Ready to go?” he asked, sliding his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

He was wearing jeans and a gray striped button-down with the sleeves rolled up. Harper wondered if he had just reached into his closet and grabbed or if he, like she, had gone through several options. Either way, he looked good enough to undress right here in the kitchen.

“Sure, let’s go.”

She led him outside to her car in the driveway. Luke paused next to the Beetle. “You want me to ride in this?”

“I asked you out, therefore I’m driving.”

“Okay.” He folded himself into the passenger seat with a wry smile. “Let’s get this date started.”

Harper felt a nervous flutter in her belly. When was her body going to remember that this wasn’t a real relationship? It should stop overreacting to the stimuli that was Luke Garrison. She sighed and climbed in behind the wheel, trying to ignore how close they were and how good he smelled. She should have let him drive. The center console of Luke’s truck provided a better barrier.

The Beetle started with a coughing tremor that had Luke’s eyebrows raising. A belt squealed under the hood for a few seconds before Harper shifted into reverse.

“Jesus, what’s wrong with this thing?”

“Don’t listen to him.” Harper patted the steering wheel. “You’re perfect the way you are.”

“Baby, this car is older than you are. Don’t you think it’s time to put it out to pasture? Maybe get something less like a tin can?”

“I love this car. It just needs a little maintenance, which I’m saving up for, and she’ll be good as new.”

“How many times has it let you sit on the side of the road?”

Harper cranked up the radio and grinned. “What? I can’t hear you. Radio’s too loud.”

He shook his head and shifted in his seat. His knee grazed her hand as it rested on the gearshift. Neither made the effort to move.

Luke finally leaned forward and punched the button, turning the music off.

“So how are things going at the office?” In just a few days Harper had made a significant dent in the back work, but there was much more to be done.

“Good, so far.”

“Any areas you see we need to improve on yet?”

Harper glanced at him to see if he was joking. “You want my opinion?”

“You sound surprised.”

She tried to remember the last time a guy had asked her opinion. Ted certainly was never interested at work or at home. When she tried to talk to him about changing his bookkeeping software, he told her not to worry her pretty little head about it.

“I’ve only been there two days.”

“You’re a smart girl.” Luke poked her leg and Harper prayed he didn’t see the goose bumps that cropped up everywhere from his touch. “Don’t hold back. You won’t hurt my feelings.”

Harper eyed him suspiciously. “Okay.” She cleared her throat. “There’s a few areas that could stand some attention.”

“Go on.”

“Well your software is pretty old-school. I think we could find some kind of integrated package that would replace your job costing and invoicing systems, plus your database, with one Swiss army knife tool that does it all. So you’d only have to enter changes once instead of two or three difference places. It shouldn’t cost much more than you’re spending now, and you could really develop a CRM.”

“CRM?”

“Customer relationship management system. Say Frank is on the job site and a client mentions they’re thinking about upgrading to granite in the bathrooms. Frank can grab his iPad or laptop and plug that into the system so it kicks a notice back to the office to price out the upgrade. The next day, the pricing and options are in the CRM and Frank can walk through it with the client.”