Maybe both.
He ducked under the door and stepped inside. He was so tall that he literally had to duck. The old cottage was built in the 1940’s, where people had apparently been smaller than the ginormous man.
More like me.
Immediately Basil came over to say hello. They greeted each other like old friends, which I found annoying for some indefinable reason.
Really annoying.
He glanced at me and walked toward the kitchen. Not that it was far in the tiny beach house. But it was obvious he was intrigued by the set up.
"So, you are a baker?"
I nodded and crossed my arms over my chest. I’d forgotten to put on a bra and suddenly I felt naked. Exposed.
Way to go, Jennster.
The man was so damn virile that he made me feel tiny, weak.
Turned on as hell, which also annoyed me.
He grinned at me. The man seemed to be determined to wear me down. For some reason I found it enraging.
Mostly because it was starting to work.
"I'll have to buy a cake then."
"Sure. I can give you my menu or you can request something custom. I'm flexible."
He grinned wider, like I’d made a dirty joke. I groaned and turned away, riffling through the drawer for a menu. I found a relatively uncrumpled one and handed it to him. He was still grinning, damn him.
I just knew he was taking my statement as some sort of sexual innuendo.
Ugh.
"Thanks."
I shrugged and crossed my arms again. Had his eyes just skimmed over my tits or was I insane? It was impossible to tell through his sun glasses.
What kind of D-bag wore sunglasses inside?
"I'm glad you guys were in. The whole day has been madness really but I wanted to make sure I stopped by."
I cocked my head. What the hell was he talking about? He might be pretty, but I was starting to wonder if he was just a walking gonad.
"Oh?"
"Well, my big housewarming party is tomorrow night. I would love it if you came."
My jaw dropped.
“Housewarming?”
“Yeah, my house is finally done.”
I was glaring at him, steam ready to come out of my ears. The daft man didn’t seem to notice.
“Which house?”
He pointed out the window at the monstrosity next door.
"You are- the one who has been making all that noise for months now? You are the one who has destroyed my view?"
He looked a little bit alarmed as I stood up straight and pointed my finger at his chest accusingly. He held up his hands and backed away.
"Hey, I'm sorry it was loud or spoiling your view. I had no idea."
I scowled at him.
“Of course you didn’t! Because rich, d-bags like you never. Ever. Think. About anyone else!”
He was smiling at me now, like I was amusing. Like I was a puppy biting his sneaker. I was not a puppy dammit!
"You and your construction crew have ruined my life for months! I've barely been able to think straight!"
His hands were high in the air like it was a hold up. Hell, maybe it was. I sure as shit wished I had a gun at the moment. He was lucky I didn’t.
I definitely would have shot his cute little ass.
"Who are you anyway? Some slick investment banker? You are just the kind of person who is ruining this town!”
I yanked the menu out of his hands.
"I will not be baking you anything! Ever!"
He stopped backing away.
"The kind of people? Isn't that a bit prejudiced?"
I snorted. He was not leaving fast enough.
"What, scummy wall street guys are a protected class now?"
"I'm not a wall street guy. I'm a musician."
He pulled his sun glasses off and my jaw dropped. Huge golden brown eyes stared at me. I hadn’t been wrong about the gorgeous part. I’d just understated it.
The man was a greek god.
Now I recognized him. I must be an idiot for not catching that before. He was one of the most famous men in the entire world.
Slade Fucking Kinney.
Rock Star and scumbag extraordinaire. Dater of models and actresses. Partier. Womanizer. Scoundrel.
And now he was here, ruining my view and trying to get into my pants to boot!
Fanfuckingtastic.
He had an earnest look on his face.
"Hey Jenny, ease up. I'm not the enemy I swear."
I crossed my arms again and sighed.
"Are you going to start throwing loud parties every night?"
"What? No. Just this one. It won't even be loud. I promise. I came out here to get away from all that bullshit."
I frowned and looked at him, saying nothing.
A famous asshole had just moved in next door. My peaceful, bucolic life was over as I knew it. My family had lived out here for three generations and now it was as bad as Brooklyn or LA.
The cute little stretch of bay had just officially become part of the hamptons, with a capital H.
UGH.
And to add insult to injury, for some bizarre reason I found him attractive.