Suddenly Sexy(15)

"Sounds wonderful." She meant it. It sounded great, romantic even, but the reality was probably quite different. Dusty for starters, and messy. Very messy. "Old places have character. Take my house for example. It's got so much character it gets frightened during thunderstorms. Seriously, it trembles and everything."

He laughed, a deep, throaty laugh that resonated in his chest. Maddie wanted to press her ear to his ribs and listen to that laugh all night. Of course, the added bonus would be feeling the hard muscles she suspected lay beneath his shirt.

"How about I make your place my first project. You live in an inner city weatherboard don't you?"

Uh-oh. "I can't afford to pay you."

"I won't charge an old friend."

"We weren't friends. You barely spoke two words to me in high school and when you did—"

He held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, I get the picture. So we weren't close. I was two years older, so I guess it's not surprising. Anyway, I won't charge you. You're my best friend's sister-in-law. Besides, Linda would skin me if I asked you to pay."

Maddie relaxed. Thank God he'd stopped her before she put her foot in her mouth and mentioned the nerd thing. She didn't want to dig up the past when the evening was going along so nicely. "Lucky you worked at National Paints," she said. "I guess you gained a lot of knowledge about the right paints to use."

His brows forked. "I guess. I never thought of it that way."

"You never planned it to happen like this?" That didn't make sense. Everyone with a dream made sure they followed a path that would help them to fulfill it one day. Sort of like studying or doing an apprenticeship. Why else would he work for a paint company if he wasn't interested in using paint in his dream job?

"I only recently decided I wanted to start my own renovating business." He shrugged. "I mean, I've always been a handy man and I like old houses, but I didn't think about turning my hobby into a job until I quit National."

"Oh." She blinked at him. He quit before he made his decision? "How strange," she said weakly.

"You think so?" He rubbed his jaw. "I never plan too far ahead. I prefer to go with the flow. If a job offer comes my way and it feels right, I take it. When it no longer feels right, I quit. I guess I'm fortunate in that I'm in a financial position to start up my own business now. It'll take a while to get going and money'll get tighter but," he shrugged, "I'll just ask the bank for a loan when that happens."

Maddie couldn't believe what she was hearing. She wanted to stand up and shout "madness, just madness" like some loony character from a B-grade horror movie, but that would attract too much attention.

"Have you worked out how long you can survive before you'll need the loan?" she asked.

"Nope."

"But surely you've got a plan, at least in your head."

"A plan? You mean a financial one?"

She leaned forward and nodded. This was her area. Plans were what she was good at. "Yeah, like the cost of materials, a fee schedule that you'll charge in the first year, the second and so on until the business becomes viable."

He shrugged. "I used to do all that stuff in my day job. It got pretty dull after a while."

"The banks will need it."

"And I’ll give it to them when the time comes." He gave her a typical Sam Hennessy lopsided, who-gives-a-damn grin. "Don’t worry about it, Maddie. It’ll all work out fine."

That grin unhinged her. She’d been thinking about financials and business plans and then he completely turned her mind to mush with that smile. Not to mention what was happening to her insides. Her stomach was flip flopping all over the place and her inner thighs, well, she never knew there was a pulse located down there.

Damn, but he was handsome. Gorgeous. The best looking man she'd seen. So why was such an attractive and friendly man still single? Usually she'd be asking herself an additional question—what the hell was he doing there with her? But she knew the answer to that. Pheramour.

She hid her smile behind her hand. Thank God for chemical reactions because she was going to enjoy this while it lasted. As much as her conscience would allow anyway.

Or maybe beyond that, like into the bedroom kind of beyond. Definitely maybe.

"Answer me one question," she said, trying to focus. "How did you get to be CEO of National Paints with such a lousy business brain?"

His frown deepened. "Gee, don't spare my feelings or anything."

"Sorry. But I am a little curious."

He shrugged. "No big secret. I can talk. End of story. I know what to say, when to say it and," he leaned forward and brushed his fingertips lazily down her cheek to her chin, "how to say it."