She chuckled to herself. Yeah, it was cruel to tease him by flaunting her underwear, but it was so fun. She shouldn’t be the only one hot and bothered this morning.
After brushing her teeth and getting dressed, she made her way down the staircase. Loud banging sounded from the kitchen. With one hand, Ryan held a picture against the wall, and with the other, he drew a line with pencil at the top of the frame. He placed the picture on the floor and took a couple steps back, narrowing his eyes. “That look like a good spot for it?”
Torn, she didn’t know whether she should tell him she despised the picture he’d chosen for the kitchen. A dark wooden frame surrounded a picture of apples, bananas, and oranges in a green and purple bowl. It didn’t go with their Italian-style kitchen. But she decided to pick her battles. “Sure. Great spot.”
He cocked a brow and shook his head before bending down to get a nail and hammer from the tool box. Nice. She grabbed an egg bagel from a paper bag and crossed the kitchen to get a mug. She couldn’t get over how domestic this scene was with her having breakfast while watching Ryan hang up pictures. It almost seemed as though they lived together for real. Not for an inheritance, but because they’d chosen to.
Needing her caffeine fix, she poured coffee into her mug, inhaling its rich aroma. She sipped and rested against the counter watching Ryan place the nail on the pencil mark. Who would have guessed a rich boy would end up being so handy? The muscles in his biceps rippled as he hammered the nail with moderately hard force.
Crack. The hammer drove the entire nail into the wall and created a hole the size of a fist. Pieces of drywall crumbled to the floor. Ryan swore loudly.
She calmly poured coffee into another mug and carried it to him. “I take it that shouldn’t have happened?”
He dropped the hammer back into the tool box, accepted the coffee, and took a sip. “No. I’m strong, but not superhero strong. I think the wall is hollow.”
“Hmm. That’s bad?” she asked, playing dumb.
The sides of his mouth twitched. “It means we’re not hanging up any pictures. Whoever ends up with the house will want to reinforce the wall with support. But it’s not an immediate concern. Unless there’s a major earthquake, the wall shouldn’t crash down.”
She frowned, wondering if earthquakes were common in Michigan. Judging by his grin, she’d wager he was joking with her. “Good to know.” She carried her coffee and bagel to the table and sat.
He picked out his bagel and joined her. “How’d you sleep?” His gaze bore into her and she instantly grew wet and ready. Damn.
“Good for the most part.” Not that the other part was bad. On the contrary, her dream had been extraordinary. But he wouldn’t get her to talk about it with him. As it was, she had to concentrate on not blushing.
He chewed his bagel and quietly assessed her, not taking his gaze off her for a second. She squirmed in her chair and picked at her bagel. “And you?”
“Funny thing. I had this—”
Her cell rang and vibrated in her pocket. “Hold that thought,” she told him, digging in her pants to pull out her phone. It was Viola. “Hey, what are you doing up so early?”
“Early? I haven’t gone to sleep yet, dear sis.”
“All right then, what are you doing up so late?” She mouthed “sorry” to Ryan and listened as her sister rattled on about the guy she was seeing and his cousin.
“Meet us at my place for dinner at seven. Sound good?”
Crap, she missed whatever her sister had asked. “What? Meet who for dinner?”
“Weren’t you listening? And they say I have attention deficit. Jon, the guy I’ve been hanging out with, has a nephew visiting from Boston. He’s recently single and Jon’s trying to convince him to move to Detroit, so we’re taking him out for a night on the town. Meet at my place at seven and we’ll all go out for dinner and dancing. I promise to have you home before the clock strikes ten and you turn into a pumpkin. Oh, and wear something sexy instead of your usual. We want to entice the guy, not scare him off.”
Portia ignored her sister’s subtle insult and decided going out with a group sounded like fun. “Don’t you have to work tonight?”
Viola yawned. “It’s my night off. You and Ryan still planning on coming one night to hear me?”
She looked at Ryan who was sipping his coffee and checking out the wall while he pretended he wasn’t listening, but clearly was. “Of course. I’ve missed your voice.”
“My band’s pretty stellar. Too bad it’s a temporary gig.”