My cock swelled with desire. Fucking hell. She’d been here all of two minutes, and I was already hard as a rock. I mentally pictured the most revolting things I could think of, but he didn’t soften even a little bit. Luckily, I was wearing loose board shorts, so my dick wasn’t pressing against the material, making my condition completely obvious.
“Hi,” I greeted her with a bright smile. “Come on in. You look beautiful, by the way.”
She returned my smile as a dusting of pink sprinkled over her cheeks. “Um, hi. I didn’t”—her eyes darted up to look at the house again before returning to my face—“realize we were going to be having dinner at your house.”
I shrugged. “I didn’t want any interruptions, and I love to cook.”
“You do?” Chloe’s expression showed her surprise, and I grinned.
“Sure. You eat a ton of fast food when you’re on tour, so when I’m home, I like to make healthier, slower meals.”
Chloe nodded and giggled. “Makes sense. I just didn’t figure you for the domestic type.”
“I have many layers, baby,” I told her with a smirk, then gestured for her to enter. “I need to check on the halibut. You can keep me company in the kitchen.”
The corners of her eyes crinkled when she smiled back at me, and it was cute as fuck.
As she walked past me, I inhaled deeply, dragging her scent of fresh water and sunshine into my lungs. It felt like I was taking in my first real breath since I’d left her presence.
“Past the staircase, first door on the left,” I instructed her, opting to stay behind and ogle her ass rather than lead.
Chloe’s head turned and tipped every which way, inspecting everything around her. “Wow. This house is amazing.”
“Thanks.” We entered the kitchen, which opened up into a large family room, separated by a long bar with stools. “Grab a seat,” I suggested while I pulled on a pair of oven mitts.
“My house certainly isn’t mansion big,” I chatted as I opened the oven. “But it wasn’t the size that sold me on it.” The fish, encrusted with coconut shavings, was golden brown, so I took the pan out and put it in the warmer built into the wall just above the two ovens.
“Then what made you choose this place?” Chloe asked.
I moseyed to the center island and resumed making the salad before answering. “The backyard. And the fact that it was perfect for a growing family.” One I was determined to make with Chloe, but I planned to keep that to myself for now.
“You want a family?”
Looking up, I raised an eyebrow. “Of course. I’ve always wanted a big family, so a house with lots of bedrooms, an attic that will make a perfect playroom, a theater room, and a game room made sense.”
Chloe’s face didn’t give away what she felt about what I’d said, which frustrated me because even in the two brief times we’d been together, I could see that she was pretty much an open book. “Are you…do you…um, are you planning on this happening soon?”
“Absolutely,” I said, being completely honest.
Her face fell, confusing me. “Oh, I didn’t realize you were dating someone.”
“What?” I was confused by her statement because I couldn't recall a time when I would have implied that I was anything but single.
“Well, I figured since you plan on settling down soon...” She trailed off, looking hesitant and unsure.
“I do, but”—suddenly a light bulb came on, and I realized where this conversation had gone off the rails—“I’m not seeing anyone else. I haven’t even been on a date in an embarrassingly long time. Let’s just say that I have someone in mind. But I’m not sure she’s ready to hear how serious I am about her yet.”
It was clear from her expression that she wanted to ask more but wasn’t sure she wanted to hear my answers.
“I set up the patio for our dinner since it’s such a beautiful night.” I scooped all of the vegetables into a bowl and stuck a pair of salad tongs in it, then held it out. “If you take this, I’ll plate up the halibut and be right behind you.”
“Sure,” Chloe agreed as she hopped down from her stool. “Hopefully, I won’t break it. I don’t need any bad luck this season.”
At the meeting with Spunk Wax, I noticed that she seemed a little quirky, and I found it adorable, which strengthened my attraction to her. Life with Chloe would never be boring, and that thought brought back the excitement I’d felt when she arrived.
After splitting the fish onto two plates, I grabbed the basket of cheesy biscuits I’d baked earlier and headed out the sliding glass doors across the room.
“I can see why this was your other reason for buying the house,” Chloe breathed. She’d set the bowl on the table and walked out to the edge of the stone patio.