“Let’s go.”
He touched her arm and the moment he did so, she felt that tingling sensation that always came over her when he touched her, but now the sensations were even stronger than before.
“You okay, Gemma? You’re shivering.”
She drew in a deep breath as they moved from the foyer toward the rest of the house. “Yes, I’m fine,” she said, refusing to look at him. If only he knew the truth about how she was feeling.
Callum leaned against the kitchen counter and stared over at Gemma as she stood on a ladder taking measurements of a particular window. She had long ago shed her jacket and kicked off her shoes. He looked down at her feet and thought she had pretty toes.
They had been here a couple of hours already and there were still more measurements to take. He didn’t mind if he could continue to keep her up there on a ladder. Once in a while, when she moved, he’d get a glimpse of her gorgeous legs and her luscious-looking thighs.
“You’re quiet.”
Her observation broke into his thoughts. “What I’m doing is watching you,” he said. “Having fun?”
“The best kind there is. I love doing this and I’m going to love decorating this house for you.” She paused a second. “Unfortunately, I have some bad news for you.”
He lifted a brow. “What bad news?”
She smiled down at him. “What I want to do in here just might break you. And, it will take me longer than the six weeks planned.”
He nodded. Of course, he couldn’t tell her he was counting on that very thing. “I don’t have a problem with that. How is your work schedule back in Denver? Will remaining here a little longer cause problems for you?”
“No. I finished all my open projects and was about to take a vacation before bidding on others, so that’s fine with me if you think you can handle a houseguest for a little while longer.”
“Absolutely.”
She chuckled. “You might want to think about it before you give in too easily.”
“No, you might want to think about it before you decide to stay.”
She glanced down at him and went perfectly still and he knew at that moment she was aware of what he was thinking. Although they had enjoyed each other’s company, they had practically walked on eggshells around each other all day. After lunch he’d taken her on a tour of downtown and showed her places like the Sydney Opera House, the Royal Botanic Gardens and St. Andrew’s Cathedral. And they had fed seagulls in Hyde Park before coming here. Walking beside her seemed natural, and for a while they’d held hands. Each time he had touched her she had trembled.
Did she think he wasn’t aware of what those shivers meant? Did she not know what being close to her was doing to him? Could she not see the male appreciation as well as the love shining in his eyes whenever he looked at her?
Breaking eye contact, he looked at his watch. “Do you plan to measure all the windows today?”
“No, I’d planned to make this my last one for now. You will bring me back tomorrow, though, right?”
“Just ask. Whatever you want, it’s yours.”
“In that case, I’d like to come back to finish up this part. Then we’ll need to decide on what fabrics you want,” she said, moving to step down from the ladder. “The earlier the better, especially if it’s something I need to backorder.”
He moved away from the counter to hold the ladder steady while she descended. “Thanks,” she said, when her bare feet touched the floor. He was standing right there in front of her.
“Don’t mention it,” he said. “Ready to go?”
“Yes.”
Instead of taking her hand, he walked beside her and said nothing. He felt her looking over at him, but he refused to return her gaze. He had promised that the next time they kissed she would ask for it, but she’d failed to do that, which meant that when they got back to his place he would turn up the heat.
“You all right, Callum?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Where would you like to eat? It’s dinnertime.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’m up for anything.”
He smiled when an idea popped into his head. “Then how about me preparing dinner tonight.”