“A few months would be ideal.”
Months? He was thinking in terms of weeks. “You’ll need to do it faster than that.”
She thought about it. “How grand do you want to make it?”
“That’s up to you.”
“Instead of say a grand ball, we could do a garden party.”
“That might not be enough of a draw.”
“Okay. Give me a little time and I’ll come up with some other ideas.”
“Just don’t take too long. I’d like to do this in the next few weeks.”
Her eyes widened. “You don’t give a person much room to work, do you?”
“If you’re not up to the challenge—”
“I’ll do it.”
“Good. Now let’s
get you cleaned up.” He led her into the bathroom and set to work cleaning and medicating her injuries.
He felt terrible that she’d been injured because of him. He would work harder in the future not to be so abrasive. He’d obviously been spending too much time alone.
He stood in front of her as she sat on the black granite countertop. He’d just used a cloth to wash the wounds on her arms with soap and water. Now that they were rinsed off, he was gently patting them dry.
As he stood there, he could sense her staring at him. He glanced up to say something, but when his gaze caught hers, he hesitated. And then her gaze lowered. Was she staring at his lips?
CHAPTER SIX
WAS THAT DESIRE reflected in her eyes?
Deacon swallowed hard. Suddenly the walls seemed to close in around them and the temperature was rising...quickly. He should turn away because if she kept staring at him, he was going to start to think that she wanted him—almost as much as he wanted her.
“You shouldn’t do that,” he said.
“Do what?” Her voice carried a note of innocence.
He inwardly groaned. “You know what.”
“If I did, I wouldn’t ask.”
Surely she couldn’t be that naive. Could she? “Look at me like—like you want me to kiss you.”
She didn’t blush, nor did she look away. “Is that what you think I want? Or is that what you want?”
Why did she have to insist on confusing matters? He was already confused enough for both of them. “Forget I said anything.”
“How am I supposed to do that now that I know you’re thinking about kissing me?”
“That’s not what I said.” He huffed in exasperation. “Turn around.”
“Why?”
“Do you have to question everything?”