Reardon nodded and we had a moment of awkwardness, before he said, “You want a tour?”
“Yes, please.”
He held out a hand, telling me to follow him, and said, “Everything should still be clean. I didn’t have a chance to check every room, since I wanted to get the meat marinating and start on the vegetables, so please, don’t judge me if something got past me.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I assured him. “You’re doing me a favor; I won’t judge you. Cross my heart.”
I literally crossed my heart with my finger, causing him to grin, then let him lead me down the hallway.
“So, you saw the entryway, living room, kitchen and dining areas … Back here we have two guest rooms, a guest bath, and the office. The master bedroom is on the other side of the house.”
He opened the first door, which was actually a fully furnished guest room, which surprised me. I’d almost expected a room with boxes.
“Wow,” I uttered, before I could stop myself.
Reardon chuckled and said, “Rena stays here sometimes when she’s in town, and before he bought his place, Gabe often crashed with me.”
The second bedroom was filled with workout equipment. A treadmill, elliptical, and free-weights filled the space.
“They’re good-sized rooms,” I said, trying not to picture Reardon in here half-dressed and sweaty.
He showed me the bathroom, then pointed at the last door and said with a nervous tone, “And that’s the office. I’ll show you the master now, if you want.”
I paused and turned my head to look up at his face, which was slightly red.
“You’re not going to show me the office?”
When he put a hand behind his head, then opened his mouth and no words came out, I did something uncharacteristically nosy and pushed past him to open the door.
“Chloe,” he began, but it was too late.
I stepped inside and looked around, then bent at the waist and busted out laughing.
Chapter Nine ~ Reardon
Is it bad that seeing her bent over like that, her face lit up with laughter, has me hardening like a boiled egg?
Maybe not the best metaphor, but, damn, Chloe seemed to get sexier every time I saw her.
I didn’t even care that she was laughing at me. I could handle laughter. Before I’d opened the door to my office, I’d been more worried that she’d take one look at the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, packed with books and collectibles, the figurines, the cardboard cutouts, and yes, even the stuffed animals, and run screaming in the other direction.
I was a nerd. A geek. A lover of fandoms and collector of merchandise.
Most people had no idea. You couldn’t tell from my office at work, the clothes I wore, or the things I talked about in polite company, but anyone who really knew me, knew that I was fluent in Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and yes, even Zoey Zahn’s famous trilogy.
From Chloe’s reaction, I was guessing Zoey hadn’t told her how I’d reacted when I’d found out who she really was, or how I’d freaked when she’d given me a signed copy of her books and the action figures for the movies before they were even available in stores. They held a prominent position on a shelf all their own.
“So,” I began, unable to fight back a smile at her laughter, even if it was at my expense. “Now you know…”
Chloe wiped her eyes, and I wasn’t sure if it was because she actually had produced tears, or if she was just fucking with me.
“Wow,” she managed after taking a deep breath. “I mean, I thought you were probably into this stuff after the movie, but I never in my wildest dreams expected this. You’re worse that Zoey.”
Chloe laughed again, as if surprised there was such a thing, then started to walk around the room and look at my shelves.
“Chris would freak out over this,” she said, pointing to my Guardians of the Galaxy collectibles.
I nodded, even though she wasn’t looking at me.