Her gaze trailed down his back to his tight waist and taut buttocks. Megan’s palms itched at the memory of those hard muscles as well. Her study continued to his long, lean legs covered in coffee-colored khakis. Last night, she’d wrapped her limbs around his legs and drawn him tighter to her. She bit back a moan as those memories flooded her body. How would tonight end?
Megan took a long drink of her iced tea to ease her dry throat.
She wandered into the living room. “How’s your unpacking going?”
“Faster than I’d thought.” Ean’s voice carried into the other room. “I’m ready to get on with my life now that I finally know what I’m doing.”
That was Ean. He wasn’t impulsive, but he’d always been impatient—to grow up, to move away, to move on. Was he really going to settle down in Trinity Falls? If so, with whom?
Megan crossed back into the dining room. “We’d love to have you as a member of the Trinity Falls Town Center Business Owners Association.”
“Have you ever considered shortening that name?”
“If we did, would you join the group?”
“What does it do?” He measured spaghetti into the pot of boiling water.
Just the sight of his large hands brought back memories of last night. She sipped more iced tea. “We promote the town center, address its maintenance and resolve any other issues.”
Ean turned away from the stove. “‘Issues’? Like the town council putting the center on the market?”
She had his undivided attention. His olive eyes regarded her with interest. It took a moment to collect her scattered thoughts. “And Ramona’s plans to gentrify the center.”
“How’s she going to do that?” Ean’s expression was part amusement, part confusion.
Megan spread her arms. “Even she doesn’t know. But we’re concerned for our businesses. We’re also concerned for the town.”
“Why?”
“If the council members change the character of the town center, what types of stores will they bring in? Will those stores still meet the town’s needs?”
“Those are very good questions.”
Megan waited for something more than Ean’s verbal pat on the head. “Did you read Darius’s article?”
“Yes.” He took two dinner plates from an open packing box on the marble-tiled flooring to wash and dry them.
She swallowed her exasperation. “Do you agree that there’s a cause for concern?”
“Definitely.” Ean placed the plates on the counter beside the stove.
Megan waited. “And?”
“What?” Ean pulled silverware from another packed box and cleaned them.
Was he being deliberately obtuse? “Would you like to be a member of the business owners association?”
“Sure.” Ean shrugged. “It sounds like an important group.”
Megan shook her head and swallowed a laugh. After all that prodding, Ean made the decision to join the business group seem like a no-brainer. They spent the rest of the pasta preparation talking about the association, Books & Bakery and the tasks Ean had to complete before officially opening his practice.
Their conversation continued through dinner. She helped him clear the table, but Ean insisted on loading the dishwasher and scrubbing the pots and pans himself.
Megan wandered over to his narrow maple wood bookcase and scanned the titles. “When did you develop an interest in biographies? You used to love science fiction.”
“I like a lot of different genres—mysteries, classics, nonfiction. I still read sci-fi.”