“Do you want to split up, or should we stick together?”
She looked up, shock registering, and for a moment I was transported back to the day I had asked her almost that exact question. She must have been thinking the same thing.
“Do you want to stay with me in Texas? Or are we splitting up?”
“It will probably be faster if you grab what you need while I order the blinds.”
Disappointment rushed through me, but I quickly pushed it away. “Okay.”
I watched her walk away and couldn’t ignore the way I had wanted to touch her cheek softly and tell her how beautiful she was.
Jesus, Foster. Get your head in the game.
Before I turned to head off to the tools, I saw Paige look over her shoulder before facing forward again. I ignored the way that made my heart jump a bit.
After picking up a few tools, I made my way back to the specialty blinds area. Paige was sitting in a chair, smiling at something the associate had said. I hated that she didn’t smile like that when I talked to her. Of course, maybe if I wasn’t such a dick she would. If I hadn’t broken her heart by acting like a complete asshole when we were younger, she might not look at me like it hurt to breathe around me.
“How’s it going over here?” I asked, winking at Paige and then giving the guy a nod. His smile faded but he reached for my hand. I knew the type of impression I was giving him, and so did Paige. He instantly thought we were together. Paige didn’t look the least bit happy.
“It’s going good. We’ve just about got your blinds ordered for your room.”
“It’s not our room. It’s my room,” Paige said with a sweet smile directed at the guy.
“Well, it’s our house,” I added.
The guy’s eyes bounced from me to Paige then back to his computer.
“Okay, looks like we are all set. Did you want us to install them?”
“No, I can do it,” I said quickly.
Paige shot me a dirty look. “I can manage to hang them myself, thank you.”
“Ah, a resourceful woman,” the employee douche said.
She giggled, and I jerked my head back in surprise. Was she falling for this guy’s lame attempt at flirting? And why the hell was he flirting with her when I was standing here? As far as he knew, we could very well be together. As a couple. Having sex. Lots of sex with me grabbing onto her hips and….
I shook my head to clear my wayward thoughts. She needed to take those pigtails down. The sooner the better.
He pulled out a card and wrote a number. “Here is my card. I went ahead and put my cell phone on there, just in case.”
“Thank you, Doug. I appreciate all of your help,” Paige said with a sticky sweetness to her voice that made my stomach feel like I had just eaten an entire jar of my mother’s peach jam.
I didn’t like the way he was looking at her.
“Ready to go, Paige?” I asked, breaking the weird little connection they had going on.
Paige gave Doug another flirty smile. “I’ll be back to order more soon.”
He waved. “Looking forward to it. Make sure you ask for me, so I can give you the concierge treatment, Paige.”
When he looked at me, my expression clearly said back the fuck off. His smile vanished in an instant.
Asshole.
As we walked to the counter, I chuckled. “Seriously, Paige? The Home Depot guy?”
“What was wrong with him?”
I looked back toward the area we had come from. “For starters, he’s for sure married.”
She laughed. “And what drew you to that conclusion, Detective Lucas?”
“He had a tan line from a ring on his left hand.”
“He’s divorced. Recently.”
Well, shit.
“Oh.”
“What else is wrong with him? He works at Home Depot and not some big fancy company in Austin? Is that what I’m supposed to look for? A guy with money? Security?”
“Well, a guy who makes good money isn’t a bad thing. And neither is security.”
“Well, I’d much rather have happiness than money.”
“What about security?”
She looked up at me. “You can have that without money.”
“Aw, so you believe that happiness can buy you everything.”
Her eyes filled with sadness again, and when she spoke, her voice shook slightly. “No, I’m not that naïve.”
We checked out in silence. The only words spoken were to the cashier to say thank you and have a nice day.
After I put my purchases in the back of her 4-Runner, I slid into the passenger seat. This time I wasn’t going to sit for nearly thirty minutes and not talk.
“Do you want to go across the street and get a frozen yogurt?”
“What, are we friends now, Lucas? Because that’s what friends do, and you’ve made it quite clear that that isn’t the case,” she reminded me, her voice cold again.