LITMIR.BIZ

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sensed the double meaning in her words. He smiled, folding his arms over his chest. “So, you’re sure you’ll be able to move everything I need to be rearranged?”

      She laughed, a tinkling sound reminiscent of ice cubes falling into a glass. Bending her arms at the elbows in a show of strength, she quipped, “Kickboxing, remember? I got it. Now, are you gonna let me come in?”

      Shaking his head, he stepped aside to allow her entry. Once she’d crossed the threshold, he closed the door behind her and locked it.

      She strode to the center of the living room, near the coffee table, and turned his way. Cracking her knuckles, she asked, “What do you need me to do, Devon?”

      The more he watched her move—and considered the way her petite, shapely figure looked even in casual clothing—the more he thought about asking her to do things that would probably be very bad for his back. Shaking those thoughts away, he gestured to the stairs that led to the second floor. “First, I need all my clothes and toiletries moved from the master upstairs into the downstairs bedroom.”

      “No problem.” She crossed the room and jogged up the stairs.

      He watched her go, again appreciating the view of her ample backside as she climbed the steps. He took a deep breath, wondering how he would keep his thoughts on the task at hand and off her body. The attraction crackling between them was palpable, and part of him knew it had been there for at least the past three years. It was possible she’d been attracted to him before that, and that he’d simply been too wrapped up in his grief over losing Natalie to notice.

      Now, as the passage of time lightened the burden of the loss, he saw Hadley in a new light. But the fact remained: she was Campbell Monroe’s baby sister. Not to mention their oldest sibling, Savion. Since Savion had been two years ahead of Devon and Campbell in school, Devon didn’t really know him that well. Still, every interaction he’d ever had with Savion painted him a serious, exacting man who’d likely be content with his baby sister staying single forever.

      She returned about fifteen minutes later, descending the stairs with his suitcase in one hand and his toiletry bag in the other. “I went through the closet and the dresser, folded all your stuff and put it in here. Then I cleared everything around the bathroom sink and put it in the toiletry bag.” She moved toward him, extending the bags in his direction. “Look through it and make sure I got everything. Then I’ll help you set it all up downstairs.”

      He took his bags to the window seat, where he opened them and inspected the contents as she stood nearby, waiting. “There are only two things missing. My sneakers and my slippers—they’re under the bed.”

      “Got it.” She dashed up the stairs again, returning with the shoes. “Is that everything?”

      He nodded, impressed with her eagerness to help. “Yes, thank you.”

      She smiled again, the corners of her glossy pink lips upturned. “I was just thinking, you’ll need the linens from the closet upstairs, too. Why don’t you go ahead and start putting your things in the downstairs bedroom, and I’ll move the linens to the downstairs closet?”

      “Sounds good.” He watched her walk away again, then took his bags into the downstairs bedroom. The room was well appointed, though not as much as the master upstairs. The decor was all done in varying shades of blue, from the dark carpet to the textured medium-blue wallpaper and the softer blues echoed in the bedding. It would meet his needs nicely. The only downfall was the queen-size bed. He preferred the king upstairs, due to his height. But for the sake of his back, he would manage fine with the queen.

      He went around the room, putting away his clothes again, the same way he had on the day he’d arrived. Once he’d done that and slid his empty suitcase into the closet, he grabbed his toiletry bag from the bed and headed for the bathroom.

      He moved into the bathroom, which was much smaller than the one upstairs, and swung open the mirrored medicine cabinet to put away his stuff. The pedestal sink left him no space to leave toothpaste and whatnot around it, so he tucked away everything he’d need daily and shut the cabinet. He looked to the shower stall, glad the downstairs bathroom had one so he wouldn’t have to climb the stairs to bathe. Satisfied, he tucked the empty toiletry bag under his arm and stepped out into the hallway.

      Hadley was already there, tucking fresh towels and sheets into the hall closet. Because of the narrow hallway, there wasn’t any practical way to go around while she had the closet door open, so he waited.

      She shut the door, saw him standing there and jumped. A little squeal escaped her lips.

      He chuckled. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you, but the hall isn’t wide enough for me to have gone around.”

      She put her hand on her chest, drew a few deep breaths. “No problem. I guess I’m just a bit of a nervous Nellie.”

      He sensed her tension and instinctively placed a hand on her shoulder. He could feel the stiffness gathered there. “Are you going to be okay?”

      She looked up at him, those sparkling brown eyes of hers as wide as the plains in the Midwest. Her mouth fell open in an O shape, but she said nothing.

      Something shifted between them as their eyes connected, and he sensed the tension leaving her, the muscles unknotting beneath his hand. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

      She shook her head, eyes still wide. “No.”

      He gave her shoulder a squeeze before moving his hand away.

      Breaking the contact seemed to bring her back to the moment at hand. She blinked a few times, then asked, “Is there anything else you need me to do?”

      “My laptop and the binders. I left them in the office. Could you grab them and bring them downstairs?”

      She nodded. “Anything else?”

      “The writing table up there. I’d like it moved into the downstairs bedroom, if it’s not too heavy.”

      She was already headed toward the stairs. “Nah, I got it. That thing’s not as heavy as it looks.”

      Over the next several minutes, she moved the writing table into the downstairs bedroom. Once she’d set it in the corner near the window, she placed his laptop and the three binders he’d brought with him on the table. He stood in the bedroom doorway, observing her.

      She turned his way. “Are you good now?”

      “Yes. Thanks for coming over to do this for me.”

      “You’re welcome.” Her brow cocked then. “What’s going on with your back, anyway?”

      He thought about what to say and about how much he wanted her to know. Not wanting her to think of him as helpless, he said, “Let’s just say stunt work is hard on the body, and I’m not as young as I once was.” Great. Now I’ve made myself seem old.

      “Okay, then.” She looked as if she wanted to know more, but thankfully, she didn’t press. Moving toward him, she spoke again. “I’m headed home.”

      He moved so she could exit the bedroom, then trailed her to the door. “Thanks again, Hadley.”

      Opening the door, she turned back toward him with a smile. “Remember, if you need anything else, just call.”

      “Won’t the office be closed over the weekend?”

      A sly expression on her face, she reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a business card. She moved into his personal space, adjusting his arm and hand until his palm was up and open, then pressed the card into his palm. “My cell phone number is on the back.” Closing his fingers over the card, she slipped through the open door and closed it behind her.

      As he flipped the card and read the number scrawled there, he couldn’t contain his smile.

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