Open House (Kingston Bros.) (7 page)

"Relax. That's my cousin's house. No one lives there now. Not even a single rabid Rottweiler. Besides, we're not going there. The cottage out back is our destination."

"Oh. I get it. Is it for sale?"

"Nope. It's not even finished yet. I think the hardwood floors are being put in today, or possibly tomorrow. But I want you to keep an open mind. Check out the floor plan, the size, and the fixtures. I think something similar might be a perfect fit for someone like you."

Lacey wasn't sure what Serena meant by 'someone like you' but she was too distracted by the sight before her to comment. They had driven behind the monstrous white house and followed a narrow paved road into the woods until they came to a clearing. In the middle of that clearing was a small, adorable house. It was tiny, yes, but had a huge bay window and a porch large enough for a swing, or some chairs. In short, it was lovely.

"Oh. Wow. Look at that," Lacey sighed, getting out of Serena's car, and walking toward the cottage. "It's so cute. What is this place?"

"Well, it started off as a playhouse, but my cousin modified it from the original plan, and turned it into a cottage. Only a few people have seen it. Last time I was here it was just a big room, with some of the framing completed, but it didn't really look like much. One of my other cousins told me that Jack has been working on it like mad. So I'm just as curious as you are to check it out." They walked up the small flight of steps to the porch. "Let's go inside. Evidently, the door is missing, so we probably don't even need to knock."

The missing door was just inside, lying on two saw horses. A familiar, dark-haired figure, naked to the waist, was leaning over it, running a piece of sandpaper over its rough edges. He was so intent on his task that he didn't even notice their arrival until Serena cleared her throat. Jack looked up, clearly annoyed at being interrupted, but then his expression changed to what could only be described as surprised delight when he saw who was with Serena.

Lacey's expression, however, was one of horror. "You," she said. "What are you doing here?" She loved this little cottage, but running into him again, especially shirtless, was too much for her. She needed to get out of here.

Jack frowned at Lacey, shocked at the way she had gone pale when she recognized him. What exactly had Serena said about him? "I'm here because this is my place. What are you doing here?" He hadn't meant to sound quite so belligerent, but she was looking at him like he'd just belched the alphabet or something equally disgusting.

Serena interrupted. "She's here, Jay, because I wanted to show her your cottage. I think something similar would work for her, don't you? Why don't you introduce yourself and show us around?"

But Lacey was already out the door and down the steps. She knew she was being incredibly rude, especially considering Serena had gone to all the trouble of bringing her out here. But being around him was too much of a temptation. Just the sight of that all that tan skin and muscles made her think about indulging in some downright dirty immoral and possibly illegal acts. None of which were possible with a married man. The best thing for everyone involved was to get the hell out of here before she made an ass of herself again, or worse, caved into her carnal impulses and jumped him, hard.

If she'd had her own car, she would have been gone already. But she had foolishly carpooled with Serena. She pulled her cell phone out of her bag and was relieved to see that she was able to get reception. She started to call a cab company when she realized that she had no idea where she was. What now? She was trapped out here with Captain Temptation.

"Lacey, what's going on?" Serena called from the porch. "Are you not feeling well?"

That was a great idea. Maybe she could fake an illness and have an excuse to leave with some of her dignity intact. Perfect. "Yeah. I'm really not. Can we go? Like right now?"

Serena caught up with her at the car and studied her for a moment. "You do look a little pale. Is it your stomach? Do you want me to check with Jay to see if he has anything for diarrhea, or whatever? He'd probably have to go to the main house to get it, but his wife was a complete hypochondriac, so there's probably something there that would work."

"No. Please don't," Lacey shouted. She didn't want to be trapped here like a rat, but that was preferable to him suspecting that she might be suffering from some repulsive stomach bug.

"Lacey, what's really going on here?"

"Nothing. I just need to get back."

"Seriously? You were fine on the ride up here. Was it my driving? Some people don't like the way I drive."

"No, it wasn't that. Though I am a little surprised that you still have a license. I just wasn't planning on running into him again."

"Jack?"

"I guess so. You called him 'Jay' before."

"Because he's a Jack Junior, and it was too confusing having two Jack's in the family. But never mind that. You don't like my cousin?"

"He's your cousin?"

"Yeah. Did he do or say something offensive at the Open House? He wasn't creepy, was he? He's been out of the game for awhile and I'm not sure if he realizes how intense he can appear."

"What do you mean? In the game? He's married. The only game he should be playing should be with his wife."

Serena gaped at her. "His wife has been out of the picture for almost a year and a half!" Serena wanted to tell Lacey about the accident at this point, but thought Jack would prefer to tell her himself. Besides, Lacey was skittish enough without sharing that particular story. "And how did you know he was married anyway? He didn't even bother to tell you his name last week, and yet you seem to know a lot about him. Now, who's creepy?"

Lacey flushed a bright red. "Alright. I looked him up online. But just because I was interested in his skills as a builder. I wasn't cyberstalking him."

"You totally were," Serena said, triumphantly. "That's okay. If he wasn't my cousin, I'd probably do the same thing." Serena's smile faded. "But I'll warn you, the subject of Deborah, his wife, is a touchy one, so I wouldn't bring it up. Even his family avoids the subject. That's why she's still on the website. No one has gotten up the nerve to ask him about removing her. And he hasn't been interested in dating, so we didn't see any urgent reason to change it."

"So, he's single?" Lacey asked tentatively. How could that guy be single? And being single didn't mean he wasn't above flirting with women to sell houses. Maybe Serena was kind of like his real estate pimp and set him up with desperate, lonely women all the time? It would totally work. What woman wouldn't want to buy a house from him, especially in his manly shirtless state? That sight had certainly fried her brain cells, not to mention her panties.

"Very. And he asked me if I had your phone number after the Open House last week."

Lacey looked at her doubtfully. "So, he could ask me about the row-houses, right?"

"Absolutely not. He was into you. But turned chicken-shit at the last second. That was just some weird macho ruse."

"Seriously? So you orchestrated all this just to get us together? Wouldn't it have been easier to just give him my email address?"

"Well, partly. It seems silly now, but I wanted to check you out first."

"Okay. That's what the interrogation at the coffeehouse was all about. You were doing some kind of background check. So, did he know about this?

"Oh God. No! I acted completely on my own. I swear he didn't even know I had your email address."

"You're going to an awful lot of trouble to match-make for him? Should I be worried?"

"Well, like I said, getting you two together was only part of it. I have an ulterior motive that I'll get to later. Bottom line is, I really do think a place like this would work for you, and if you want to go back inside, Jack will show us around and maybe you can get to know him a bit. He's a bit of a grump, but a great guy otherwise. And I think he needs someone like you in his life. But no pressure."

"Right. No pressure at all. But what are we going to tell him about my reaction to seeing him? I did run off like a freak." Maybe Serena had a point. What harm could there be in getting to know him a bit. It was possible that he was sweet and honest and impossibly hot too. She just had to have a little faith, and quit being so paranoid. She had to at least give him the benefit of the doubt. How often did she meet guys like him anyway? Never. She might never meet someone like him again. And she didn't actually have any evidence that he was a creep, so why was she assuming the worst about him?

"We'll just say you were overwhelmed by his manliness and had to get some air."

"He'll believe that?"

"No, but he'll be so glad you came back that I don't think he'll push it too far. I'll leave it upto you to explain that you cyberstalked him and thought he was a slimy, married shit-heel."

"Good point. Maybe I'll just say I left my cell out in the car."

*****

Jack was utterly confused. He'd been fantasizing about running into Lacey almost constantly for the past week. Mostly these daydreams consisted of some variation on him being suave, saying something witty, followed by her being so charmed that she immediately removed her shirt and sunk to her knees in front of him. Something like that. Not once had he ever imagined her turning white and fleeing the room. What had happened here exactly? And what did he need to do to remedy it?

He was standing on the porch, watching Serena and Lacey have what appeared to be a very animated conversation out by the car. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he was pretty sure his cousin was trying to convince Lacey to come back to the cottage. He put on his threadbare Oscar the Grouch T-shirt, and sat down on the bannister, crossing his arms across his chest.

It was difficult, but he would wait. If he ran out there now, he would definitely look like a domineering jerk. A very big part of him wanted to just pick her up and throw her over his shoulder and keep her. But what he considered a romantic gesture could be misinterpreted as a felony, so he kept himself in check, and waited. But if she made a move to get in the car, then all bets were off. He was going to drag her back to the cottage and convince her to stay. Using every sensual skill he'd dreamed of sharing with her over the last week.

Today, she was dressed in jeans again, but instead of a T-shirt, she was wearing a black ruffled blouse that scooped low in front, exposing just a hint of a red lacy camisole beneath. She had her arms crossed and the position caused a deep valley of cleavage he could see even from 30 feet away. He wondered if she was aware of what the sight of those magnificent curves did to a man? It was completely unfair that he was going to have to make polite conversation with her when all he wanted to do was bury his face in those firm globes.

Finally, they were walking back toward him. He tried to look nonchalant, but feared that the huge grin splitting his face was probably ruining the effect. Lacey's shy smile was confirmation enough that Serena had straightened out the problem, whatever it was. And that was good enough for him, for now. He would get the whole story from his cousin later. Right now, the woman he was completely hot for with was within touching distance, and he wasn't going to waste another second. Hopefully he could pretend to be civilized long enough to convince her to see him again.

"Jay, you remember Lacey Ferguson from the Open House last weekend, right?" Serena asked with a wicked sparkle in her eyes as they climbed the steps toward him. "I know you don't like anyone bothering you out here in your super secret lair, but I thought you might make an exception in her case. Why don't you show us around?"

Jack glared at Serena and held out his large hand to her companion as she reached the top of the stairs. "Hi, Lacey," he said, gruffly, shaking her hand. "I'm Jack Kingston. Serena didn't mention she was bringing you out. It probably doesn't look that impressive without the floors installed." He gestured toward a large pile of cherry-stained planks to his left, just inside the door. "If you come back next week, it should be completely done."

Reluctantly, Jack let go of her hand, but not before noting that the chemistry between them was just as potent as he remembered. Just the gentle brush of her fingers against his made him feel a bit dizzy as the blood drained from his head and settled in his groin. Today she was wearing some kind of light and fruity scent that was adding to the dizzying effect.

"Hi Jack. I'm already impressed, so don't worry about the floors. Where's the rest of your crew?" Lacey asked, following Serena into the front hall where Jack had been sanding the oversized door earlier.

"Crew? Sorry. No crew. Just me." He smiled, pleased with this opportunity to impress her.

"You mean you're doing this all by yourself?" Lacey asked incredulously. Why did this knowledge make her knees weak with arousal? There was just something so freaking sexy about a man who was capable of building something from nothing. Not to mention, good with his hands. As if the practically transparent T-shirt he was wearing wasn't stimulating enough. She could actually see the dark outline of his chest hair through the material. Oscar the Grouch had never looked so provocative.

"Pretty much. I mean, I didn't do the plumbing or electrical work, or pour the concrete for the foundation. But the actual construction and dry-walling and painting and stuff, that was me. Now I'm going to lay the floors."