Page 73 of Too Good to Be True

“Doing what?”

“Rubbing up against me.”

“It’s a tight space.”

She turned to face him, but instead of backing up, he moved closer and placed his hands on her hips. “It’s hard to concentrate when you look so irresistible.”

She glanced down at what she was wearing: faded jeans and a plain black T-shirt. She’d dressed for function over style since she’d expected to help him unpack.

“We only have a few more things to put away. Let’s finish,” she said, although she was having trouble concentrating too.

“You’re the boss,” he teased and moved away.

She felt much more like a “boss” at the office than she did standing in his kitchen. He didn’t need to know that, though. Resolutely she returned to the task at hand.

A few minutes later, he said, “All done. Now on to the bedroom.”

Her body heated as she watched his lips form the word “bedroom.”

“What about the bathroom?” she asked, suddenly feeling shy.

“Let’s do that last. I’d like to get my clothes put away.”

Or off. Off would be good. “Okay.”

She followed him down the short hall to the main bedroom. The last time she’d been there was when he’d first looked at the apartment, and it had been empty. Now her eyes went to the new bed and dresser he’d bought. The furniture had a cherry wood finish, and the style was masculine and unfussy, just like him.

Sitting atop the bed was the new bedding set he’d bought the day they’d bumped into each other at the store, still in its packaging. There were also boxes lined up against one wall, which she assumed held his clothes.

“Want to help me make the bed first?”

His request sounded innocent enough, but every mention of the word “bed” caused a funny flutter in her chest. Hopefully, it wasn’t a heart murmur.

“Sure.”

He opened the packaging and took out the sheets, pillowcases, and comforter in the black and gray pattern he’d chosen. It took a while to get the fitted sheet in place, and they laughed as first one end and then the other popped up while they were stretching it over the mattress. If she’d been doing this by herself, she would have gotten frustrated by now, but with him, it was fun.

After the bed was made, she looked around for the pillows and found them stacked on a box near the closet. When she picked them up, she noticed two throw pillows she hadn’t seen in his cart. She brought all the pillows over to the bed and set them down. “I thought you didn’t like throw pillows.”

He shrugged. “This hot woman at Bed Bath & Beyond said they make a bed warm and inviting, so I thought I’d give them a try.”

Her eyes went wide, and her insides warmed. “You went back and bought them?”

“Yep. The next day.”

“You never said.”

“I wasn’t sure you’d care or ever get to see them.”

They were putting pillowcases on the bed pillows, and she smiled at him across the bed. Once all the pillows were in place, she said, “Looks cozy, doesn’t it?”

“Um-hmm. I can’t wait to dive into it tonight.”

He shot her a look that said he didn’t intend on diving in alone, and she felt her cheeks flush.

Next they tackled the boxes of clothes.

“I’ll hang up my work clothes, if you want to start putting away things in drawers.”