Charley plopped down on the couch in front of the fireplace. Thomas had started a fire and she loved the way it crackled and danced. The living room was cozy, the leather furniture comfortable. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Heather. Her best friend answered on the first ring. “Hello?”

“Heath. How are you?”

“I’m great. What’s up? How’s the job?”

Charley looked around the room. No one was around. She lowered her voice. “It’s interesting. I did not expect this.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“I’m cleaning out some guy’s garage.”

Heather paused on the line. “You’re what? I thought you were there to appraise stuff.”

“Yeah. Not really. I’m here digging through boxes of junk and taking them to Goodwill.”

“What’s it pay?”

Charley leaned back against the couch. “That’s the thing. He’s paying me ten thousand dollars.”

Heather whistled. “Holy cow. Why don’t I ever get jobs like that? I can totally take stuff to Goodwill. If you don’t want the job—”

“No, I’ll take it,” Charley said, laughing. “I don’t mind the work. And I can totally use ten thousand dollars. I’ve got to pay rent now.”

A scoffing noise came through the line. “Yeah, don’t remind me of the swanky new place you have. You live a charmed life, I swear. I never could have gotten an apartment like that for nine hundred dollars a month.”

“It is nice.”

“What’s the guy you’re working for like? Is he mega rich?”

Charley fiddled with the top of her sock. “Yeah. Mega.”

“Is he hot?”

She giggled, thinking of how she had almost fainted earlier when he was staring at her. “Yeah, I’d say so. He’s super tall, and he’s got gorgeous black hair. And dang, he smells good. He’s got these dark brown eyes that just penetrate through you, you know? I have to catch my breath every time I look at him. But don’t get any ideas. He’s much too old for me.”

“How old do you think I am?”

Alexander’s voice made her freeze. He would be standing right behind her; that was just like something that would happen to her. “Uh, I gotta go, Heath.” She clicked off the call and turned toward him, plastering on a smile and trying to ignore the heat creeping up her face. “I didn’t know you were there.”

His lips did that twitching thing again. “I know. I was eavesdropping. It’s no fun to eavesdrop if the person knows you’re there.” He walked around the couch and sat down next to her. “So, how old do you think I am?” He leaned his elbow on the armrest. He was still wearing his white dress shirt, but he had taken off his tie. The top button was undone, and she had to force herself to stop staring at the small part of his chest that she could see.

Charley swallowed, her throat suddenly feeling funny. “Dorothy said you were thirty.”

“And that’s too old for you?”

How was she supposed to answer that? Surely he wasn’t asking because he wanted to date her. That was absurd. He didn’t even like her. But as she stared at him, she could see a hint of a smile on his face. “Are you teasing me? Because I never thought you’d be the kind of person who would do that.”

He shook his head, and his expression sobered. “Of course not. I don’t tease.”

“That’s what I thought.” So odd. Why did it feel so hot in the room now? She tucked her legs under her and hoped that her face wasn’t bright red. She wondered exactly how much of the conversation he’d heard but decided it was better to pretend it hadn’t happened. She didn’t really want to know if he heard her talking about his eyes. Or his gorgeous hair. She would rather sink into the floor than think that he might have heard that part. It was best to change the subject.

“I noticed something when I was on your deck last night.”

His eyebrows went up in what she was quickly learning was his signature questioning gaze. “Really?”

She curled her hair behind her ear. “I thought I saw a hot tub below the deck.”

“You did.”

“Does it work?”

“Yes. But it’s drained and winterized.” There was something behind his statement, but she didn’t ask about it. He seemed to withdraw from her.

“Oh.” She didn’t mean to sound disappointed, but it came out that way.

He studied her. “Why? Did you want to use it?”

Another wave of heat rose to her face. Why did she even bring it up? “No. I mean, that’s too weird to ask, right? ‘Can I use your hot tub?’ That’s like something you don’t say to a guy you just met.”

He half-smiled and shook his head. “I don’t care. You can fill it with water. I’ll show you where I keep the chemicals.”

Excitement filled Charley, pushing away her embarrassment. “Seriously? Because when we stayed at that cabin in Minnesota there was a hot tub outside and it was really awesome to sit in it and look up at the night sky. It was my favorite part of the vacation.”

“All right, then. I’ll help you get it ready.”

“Tonight?” The look on his face told her she was pushing it. She pinched her lips together. Why was she always saying the wrong thing around him?

He let out a breath. “Sure. We can go out now.”

Charley couldn’t stand it anymore. She jumped up and bounced on her toes. “Oh, my gosh. You’re the best!” Before she could think, she leaned over and kissed his cheek, and then immediately regretted it as his scowl reappeared. “I’m sorry!” she said, waving her hands. “I didn’t mean that. Just pretend I didn’t do that.”

The scowl faded. “I don’t know what to say to you half the time.”

“Then don’t say anything. Just show me how to get to the hot tub.” She rubbed her hands together, too excited to care anymore how she looked to him.

He stood and she swore she saw a smile appear on his face before he turned from her. “Come with me.”

She followed him down a set of stairs to a room with a large screen TV taking up one wall. A glass door slid open to a walk-out porch. The hot tub sat out beyond the upstairs deck, the moon shining on the blanket of snow covering it. “Will it take long to fill?”

“Twenty minutes or so.” Alexander unclipped the cover and flipped one side up, the snow sliding off.

Charley peered into the tub. Whoever had winterized it had cleaned it well. “Where’s the hose?”

“Over there.” He motioned to a hose box nestled by the house.

Charley crossed the porch and worked on pulling the hose out. It was frozen and didn’t want to cooperate, but after a few minutes she had enough of it pulled out that it would reach the tub. She placed the nozzle in and went to turn on the water.

Alexander rubbed his hands together. “It’s cold. Are you sure you want to fill this thing?”

“Yes!” She turned the spigot and water splashed into the bottom of the tub. “Hot tubs in the winter are awesome. You mean you’ve never used this when it was cold outside?”

“Nope.” The look on his face told her he thought she was crazy.

“Then you’ve got to try it. How long will it take to heat the water?”

“Normally it takes a day. But I’m not sure in the winter.”

“I’ll check on the temperature tomorrow and see.” She looked into the tub and rubbed her arms, the chilly air finally getting to her. “Let’s go inside while it fills the rest of the way.”

He nodded, following her through the glass door.

She pointed to the big screen. “Do you like to watch movies?”

“Sometimes.”

Man, he was so reserved. She silently took it as a challenge to get him to start talking. “What’s your favorite movie?”

“I don’t have one.”

She made a face. “What? You don’t have one? Come on. Everyone has a favorite movie.”

He shook his head. “Nope. Not me.”

She walked over to his movie collection and started looking at the DVDs. Most of them were comedies. She squinted at him. “I never pegged you for a comedy lover.”

He turned away from her. “I used to like them.”

“But not anymore?”

He worked his jaw. “I don’t have much time for movies anymore.”

Charley couldn’t stand the look on his face. The pain written across his brow. He had to stop thinking of his loss. He needed to move on with life. He was a walking corpse. She walked to him and took his hand. “Come on, let’s watch one.”

He looked at her, an expression on his face she couldn’t read. “I don’t know.”

“Sure, you do. It’s just a movie. You’re not busy, are you?” She looked around the room. “There’s no reason you can’t.”

For a moment she thought he would refuse, but a small smile appeared on his face and he nodded. “All right.”

Charley grinned and squeezed his hand. “Great.” She picked a movie, one that looked particularly silly, and started up the DVD player. When she went to sit, Alexander was already settled on the couch. She didn’t want to be rude and sit across the room from him, so she sat next to him.

The movie started up and Charley glanced up at him. “You comfortable?”

He looked at her, and she faltered as she stared into his brown eyes. “Yes,” he said, his voice low.

She tried to ignore the feelings coursing through her as she sat next to him, his body heat permeating through her. Why was her heart beating so loud? Could he hear it? She concentrated on making her breathing even.

During a particular funny spot in the show he chuckled, and she grinned up at him. He sobered. “What?”

“Nothing. I just like the way you laugh.”

“What? I laugh differently than other people?”

“No. Well, yes. I don’t know.” It was something she couldn’t put into words. His chuckle came from deep in his chest. It made her want to cozy up to him, for some reason. “I like it.”

He looked at her, and her breathing slowed. His eyes were so mesmerizing, it was hard not to stare into them. He leaned closer to her, and she could smell his cologne. It was intoxicating. He looked like he was going to speak, but he closed his mouth quickly and suddenly stood up.

“What?”

“The hot tub. We should check on it.”

Oh. Right. Charley paused the movie and followed him outside. Sure enough, the tub was full and water had begun to spill over the edge. She turned the water off as he got the tub going. When it was running and the chemicals were all put in, she clasped her hands. “I can’t wait until it’s ready to get in.”

He turned to her, a strange expression on his face. Then he placed the cover on the tub and walked back inside. She followed him, her legs now frozen.

“Are you cold?”

She nodded, rubbing her hands together. “Yeah.”

He opened a closet and pulled out a fleece blanket. “Here.” He extended his hand and she took it from him, wrapping it around her. “Thanks.”

After they sat back down and she un-paused the movie, she was still cold. He turned to her. “Are you okay?”

“Why?”

He leaned closer. “You’re trembling.”

“Sorry. Still cold.”

He wrapped his arm around her. “Geesh, you’re right. You’re freezing.”

She giggled and snuggled into him. “How are you so warm? We were both outside the same amount of time.”

He grinned at her. “I’m warm-blooded.”

“No fair,” she whispered. They settled into silence as the movie played, and Charley finally grew warm enough to be comfortable. If she had stopped to think about it, she would have been embarrassed that she was snuggled into him, but she didn’t allow herself to. She was too comfortable and didn’t want to ruin it.

The movie ended and as the credits rolled, Charley pulled back and stretched. “That was good. Did you enjoy it?”

At first, she didn’t think he was going to answer. He just looked at her, but then a smile appeared on his face. “Yeah. That was fun.”

She considered it a victory, and stood. “Good night, Alexander.”

“Good night, Miss Davis.”

She playfully whacked him on the arm. “Oh, come on. You can call me by my name, can’t you? We’re practically family now.”

He stood and took a step toward her. He was so tall, she was eye-level with his chest and had to look up to see his expression, which was almost playful. “Good night, Charley.”

She swallowed, her throat feeling funny. “Good night,” she whispered. She walked up to her room, her pulse racing. Why did she always get this way around him? He affected her like no one else had. She trembled as she dressed for bed, and it wasn’t because of the cold.

Good heavens, she was getting a crush on Alexander Norris. She shook her head as she climbed into bed. She could not fall for him. That was ridiculous. Not only was he too old for her, he was so grumpy. She didn’t like mean people. She was never going to fall in love with a man like that.