Chapter 5
Twenty minutes later, Rylie’s wide-eyed gaze swept around the pool house, her jaw slack with shock.
“You look like you’re trying to catch flies,” Dustin teased.
Rylie snapped it closed, and shook her head slowly. “I thought your pool house would be…small.”
“It’s only two thousand square feet. My house is—”
“I saw the mansion; I don’t need to know the dimensions.”
Dustin clucked his tongue at her. “It’s rude to interrupt.”
“It’s also in poor taste to brag.” She slid her hand across the marble countertop in the kitchen. This home was gorgeous, modern, and way more than she could ever afford to rent. She wasn’t sophisticated or complicated; she liked simple décor with a homey, country feel.
This was like stepping into one of those million dollar homes on the street of dreams.
“Touché. I guess talking about the size of my houses might give the impression I’m making up for something.”
Rylie’s cheeks burned as she caught his meaning. “Do you always have to go there?”
Dustin chuckled. “Sorry, old habits die hard. Sexual innuendos seem to be ingrained into my personality.”
“Charming.”
“Women usually think so,” Dustin said, drawing an eye roll from Rylie. He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “Okay, well, let’s grab dinner and I’ll help you unload the truck.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know, but I am, so no use arguing.”
Rylie wasn’t really planning on it. As awkward as it was to accept his help, she was emotionally drained and not looking forward to unloading her stuff alone.
“I’ll take your help,” she said with a smile.
“Good. Food first though.”
“Agreed.”
Dustin opened the sliding glass door for her, and they walked around the in-ground pool. The sun was still up at six in the evening, and so was the temperature. The blue water looked awfully inviting, but there was no way she was going to ask to use his pool. She already felt as though she was taking advantage of him.
He opened the back door of his house for her, and when his hand settled on her lower back, leading her into the dining room, she shivered.
“Are you cold?” he asked.
“No, that’s crazy. It’s still a hundred degrees outside.”
“Yeah, but I keep the house at a cool sixty, so I figured maybe the change in temperature had gotten to you.”
“I’m fine,” she squeaked. She took a few quick steps and the warmth of his palm dropped away. She didn’t like the flash of disappointment that crept unbidden to the surface at the loss of his touch. Rylie didn’t want him or any man. She was going to swear off men indefinitely and focus on herself.
Rylie grimaced as she thought of her mother needing to focus on herself after she’d gotten sick.
I’m nothing like her. I don’t have a responsibility to a child and a loving husband.
They walked into the dining room to find the long redwood table set with plates, silverware, and stemware. A bottle of wine was in the middle of the table and all around it were platters of food, enough to feed a professional basketball team.
“Wow, does she do this for you every night?” Rylie asked.
“No, she usually makes me several dinners I can reheat easily, but when I mentioned I’d have company, I guess she assumed it was romantic.”
He held one of the dining room chairs out for her and she sat, her stomach growling as the smell of food reached her nose. She eyeballed the dish of mashed potatoes with cheese and bread crumbs on top.
“This looks so good.”
Dustin took the seat across from her and waved a hand. “Ladies first.”
Rylie was conscious of Dustin watching her as she scooped a small portion of the rich looking mashed potatoes onto her plate, then the green beans, and a chicken breast. She was trying very hard to be ladylike when she really wanted to pick up the dish like the Beast in the Disney cartoon and throw etiquette to the wind.
She had just taken her first exquisite bite when she noticed Dustin had piled his plate high, but wasn’t eating. Instead, he was watching her.
Intensely.
She swallowed the creamy potatoes and tilted her head. “What?”
“Nothing.”
He took a bite, his gaze still on hers, and she knew he was thinking something.
“You want to say something to me.”
Dustin shook his head and poured wine into his empty glass. “Nope. I just want to eat and get started on that truck.”
Rylie let it go, slipping another mouthful past her lips. He held the bottle of wine out to her and she shook her head. Instead, she reached for a pitcher of ice water and poured it into the wineglass to her right.
“You afraid to drink around me?”
“I told you, I’m not a big wine drinker.”
“Probably because you’re used to the six-dollar shit.”
Rylie resisted the urge to flick a spoonful of potatoes at him. “There you go, flashing your money around.”
He quirked a brow at her, and she was beginning to resent that look. “Most women don’t mind it when I wine and dine them.”
“I’m not most women.”
“So I’ve noticed.”
The way he said it made Rylie wonder if he thought that was a bad thing.
* * * *
The meal had been excruciating, but not because he didn’t like Rylie or didn’t want to be around her.
It was the way she’d looked after that first bite of food. Her eyes had rolled up into her head, and he could have sworn she moaned a bit.
He wasn’t about to point that out and embarrass her, but damn, it had been hot.
Too hot.
Now, they were outside the pool house gate, lugging boxes. It was dusk, with hardly any sun left in the pinkish-purple sky, and muggy. The T-shirt he’d changed into after dinner was now sticking to his back, and as he picked up the last box, he was ready to strip down and jump into the pool.
He walked through the sliding glass door and set the box down. Her stuff had only taken up about half the truck, but the books were heavy and made up about six medium-size boxes.
“You ever think about getting a Kindle or something and downloading all these paperbacks?”
She shook her head as she lifted a bag of clothing off the floor. “I like the smell and feel of real books.”
Dustin wrinkled his nose. “Whatever you say.”
She laughed from the bedroom, a husky sound that went straight to his dick. “I don’t mind ebooks. I have an app on my phone for when I get stuck places and forget a paperback, but staring at a screen isn’t the same.”
Dustin preferred reading on his iPad, but to each their own.
He clapped his hands, then rubbed them together, speaking loudly, “Well, if you don’t need any help in here getting settled, I was going to take a swim. Do you care to join me?”
The rustling in the back room stopped, and he wondered what her expression was at this moment. Was she disgusted, thinking he was asking her with nefarious plans in mind?
“No thanks, I’m really tired. I think I’m going to just get in my pjs and start a new book.”
Probably best. He didn’t know if he could handle seeing Rylie in a bathing suit, soaking wet and…
Shit, I need to just stop thinking. “Okay, well, feel free to use the pool anytime.”
She walked out into the hallway wearing a T-shirt and sweats. Her hair was sweaty and pulled up in a haphazard bun, and she still had that little streak of dust he’d noticed hours ago.
Somehow, he found this look just as attractive.
She smiled shyly, clutching a book in her hand. “I really appreciate you letting me stay here, and I promise I won’t bother you.”
Dustin frowned, the urge to tell her he wanted her to bother him strong.
He really needed that swim.
* * * *
Rylie finished washing her face and brushing her teeth ten minutes later, embarrassed when she’d seen how dirty and disgusting she was. Now, feeling at least halfway human, she sat down in the big, comfy chair in the living room, pushing her glasses up her nose. She wore contacts outside the house but at home, it was nice to give her eyes a rest.
Besides, if she started crying, she didn’t want to deal with her contact lenses getting all funky.
It still hadn’t really hit her that three years of her life with someone was over. She didn’t regret leaving, but the ache was still there. She should have left sooner, when it started to get bad, but it was hard to let go of her first love and after losing her dad… Well, it was tough saying good-bye.
Rylie wiped at her cheek as she opened her new T.J. Kline romance, being careful not to break the spine. She’d just reached the part where the heroine was stuck hanging over the front seat of her car with her butt in the air when she heard a splash and looked up.
Outside the glass doors, she watched Dustin pop up over the side of the pool, and climb out, the solar lights illuminating what she’d already thought was underneath all his snappy suits.
Dustin was built. Like washboard abs, broad shoulders that nipped down into narrow hips, and firm, muscular legs built.
Rylie swallowed hard as he walked by her door to the end of the pool and dove in, disappearing from sight.
She shook herself, her cheeks heating as she realized that she’d been ogling him. She was supposed to be immune to men, completely swearing off the entire lot.
She was obviously one sick individual.
Trying to concentrate on her book again, she was distracted by every splash outside and when she read the same line three times, she finally gave up, slid her bookmark into place, and stood. She picked up her cell phone from the counter and dialed Marley, turning her back to the glass door.
“Hey, I was just about to call you. Are you doing okay?” Marley asked after the second ring.
“Yeah, I’m good. Swearing off men, of course.”
“I don’t blame you. I want to kick his ass—”
“Don’t please? It’s over now, and despite how it ended, it wasn’t all bad. I just want to move on with no regrets.”
“Good for you. So, where did you end up? Are you at the Love Shack Hotel?”
Rylie bit her lip. Marley was her friend and she loved her, but if she told her she was staying in Dustin’s pool house, she would blow a gasket. Probably call Rylie crazy.
Which wouldn’t be far from the truth, considering Rylie felt a little nuts.
“No, but don’t worry, I’m safe. Just tired.”
“You’re being weird and mysterious. Please tell me you aren’t living in your car.”
“I’m not, I swear. I’m good.”
“All right, I’ll let you be mysterious today, but tomorrow is another story. Get some rest and we’ll talk soon. If you need anything, call okay? Love you.”
“I love you too.”
Rylie ended the call and glanced over her shoulder. The motion activated porch light was off and it was dark outside, which probably meant Dustin had gone to bed.
After making sure the door was locked, she plugged her phone into the charger and set it on the nightstand in the bedroom. She’d already hung up her clothes and slipped the rest of them into the dresser against the wall at the end of the king-sized bed. She still had a ton of boxes to unpack, but she didn’t want to get too comfortable. She didn’t plan to be here that long.
Rylie pulled her iPad from the night stand drawer and shut off the light just before she crawled between the soft sheets. She sighed as the smooth fabric caressed her feet; Asher had always preferred flannel sheets, even in the summer. These were cool and smooth and probably cost a small fortune, nothing like the itchy, hot fabric on their old shared bed.
Pushing the bitterness back, she turned on an episode of Who’s the Boss on Hulu and set the tablet on the nightstand, along with her glasses. Curling onto her side, she tried to relax, to just enjoy the show, hoping it would help her fall asleep.
After three episodes, she gave up and turned the device off. As she tossed and turned some more, flashes of Dustin crept into her mind. Hard. Wet. Shirtless.
Flopping onto her stomach with a groan, she mumbled aloud, “Stop thinking about him, idiot.”
It didn’t work, but it was worth a try.