But I hadn’t expected to see Violet sitting at a table with some dude on a date.
I hadn’t expected it to bother me.
It shouldn’t matter.
Itdidn’tmatter.
But for whatever reason, I was agitated now.
I glanced over, and my gaze locked with hers before I quickly looked away and followed Steve into the kitchen.
I spent the next hour working on the commercial refrigerator, and I was fairly certain it was just a wiring issue. I hoped my tweaks had done the trick, because it was up and working now.
“I can’t thank you enough, Charlie. Are you sure I can’t pay you for your time?” Steve asked.
“Nah. It’s not a problem. I’m just going to use your restroom and wash my hands before I take off.”
“All right. Well, the kitchen packed up some steaks and side dishes for you and Harper, and we sent one for Abigail as well, so I’ll have that bagged up and waiting for you when you come out.” He clapped me on the shoulder before I made my way down the hallway to the restroom.
And there she was walking my way. The hallway had very dim lighting, but I could still make out her pretty green gaze as it locked with mine.
“Charles, what brings you here tonight?” she purred.
“Steve was having issues with the refrigerator, so I came down to see if I could help out.”
“And did you get it fixed?” she asked. The smell of lavender and vanilla wafted around me, and I cleared my throat to keep from reacting. She was standing too close, and the hallway was narrow.
“I think so.” I studied her. She was so goddamned beautiful, it got under my skin. Her blond waves tumbled over her shoulders, and those kissable lips taunted me as she smirked.
I couldn’t get that fucking kiss out of my head.
I assumed it hadn’t affected her the same way, as she hadn’t said anything about it since, and she was here on a date with some rich-looking dude who was probably more her type.
Hell, she despised me most of the time.
Her hand came up and grazed along my cheek, and I startled at her touch. “Is this glitter?”
“Yeah. Harps had a project, and I went to battle with a bottle of glitter, and it sort of exploded all over me.”
She smiled, moved closer, and reached up to my hair before running her fingers along the front and chuckling. “You’ve got a bunch in your hair.”
“Sounds about right. I’ll jump in the shower when I get home. You better get back to your date. You don’t want to keep him waiting.” I stepped back, turning my back to her before making my way to the men’s bathroom.
“Where’s Harper?” she asked, and I got the feeling she didn’t want to get back to her date.
“She’s at the house with Abigail,” I said as I shifted to look at her. “She stopped by the guesthouse earlier to see if you wanted pizza. We had to work on her project, and there wasn’t time to cook. So we saved you some in the refrigerator, if you want it later.”
Her teeth sank into her bottom lip. “I do love pizza.”
I nodded before pushing into the restroom. I needed some distance there. Ever since that kiss, I’d been consumed by thoughts of Violet Beaumont, and that was not a good idea.
Hell, the fact that she was on a date with another dude being the most obvious reason. Not to mention the fact that we couldn’t go five minutes without fighting.
I washed my hands and looked in the mirror, laughing as I took in the lingering glitter.
I made my way out of there, thanked Steve for the to-go food, and groaned when I realized Violet and her date were just a few feet ahead of me.
For fuck’s sake. I was covered in glitter, I needed to get home to my daughter, and now I had to watch the woman I couldn’t stop fantasizing about get escorted out by another man.
