A small glint of confusion flashed in her emerald stare as a soft shade of pink flushed up her cheeks. Knowing that there was only one way to clear up any and all questions she had, and more than ready to do so, I stepped into the house and closed the door behind me.
When I did, she backed up. Instead of letting her retreat like I had when she’d scrambled out of my truck, I closed the distance between us, leaned down and whispered against her ear, “Just so there’s no confusion that was a compliment.”
Soft, silky strands of her hair brushed against my nose and I inhaled deeply, finally letting myself take my fill of her strawberry and wild flower scent. Unfortunately, my indulgence was cut short when Romeo decided to jump between us to sniff the bag I’d brought.
“Down,” I instructed as I leaned back on my heels and patted his head when he obeyed.
After a quick greeting, I shifted my attention back to Harmony and found her in the same position I’d left her in, dazed and confused. She looked to be experiencing a little bit of shell shock.
I’d had over a week to prepare for what I was about to propose, but in that moment I realized my one eighty might be a little bit much for her to take in. It looked like I needed to take a page from Zapp and Roger and take this Slow and Easy.
Thanks to her drunken night of confessions, I knew that she wouldn’t need the emotional reserve that I’d had to build up. She’d been explicit in telling me that all she wanted was “one no-holds-barred night, wild night” with me. One night. It had felt like a punch in the gut at the time, when I wanted so much more. But now, now it was exactly what I wanted to give her.
“Do you have something that I can put these in?” I asked with the hope that giving her a task would snap her out of her haze.
“Oh…yeah.” She pivoted in one smooth movement and headed into her kitchen.
Romeo and I followed behind her. My eyes were glued to her perfect, heart-shaped backside as she shuffled across the tile floor in her white fluffy slippers. Her legs were even more golden brown than usual thanks to all the work she’d been doing outdoors. The sun-kissed glow highlighted her toned calves and slender thighs. If I stared any longer Romeo wouldn’t be the only one panting and drooling.
She stopped in front of the fridge and her heels lifted off the ground as her arm stretched as far as it could towards the back where I saw a simple vase sitting against the wall. As much as I was enjoying the view that her position afforded me, I knew there was no way she could reach it without some assistance.
I crossed the space in two strides and easily grabbed the glass container. Harmony lowered flat on her feet. Her intoxicating stare lifted to mine through a bed of thick lashes. The innocent look of amazement in her eyes sent my pulse racing and triggered every primal instinct I had.
As she took the vase from my hands, she breathed, “Wow.”
Getting a big head about her being impressed with a porch I’d built was one thing, letting the fact that she was in awe that I could reach an object easily have the same effect on me was another. There had to be more behind that wow.
“What?” I asked, wanting to know everything that she was thinking.
“Cereal,” she answered as if that explained everything.
It didn’t. In fact, this conversation was making less sense by the second.
I tried to clarify. “You want cereal?”
“No, you…you were cereal. I mean…at the ranch you were acting like…never mind.” She dropped her chin and looked down at the vase in her hands.
That’s when I noticed that a bottle of girly-looking wine was sitting on the counter. Beside it was a glass that was almost filled to the brim. Disappointment flooded my chest. If she’d been drinking it would explain a lot of her behavior since I’d shown up.
“How much have you had to drink?”
“Not enough.” She let out a forced breath, snatched the flowers out of my hand, turned around so her back was to me. She carried the flowers and the vase straight to the sink. After turning on the faucet, she glanced over her shoulder. “Thank you for these, they’re beautiful.”
“Harmony.” I could hear the tension threading in my tone. If she’d had more than one glass of wine, there was no way tonight was going to go as I’d planned. If that were the case, it would be a fucking tragedy. “How much have you had to drink?”
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” she mumbled under her breath as she shut off the water. Her hair fanned out as she spun around to face me head on. The fire that I was used to seeing burning her expressive eyes was back in full force. “Why? Is it a crime to drink in my own home now? On my birthday? Is that why you came over here? Are you going to arrest me for private intoxication, Officer Killjoy?”
“Officer Killjoy?” I repeated as a grin tugged at my mouth.
“Yep.” She placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head to the right with challenge in her stare. “If the name fits.”