She sighed, suspecting the word cozy was code for something less polite. “Nathan said the same thing.”
He studied the frames on the mantel above the tiny fireplace until his gaze landed on her sunflower painting hanging on the wall. For several minutes, she observed Caleb staring at her work. He looked ridiculous with those shopping bags still in his hands. He looked polished in jeans, a plaid shirt, and boots, but still ridiculous.
“You painted this?” He faced her and tipped his head toward the framed canvas.
“A couple years back. I was totally obsessed with van Gogh. Still am, actually.”
“If you hear a voice within you say ‘You cannot paint . . . ,’ ” he said.
Flutters like butterfly wings tickled her belly when she finished, “ ‘Then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.’ That’s from my favorite quote of his.”
“Why aren’t you answering my texts?” He faced her fully, expectation in the seriousness of his gaze. “Did you get the art supplies? Nathan said he’d given them to you.”
“Thank you for those. And you know I’m totally painting you naked, right? Nathan approves.”
He paled. “Please don’t tell me you’re serious.”
“Oh!” She circled a finger over his face. “Just for that look of horror I’m totally making you do it. And you can’t back down because that is my price for all this.”
“Didi—”
“Wait here.” She left him in the living room. Let him stew over her evil plans. The guy deserved to squirm. Entering the kitchen, she veered into her room and snatched the phone from her dresser. When she returned, she found Caleb standing in the exact same spot she had left him. “You actually waited.”
His lips twisted. “You said wait. I do know how to follow orders.”
Not sure if he’d meant it as a joke, she didn’t bother responding. Instead she handed him the phone. “I never got any texts. I forgot to grab the charger.”
Caleb settled the bags on the floor and took the phone from her as his sexy frown returned.
She shrugged. “To be honest, I don’t need one. You can have that back. Anyway, like you said, this is only for the summer. That phone is no better than a paperweight after you leave. No one’s paying the bill.”
He opened his mouth as if to argue. She waited. Closing his mouth and swallowing, he scratched the back of his head and pocketed the phone. “Fine.”
“You know where I live anyway. It’s not like I’ve got anywhere else to go.” She moved to a pad her mom used for notes hanging on the wall by the front door and scribbled her home number at the bottom, then tore the piece off. “If you really need to reach me, call the landline.”
Taking the paper as he had the phone, he stared at the digits for a moment, then snorted. “Landline. Haven’t heard that word in a while.”
“I’m so not getting into another fight with you about being poor,” she said.
As if he caught her drift, he picked up the shopping bags and handed them to her. “These are from Nathan. He said you agreed to him shopping for you. Today’s event is themed.”
She gave him a look. Not like she had been given any other choice in the matter. She suspected Nathan had boa constrictor DNA in his blood. Once you were in his clutches, he would never let go.
“Please don’t fight me on this, Didi.”
“Since you said please.”
“Just wear what’s in those bags, and let’s go.”
She would have rolled her eyes at him, but she was too curious about the contents of the bags. Leaving him again in the living room, she hurried back to her room and placed the bags on her bed. She upended the first one.
A rain of brand-new cosmetics and hair products bounced and scattered on her mattress—everything Nathan had taught her how to use for the garden party. Then she peeked inside the second bag.
“Cowboy boots?” she asked loudly, taking out the brown leather boots and blinking at them. When she checked the soles, her size was stamped there along with the words GENUINE LEATHER. She should have known Nate would overspend.
“The event is called the Summer Swing,” Caleb replied from the living room.
“You’re really going to stay there until I’m done?”
“I think that’s for the best, yes.”
Shaking her head, she rummaged through the rest of the bag’s contents and came up with the cutest pink-checkered linen dress. She had to hand it to Nathan. The guy had taste. Maybe having him as her personal shopper wouldn’t be so bad.
“Yee-haw,” she said under her breath.