Neither do I.
She hated continually turning him down. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to go out with Blue, but the truth was, if she were to go on a real date with Blue, hold his hand, and kiss those full, delicious-looking lips of his, she knew she’d like it too much to walk away. She already knew that he treated her, and everyone else she’d ever seen him interact with, like gold. And right now Maddy was counting on her. She didn’t need to get involved with a nice, gorgeous guy like Blue and then be forced to hide part of her life from him, or worry that someone he knew might watch the webcast and somehow figure out that she was the Naked Baker. Despite the income she gained from the show, she wasn’t proud of prancing around nearly naked for money.
She finally met his gaze. “I just have so much going on right now. I barely have time to breathe.”
He stepped closer and brought a heat wave with him. “Everyone has a little breathing room.”
You just stole mine. “I’m running the flower shop, and…”
“And?” Blue looked around the kitchen. “Breaking ovens?”
“It’s nothing personal.”
He touched her arm, sending shivers of heat through her. She was sure he could see inside her to the part of her that was cuddled up in the corner, praying he didn’t spot the Naked Baker.
“How can it not be personal? I’ve asked you out at least a dozen times and you always turn me down. A guy could get a complex.” He slid his hand up her forearm and gently cupped her elbow.
How could such a benign touch make her whole body simmer? She knew she’d love the way it felt to have his hands on her, exploring, pleasuring her, taking her to heights she couldn’t reach by mere thoughts of him.
Great. Now she couldn’t even respond. She was lucky she could walk after that voice slithered over her skin and his eyes held her prisoner. How the hell had her friend Sky spent time with him day after day without ever being more than friends with him? Lizzie forced herself to take a step back. Surely if Sky could do it, she could, too. Then again, Sky said she was never attracted to Blue in that way.
Therein lay the difference. From the moment Lizzie had seen Blue at the wedding, she’d been attracted to him. And the more she got to know him as a friend, the more she liked him and the more she fantasized about him.
She realized he was watching her, waiting for a response, and went with a tease to try to distract herself from her sexy thoughts. “We’re friends, and I like our friendship. Besides, you’re too good-looking to get a complex. And if we don’t go soon, I might change my mind, but this isn’t a date.”
He grabbed his toolbox. “You’re feisty when you’re turning a guy down.”
Blue’s truck was so high off the ground Lizzie practically needed a stepladder to get in. As she gripped the cold metal doorframe, his hands landed on her hips from behind, and he lifted all five feet of her into the passenger seat.
“Damn, I’m glad my truck is so big,” he said as she tried not to think about how strong his grip was and how good his hands felt.
He turned on the radio and sang off-key on the way to the hardware store, which made Lizzie laugh and want to join in. He knew just how to put her at ease and just how to make her quiver. Another tantalizing and dangerous combination to contend with.
Inside the hardware store, despite a hand on her lower back that nearly burned her skin as they paid for the purchase, Blue didn’t flirt with her as he had at the house. Lizzie wasn’t sure if she was disappointed or relieved.
“Have you eaten dinner?” Blue asked as they drove toward the beach.
“No, but I’m okay.” She hadn’t eaten since that morning because the shop had been so busy, but she didn’t want to make Blue late to the bonfire—and she was aware of needing to get home and edit her webcast.
An easy smile spread across his face as he watched the road, and she realized that this was the first time she’d really been alone with Blue. They’d gone out with their friends as a group, and he’d fixed broken pipes and built a few cabinets for her at the flower shop, and of course she saw him at her house after work sometimes when he was working on her kitchen, but she’d never been alone with him in a social situation. Being with Blue was comfortable and fun—except for the undercurrent of heat simmering between them, which made it hard for her to concentrate.
“Let’s grab a quick bite before going to the bonfire.” He turned into the parking lot of PJ’s Restaurant, which had both a walk-up window and a dining room, and came around to help her from the truck. He reached his hands up and gripped her hips without saying a word.