“Crazy old lady,” Travis muttered as he weaved through the couches, lounge chairs, and coffee tables. A few seconds later he caught sight of Lily bending over a long pinewood table, dusting it in smooth strokes.
For a moment the only thing he could see was the two of them naked and writhing on the table.
Travis shook the image out of his head, forcing himself to look at Lily objectively. From his vantage point hidden behind a large armoire he studied her in the light of day. Her hair was redder and shinier than he remembered it ever being before. Although the truth was that he had never really hated her hair. Sure, he preferred straight blond or brown locks to such a bright red, but all in all, her red curls weren’t the worst thing about her.
She was wearing a well-tailored red suit and he’d have to be blind not to notice the way the fabric tapered in at the waist before flaring out to cup the curve of her ass.
He couldn’t remember Lily ever wearing such a vibrant color before, and even though he hated to admit it, the crimson fabric nicely offset her creamy skin. He could only imagine how blue her eyes would look today.
Travis caught himself seconds before he started quoting a Shakespeare soliloquy to her beauty. For God’s sake, he told himself, This is Lily.
Big, boring Lily.
His perspective firmly back in place, he stepped out from behind the armoire and called her name.
Lily jumped, dropping her dusting rag on the floor. She turned to him, shock painted across her face.
“Travis, what are you doing here?”
As if he were approaching a skittish, hungry dog that needed reassuring, he held up his hands and moved toward her. “Don’t look so worried, Lily. I’ve come to you with a business proposition.”
With each step that he took, Lily took a step back, until she was pressed tightly up against the table. Her voice shaky, she licked her plump red lips, and asked, “A business proposition?”
Travis nodded absently, busy doing a thorough perusal of Lily’s figure. How was it that practically overnight she seemed to have blossomed? Surely she hadn’t been this ripe, this sexy before.
Or had she?
Crossing his arms across his chest, Travis got down to business. “I want you to work with me on a new house that I designed.”
Lily’s hand went to her throat. Travis wondered how her skin would taste at the pulse point that was beating so rapidly in her neck.
“You want me to work with you?”
“I need an interior designer. That is what you do, isn’t it?”
Lily nodded.
Travis shrugged. “If you don’t think you’re up to it, I’ll understand.”
Responding to his goading exactly as planned, Lily took a step forward, a new flush on her cheeks. “Of course I’m up to it. What do you need me to do?”
He bit back a grin of victory. There would be plenty of time to savor the sweet taste of success after he had made her come so hard that she was begging for him to suck and lick and finger her again and again.
Throwing her words of his sexual incompetence back in her face was going to be well worth the wait.
“Why don’t you come with me to the house right now, and I’ll show you?”
Lily looked over her shoulder. “I can’t. I don’t get off work for another hour. And my boss is standing right over there.”
All Travis could see was a greasy car salesmen type in a brown polyester suit. “That guy’s your boss?”
Right then, the beady-eyed man looked over and frowned at them.
“Go away. We can talk later,” she hissed, looking desperate.
“May I help you?”
Travis held out his hand. “I’m Travis Carson.” He handed the man one of his business cards.
In an instant, Lily’s boss went from snide to obsequious. “Oh my. Carson Architects. It is an honor to meet you, sir.” He bumbled and stumbled all over himself, saying, “Albert All. I’m the head of this department.” He puffed out his chest so far Travis was afraid his inflated stomach was going to pop and shower them with furniture-salesman guts.
“How may I be of service to you?” Albert asked, shooting Lily a clear sign to get lost.
Lily began to scoot out of the way, but Travis reached out for her elbow and held her firmly by his side.
“I was speaking to Lily about a large decorating job I need taken care of.”
Albert nodded so fast that his many chins threatened to overtake the rest of his face. “How wonderful, sir, that you thought of Barker’s. I would be happy to introduce you to my top designer.”
Travis had an unreasonable urge to defend Lily. “I’ve already found her,” he said, delighted to watch Albert stutter with outrage.
Lily turned to Travis, her mouth a soft “o,” and he couldn’t help but want to kiss her, her boss be damned. But he reined in his impulses. There would be time for kissing later.
Turning back to the purple-faced Albert, Travis said, “I’d like to take her to the job site right now, if you don’t have any objections.” The greasy man opened his mouth, and Travis knew he had to shut him down with the promise of money. Lots of it.
Leaning in closer to Albert as if they were talking man to man, trying not to hurl from the putrid smell of his onion breath and nicotine-stained teeth, Travis said, “It’s much easier to see an eighty-thousand-square-foot house in person than it would be for me to describe it to her. You understand, I’m sure.”
Without waiting for a response from Lily’s railroaded boss, Travis turned to Lily, and said, “How about we take my Jag?” as he propelled her toward the door.
They walked through the store and out onto the sidewalk without saying a word to each other. Travis opened the passenger door, and Lily woodenly sank into the plush leather seat.
“How did you do that?” she said in obvious amazement.
“Easy. How do you put up with that pompous loser every day?”
Lily giggled, and Travis was surprised by how easy it was to be with her. Just like when we were kick, he thought before he shut down that part of his brain.
“Just barely,” she said.
Travis started the engine and shot out onto the street. “Why don’t you quit?”
“And do what?”
He shrugged. “Start your own business.”
Lily laughed again, but this time it carried a strong dose of self-deprecation. “Yeah right. Like anyone would want to hire me.” She turned to him with a look of suspicion. “You don’t even know what kind of decorator I am. I know you’re not really hiring me to work on a house. And Albert is going to kill me when he finds out he’s not getting your business. What’s going on, Travis?”