Waiting For Him Read Online Free Page B

a door. “So I guess a pet entry is out.”
    “No, we can still do it. If your landlord agrees, I’d rather take that door down and store it so it can be put back on if you ever move. In the meantime we throw up a cheaper door and use that for the pet entry. It’d still look nice, and it’d be plenty secure. What do you think?”
    “Won’t that be more work for you?”
    “Not a lot. As long as you don’t mind having me around an extra day or so, it’s not a big deal.”
    Mind having him around? He had to be joking. “There’s a shed out back where you could store it or maybe in the basement or attic.” She hated to sound unsympathetic to the old house, and she loved the idea of prolonging a visit but… “How much would a new door cost me?”
    “Nothing. Steve probably has something lying around that would fit.”
    “Steve?”
    “My friend lunch today.” He tipped his head. “You don’t remember him?”
    “I do.” Steve had an engaging smile, blonde hair and green eyes, but sitting across from Stone, he’d been almost invisible to her. Without thinking it through, she admitted, “I heard a few of the other waitresses talking about him.”
    “Yeah? Saying what?”
    She cleared her throat. “Just girl talk.”
    At her show of discomfort, his gaze brightened and a smile played over his mouth. “Tell me.”
    “No.” She shook her head. “I couldn’t.”
    He set his drink aside and with teasing intent, stalked closer. “C’mon, Keisha. Out with it.”
    She back-stepped until her rump bumped into the counter. Heat rushed into her face. This was a new game to her, but she didn’t want him to know that.
    He got so close that her heart hammered and a strange tingling spread out to her limbs.
    It wasn’t at all an unpleasant feeling. Not with Stone.
    “Now don’t faint on me.”
    “No. I won’t.” She might jump, but she wouldn’t pass out and miss any of this. She cleared her throat. “They, ah, said that Steve was so sexy, he…”
    “He what?”
    To get it over with, she blurted, “Made panties drop.”
    Stone didn’t put any space between them. In fact, he brushed her cheek with the backs of his knuckles. “And what about you?”
    “What about me?”
    “You think Steve is all that?”
    “What? No.” She shook her head hard. “I mean, I’m sure he’s nice enough.”
    “He is.”
    But he wasn’t Stone. She shrugged. “That’s it. He’s nice.”
    Stone’s slow smile said a whole lot of stuff—but she wasn’t sure what exactly. “He’s a carpenter, so he always has extra materials on hand. If he doesn’t have a door that fits exactly, he can cut it down to make it work. Piece of cake for him.”
    He was still too darned close for coherent thought, but she muddled through. “I’d have to insist on paying him.”
    Slowly, his gaze warm and intimate, Stone tucked her hair behind her ear and finally gave her some space. “You can take that up with Steve, but either way, it wouldn’t be much. So what do you say? Why don’t we go discuss it with the landlord right now so I can get to work on this for you?”
    Darn it. She didn’t want to. If she had her way, Alexis would never be within smiling distance of Stone. Alexis smiled and men went stupid. She was that beautiful and white—something Keisha’s brown skin would never be. With Alexis living next door, the idea of them never running into each other was unrealistic and she knew it. “I could just talk with her and let you know what she says.”
    Stone studied her. She knew he studied her, that he wondered at her motives, and it made her want to squirm.
    After a few nerve-racking seconds of scrutiny, he seemed to come to conclusion. He nodded at her kitchen table. “Mind if I sit down while I finish my tea?”
    Oh. “That’d be fine.” She followed him to the table, but when Stone pulled out a chair he found Sam curled up in it. The cat gave him a “do not disturb” look and settled again.
    “Sorry, old girl.”