Page 34 of The Fall Fix Up

“You’re a very likeable woman too.” Fuck. That was not what he meant to say. Still, he couldn’t regret the lapse in filter too much when Janae’s expression went brighter than before.

The air thickened and Aiden’s hands slowed as his gaze locked on Janae’s. The setting sunlight set her skin aflame, the dark reds creating a sensual glow. She was so close, her scent flowing around him, making him hunger for something that had nothing to do with food. He’d never had a thought about overalls before, but something about them now drew his attention, and his mind was filled with how it would look if the straps slowly fell over the curve of her shoulder to caress her arm.

If Aiden reached out and touched her right now, how would she react? Would she be angry? Surely, Janae had seen the way he’d been gazing at her before. Aiden wasn’t known for being subtle and yet somehow she hadn’t caught on to how his heart beat faster whenever she was around. Now he understood why male birds needed to strut around, coming up with elaborate dances to make their intentions known. Hell, it wasn’t a nest, but he had built her a kitchen. That was kind of the same thing, right? Then again, she thought he was only doing this for room and board.

It wasn’t until that moment that he landed on another thought. What if she knew and wasn’t responding because she didn’t feel the same?

It wasn’t something he’d even considered. Not because he thought he was so great that he would never be turned down, but more because he still hadn’t come up with a clear game plan for even making his feelings known. But it was possible that she already knew his feelings and just hadn’t wanted to hurt him by rejecting him outright.

“Aiden?”

“Yeah?” He blinked quickly at Janae calling his name. She was looking at him with concern.

“Are you alright? You kind of went somewhere else for a minute.” She reached out and dropped her hand softly on his lower arm. The heat of her touch damn near seared into his skin and he had to swallow hard when his mouth went dry. “If you’re tired, you should head to bed earlier. We can look over the paint swatches later. I’m not in any rush.”

He shook his head, partially to reply to her and partially to shake away the thoughts that had invaded his mind. He normally wasn’t this indecisive, but something about Janae made him want to be less of a bull in a china shop and more a careful purveyor of fine goods. He didn’t want to act too recklessly and push her away. That had nothing to do with him not having another place to stay, and everything to do with wanting to be near her.

“Yeah, I’m good,” he said finally before rinsing off the last dish, reaching past her to place it on the drying rack. Janae’s hand dropped away, and he tried not to feel disappointed at the loss of physical connection. “It was a long day, but looking over the swatches shouldn’t take too long. I just want to make sure I have your okay before I get started on the bathroom. I’m sure you don’t want to be sharing with me the whole time.”

Janae shrugged. “You’re really not a bad roommate. Though, I guess it will be nice to have a second toilet and sink. I haven’t shared one since I was a kid and had to put up with my sister and her hours-long showers.”

Aiden chuckled. “I can imagine that wasn’t fun.”

“Especially when she locked the door so I couldn’t even grab my things and go use the other one. Sometimes I think she did it on purpose just to fuck with me.”

The way the word fuck rolled off her tongue made Aiden bite the inside of his cheek. It shouldn’t have been as attractive as it was. She was just telling a story about her and her sister.

He really needed to have a stern talk with his libido.

“Well, let’s go take a look at these paints so we can make sure you don’t think I’m trying to fuck with you.”

Janae looked up at him with a crooked smile. “I’m pretty sure I would know if you were trying to fuck with me, Aiden.” She giggled. “Then again, you’re such a nice guy that I don’t think you would. My sister though, she is the worst.”

Janae turned away then and Aiden nearly blew out a breath of relief. She didn’t need to see his reaction to her statement. If she had, she might have seen just how wrong she was about Aiden being a nice guy. There was nothing nice about the way he wanted to see her mouth curl around the word fuck until that was the only word she could say. No, his thoughts were decidedly not nice at all.

By the time they got to the bathroom, Aiden had himself a little more under control. He’d grabbed the small fan of paint swatches from the dining table, and now standing under the warm light of the bathroom, held them out for Janae to see.

“Here’s the ones from the previous contractor.”

Janae hummed thoughtfully as she looked over them. There was a little wrinkle between her eyebrows that Aiden longed to smooth away. Instead, he stood steady as Janae reached out to move the swatches this way and that. Inside, he was growing nervous. He had started with these swatches because that was what he’d found in the notes Janae showed him. But when he’d been putting the final touches on the kitchen, he’d gotten a moment of inspiration, remembering the colorful glimpse into Janae’s apartment the morning of the fire. The burst of brightness had stuck with him, and he’d selected a few extra swatches, just in case.

It seemed his memory had put him on the right path because after a moment of reflection, Janae shook her head.

“I don’t know,” she said, disappointment clear in her voice. “Now that I’m looking at them again, I don’t really like them.”

Aiden smiled and tried not to look too pleased. “I thought you might say that, so after I finished the kitchen, I grabbed a few more colors that I thought you might like.”

Janae glanced up at him. He pulled a second fan of swatches out of his back pocket, the brighter hues reminding him of a garden in spring. She stepped closer, making Aiden’s breath catch. The guest bathroom wasn’t the largest to begin with, and having two people in it was a close fit. It had a narrow shower nook that was fine for one person, but two would be a very intimate experience. There was a modest sink set in a small vanity, allowing just enough space for two people to stand if they didn’t mind touching. The overhead light was soft, catching on the pale tile backsplash that Aiden was itching to start pulling down. All in all, the size meant there wasn’t much space between them, and Aiden swore he could feel the heat of Janae’s body reaching out to him.

“What do you think?” he asked, voice dropping unintentionally as he looked down at the top of Janae’s head. “Do you like any of these more?”

She reached out then, her hand cupping his and sliding one of the swatches to the middle. She leaned close and Aiden had to force himself not to shiver. Her touch was warm and soft on his skin. Her thumb shifted once, and then again, as if she were caressing his hand.

“Hm,” she hummed. “I think maybe I like this one.”

She pointed to one of the swatches, a bright lilac that Aiden had at once been drawn to. His pulse jumped when Janae looked up at him again, this time from closer than they had ever been before. The small space between them felt charged with something he couldn’t quite name. This close, he could see all the different browns that made up the perfect color of her eyes, and the way her pupils enlarged as the electricity grew between them. Her gaze, usually so calm and steady, slowly darkened.

Gravity seemed to be emanating from her, drawing Aiden in closer. He knew he should step away. But he was caught in her orbit, moving steadily forward. When Janae’s tongue slipped from between her lips, wetting them and drawing his focus, Aiden was lost. Logical thought shut down, and he breeched the last few inches between them, pressing his lips against hers.