Free Maid to Crave (Man Maid #2) by Rebecca M. Avery Page A

for something else. He had made it clear at the wedding reception that she was unattractive to him.
Why was he attracted to her now?
Was it really just the change in her appearance?
    They spent the next couple of hours in one of the trendy new stores at a mall not far from where she lived. She was so nervous. She had no idea what kind of decorations would go with her furniture. Even the salesman sensed she was way out of her element. As the man approached her upon their initial entrance to the store, he frowned but introduced himself and handed her his business card all the same.
    She could barely contain a laugh behind her hand when, in an obviously fake French accent, Seth turned to her and said, “This will just have to do, darling. We are in
Ohio
, not Paris. So you buy from the locals. It’s rustic, authentic. It will give the place…
character
. I am the designer here. You must trust me in this.”
    The salesman gave Seth a disgruntled look, obviously offended that the quality merchandise of his store had been deemed
rustic
. Maintaining eye contact with the man, Seth grabbed her hand in his own and marched by the salesman, continuing to stare at him until they passed. When they were finally out of earshot, she released the giggle that was causing her eyes to water.
    Seth began laughing too until she said, “Stop. He’ll hear you.”
    They watched as the salesman headed off to another area of the store to lurk and wait for them to leave, ask a question…or actually buy something. Once the salesman was gone, she relaxed and tried to pay attention to the suggestions Seth gave her for different rooms. It wasn’t until she’d actually picked out several items for the living room, dining room, her bedroom and the spare bedroom that she noticed Seth was still holding her hand, dragging her from one section of the store to another. She was having a blast.
    She had always thought of guys who were artsy as less than masculine, but that did not apply where Seth was concerned. He was innovative in a way that was completely foreign to her. Several times, he described her home in such a way that she wondered if she had actually looked at the place before purchasing it. The creativity he possessed only added to his sex appeal. So much so that it was sometimes hard for her to look at anything but him.
    Tori hadn’t really known him very well before today, but by lunch she was shocked to find that rather than stuck up, conceited and stupid like she thought he would be, he was warm, very funny and harbored an ingenuity that even her sister would be jealous of. Garnering his fake accent, he approached the salesman as she stood staring at a couple of framed pictures.
    Once the salesman realized how many items she was purchasing, his whole attitude changed. Soon enough she had paid for the purchases and a delivery time was set for Monday. As they left the store, Seth assured her that he would be at the house for the delivery so she could work and promised to help her find furniture for the guest bedroom on Sunday. Then he again took her hand and dragged her to a restaurant within the mall for some lunch.
    Before she knew it, they were rushing to get back so Seth could get Caleb to his physical therapy appointment and she could get Zach from school. As she watched him back his car out of her driveway and take off down the street with Caleb, she realized he’d single-handedly made a task she usually hated into something fun. It had been like hanging out with a friend and she couldn’t wipe the silly grin off her face at his spontaneous antics. She would never have imagined that a guy could be a better shopping buddy than any woman she knew.
    She headed to the school to pick up Zach, and when she entered the classroom, she was surprised to see him seated at a different table—one next to Cody Manson. He was smiling…enjoying school. She felt tears of relief prick her eyes. Zach had finally made a friend.
    Seth had done what