Free Red Velvet (Silk Stocking Inn #1) by Tess Oliver, Anna Hart

close. She kept me grounded and organized. She seemed to be the only person who cared enough to notice me missing. I wrote back.
    “I’ve taken a small, self-indulgent weekend vacation.” My mind left on a quick road trip as I thought about the stolen moments in the gazebo with Grayson. I’d never done anything like that before, and I doubted I ever would again. That thought saddened me. What would happen once I left here? How the heck was I going to wash a man like Grayson from my mind?
    I stared at the one sentence reply. Cara deserved more of response. “I have so much to tell you when I get back. But for now, I’m having the time of my life. There’s no phone service where I’m at. See you Monday.”
    Just as I clicked send, footsteps sounded on the front steps. I felt giddy before I even looked up. I could already sense when he was near, and it had nothing to do with the yummy, woodsy, manly scent that surrounded him. I just knew. It was as if a cloud of heat swallowed us up the instant we were within ten feet of each other.
    “I was wondering how long it would be before I found you hunched over a computer.” Grayson’s steel-toed boots thudded on the creaky wood planks of the porch. He stopped and tapped one with his boot several times. As if on cue, Coco stepped outside with a second glass of lemonade.
    “Thanks. You must have read my mind.” He reached for the glass. “This porch needs some work. I can work on it after I’m done with the roof.”
    “That would be great.” Coco turned to me. “Were you able to find what you needed? I confess I rarely use that computer. I have few skills when it comes to technology.”
    “Really?” I asked in surprise. “But you have that terrific interactive website with the interview questions, and, I might add, it’s incredibly persistent.”
    Now it was Coco’s turn to act surprised. “What website?”
    My mouth dropped, and I stared stunned at her. “The Silk Stocking Inn website? Where you asked me about my favorite cupcake—among other things.” My gaze flitted quickly toward Grayson, who seemed confused by the conversation.
    “A website for Silk Stocking Inn? What a novel idea.” Coco laughed as she walked back inside.
    My mind was temporarily pulled from the good looking man standing on the porch drinking lemonade, something he managed to look extra good doing. My curious fingers flew over the keyboard. I typed in every version of Silk Stocking Inn I could think of, but nothing came up. There was plenty about silk stockings and silk and even inns, but the site that had popped up so mysteriously on my work computer was not there.
    My inattention had sent Grayson back down the steps. He sat on the bottom one. I closed the laptop and placed it on the table. Then I grabbed my glass of lemonade and sat next to him.
    He lifted his glass for a toast. “Here’s to cold drinks on a hot day and an even hotter sipping partner.”
    I smiled. “The comments you come up with. It’s almost as if you spend your day thinking up charming things to say.”
    “That’s disappointing. I was hoping my charming comments would seem more spontaneous instead of rehearsed. Guess I have to work on delivery.”
    “No, trust me, there’s nothing at all wrong with your delivery.”
    That made him smile. He took a drink and I peered over at his Adam’s apple, wondering how he managed to make swallowing look so sensual.
    He sighed and stared at the half finished glass. “Coco mentioned she wasn’t sure if you were staying or not.”
    “I was thinking about staying the rest of the weekend. Would you like that?”
    He faced me. “If you have to ask that then there really is something wrong with my delivery .”
    A strand of hair blew across my cheek. He reached up and tucked it back behind my ear. I felt the sensation of his fingers on my ear through my entire body.
    I shook my head. “No, the fault lies more with my confidence around men.”
    He raised a brow at me.