Free Heating Up by Stacy Finz Page B

half and his stomach growled.
    â€œYou want one?”
    â€œIf you wouldn’t mind. I need to go to the grocery store and stock up.” He was off for four days, unless he got called out again.
    â€œHelp yourself.” She motioned at the bread, deli meat, and cheese. “There are sodas and waters in the fridge. Chips in the cupboard.”
    â€œThanks. And thanks for the candy. The caramels rock. So you sold two places, huh? Is that a normal week?”
    â€œThere is no normal in real estate. But it’s been good this summer so far. The second place I sold was in Sierra Heights. These people had been considering a place there since winter. I think the guy did well in the stock market and finally broke down. It’s a good sale. How ’bout you? I heard about the fire on the news. Those brothers really thought they’d get away with torching a house? Who does that . . . I mean, besides accidentally?”
    Aidan smiled. She’d probably never live down leaving that candle burning. “It’s more common than you’d think.” Professional arsonists were smart and good at covering their tracks. Luckily, the brothers were neither.
    They sat down to eat, and Aidan noticed she was wearing a navy skirt, matching blazer, panty hose, and high heels, like Brady had described. “Aren’t you hot in that?” He liked her better in jeans. They showed off her ass, and on a scale of one to ten, Dana’s ass was off the charts. But he supposed this was more professional.
    â€œI was thinking of going back to the office, but I’d rather come with you to the hardware store.”
    â€œSure. What do you need?” Sue had always hated anything having to do with home repairs.
    â€œNothing I can think of right now, but I always find stuff when I’m there.”
    He grinned. “Yeah, me too.”
    â€œI’ll just finish lunch and change.”
    They ate together at the table. For dessert he broke out some of the chocolates and Dana started doing the dishes.
    â€œI’ll get ’em,” Aidan said. “You go change. I’d like to get this done while I still have a second wind because pretty soon I’m gonna need to crash.”
    â€œA lot of long hours?”
    â€œYeah. But now I get time to recoup.”
    â€œIt’ll only take me a few minutes to be ready,” she said.
    Aidan highly doubted it. He had a sister and had had plenty of girlfriends. He gave her thirty minutes minimum. But true to her word, she came out of her room in less than ten, wearing a little sundress that showed off a good deal of skin. And cleavage. Dana had more on top than he’d originally thought. Pretty legs too.
    â€œThat’s better.” It took him a second to realize he’d said it aloud.
    â€œPardon?”
    â€œI just mean you’ll be cooler now.”
    She looked a little self-conscious. “Grace Miller from Farm Supply gave it to me. I wouldn’t ordinarily wear something like this, but I lost all my clothes in the fire.”
    If the clothes had even remotely resembled the suit she’d just been wearing, Aidan thought the fire did her a favor. “Why, you don’t like the dress?”
    â€œI do. I just don’t think it’s me.”
    â€œYou want me to be one hundred percent honest? The dress is hot on you.”
    Her face flamed like a four-alarm fire. “Okay, let’s not talk about it anymore.”
    â€œIt’s up to you, but most women like being told how hot they are.”
    â€œI’m not one of them,” she said, and walked out of the house and climbed up into the passenger side of his SUV.
    He followed her and cranked the AC as soon as he started the engine. “How do we get there?”
    She gave him directions and they drove in silence until they reached the highway.
    â€œGriffin must be happy about the house you sold. Jeez, the homes on both sides of my sister’s place are