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He studied her. "I like how you smell."
She blinked. "What?"
"You smell like flowers. I like it. So maybe it wouldn't be like two jellyfish making out."
Again, a little flip of her belly. "It would definitely be jellyfish, and let's leave it at that. I don't want to date anyone, and I don't need you trying to mess with my mind." She gave him a little wave and ducked around him. "Bye."
She didn't turn around as she scooted back to her house, but she felt him watching her, all the way until she closed the door behind her.
The moment it was shut, she leaned back against it, closed her eyes, and let out her breath. After two years of jellyfish vibes, she was now thinking of Declan in a way she didn't want to deal with. Like a dateable, yummy dessert.
Damn Kitty and Declan. And her friends.
Between the lot of them, Piper suddenly couldn’t stop thinking of what it would be like to kiss Declan…and it wouldn't be jellyfish. It would be hot, dangerous, and consuming.
Oy.
The last thing Piper needed was to think of him as a man. She was going to have to stop it immediately. Her life was just toocomplicated for dating, let alone dating the guy who held her home hostage in his callused, landlordy hands.
She needed to get the image of Declan's shirtless perfection out of her head before she found herself tempted to accept his mom's offer.
Before the offer, Declan had been no more than a grumpy landlord, but his mom's proposal had changed the vibe to visions of sweaty biceps and shared showers, and Piper didn't appreciate it one bit.
CHAPTER FOUR
Jellyfish.
Piper had actually said kissing him would be like kissing a jellyfish.
And dating him would be like dating a plant.
And Declan could tell she'd meant it.
It was pretty priceless, and he was glad for it.
It would have seriously messed with him if Piper had accepted his mom's offer and she'd started making moves on him?—
Declan paused, his hand on the doorknob to the French doors. He could see his mom in the kitchen. She was on the phone, talking animatedly, and waving her hands with excitement.
He dropped his hand, watching her, his gut sinking.
Was his mom proposing her twenty-grand-dating-idea to someone else? Definitely. Now that she'd thought of it, his mother wouldn't stop until she found someone to accept the project. His mom was a savvy businesswoman who knew how to negotiate.
She'd find a way to get what she wanted.
He swore. How many women would turn it down the way Piper had?
He didn't want to deal with that. With a woman. With dating. With complications. With feeling anything for anyone ever again.
He could go in there and tell his mother to back off. She might agree, but he'd never know if she'd gone ahead with it anyway. He'd be second-guessing every woman who tried to talk to him, even Piper. How much would his mom raise the price to try to win Piper over? Everything was for sale at some price, and twenty thousand dollars was nothing to his mother.
Shit.
Declan stepped back, sinking into the shadows as he pulled out his phone. He called his brother, who answered on the first ring. "Declan," Eric said. "Everything okay? You all right?"
"I'm fine." He was tired of his family worrying about him. "Mom just offered my tenant twenty thousand dollars to date me and then dump me."
Eric let out a low whistle. "Damn, bro. She's been talking about that, but I thought I'd convinced her not to do it."
