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“You need clothes if you’re going outside.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Says who?”
“Says me.” He wraps me in his shirt and buttons it for me. “No one is going to ogle my girl’s body but me.”
“Did you just say ogle?”
He grins and tugs on his jeans but leaves them unfastened as he follows me to the kitchen. I pass him a bottle, and as we drink, I see that he’s eyeing the swatches on the wall.
“I’ll eventually paint in here.”
“Why don’t you just let me see to it?”
I frown over at him. “What, in all your spare time?”
That makes him laugh. “I can make some calls.”
“Like you did with the air conditioner? You don’t have to do that.”
“I know I don’t have to.” He reaches out and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear before dragging his fingers down my jawline. “I don’t do much of anything that I don’t want to.”
“Honestly, paint is the last thing this room needs. The stove isn’t even hooked up to anything because I had a gas leak, so we had to cap it off. It’s mostly just an ornament now.”
His eyes narrow. “You had a gas leak.”
“Not long ago, actually. When you were gone, the same day the AC was installed, now that I think about it.”
“And you didn’t tell me.”
I shrug and drink my water. “I had it taken care of right away. I guess I should replace that thing.”
“Polly.” He sets my water aside and simply pulls me in for a long hug, rocking me back and forth in that way he does that soothes and sets me at ease. It’s my favorite thing in the world. “Let me take care of this for you.”
“I don’t want you to think that I need you to do this. That I want any of your money. Because I don’t. Not ever, Ryan.”
I feel him smile against the top of my head. “If I thought that, we wouldn’t be standing here right now, and you know it. But, babe, I can do this. I can help you with this, and it’s something I’d like to do.”
“Really?” I lean back so I can look up at him and find him grinning down at me. “You enjoy home renovation?”
“Actually, yeah.”
“Wow. Interesting.” I lick my lips. I can still taste him there. “I will never take advantage of you, Ryan.”
“Maybe you should, just a little.” He laughs when I scowl. “I’m a giver, Polly. I like to help, to gift, to make life easier for the people I care about. Don’t look now, but that includes you.”
Everything in me lights up.
“You’re a good man, Ryan Wild.”
“Does that mean I can make over your kitchen?”
“Yeah, just don’t go crazy, okay?”
“Psh. As if I would.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
RYAN
