priced pieces for her. His waist was narrow with trim hips leading to well-muscled thighs. Hell, even his feet were all man in the leather sandals he wore! And he had the most gorgeous ass Emma had ever seen and she was something of a connoisseur when it came to that part of the male anatomy. Yep. She had seen him plenty of times in the last three days. But this time he didn’t scare her. They were surrounded by construction workers so she was safe. He leaned over the table, looking at the drawings as if he had been there all along.
“So what do you think, Ethel? Wouldn’t just widening the window be the easiest for everybody?” he asked.
“Emma,” she said.
He looked up at her, not speaking, mesmerized by the unusual coloring of her eyes.
When he didn’t answer her Emma didn’t think he heard her so she said it again. “Emma.”
“Excuse me?” he finally said, after blinking several times.
Emma cleared her throat, trying to regain her composure. “My name is Emma,” she repeated. “Emma Sloan.”
He smiled broadly, revealing dimples she had not seen the last time.
“Very nice to meet you Emma Sloan,” he said warmly. “Now will you tell me what you are doing here?”
“I’m a designer. Jessica hired me to remodel the guest house,” she explained.
He turned and lifted himself easily onto the edge of the heavy table. She watched him as he looked around the room. They were in the middle of the kitchen, which was currently more like a disaster area.
“Can’t say as I see much that impresses me so far,” he said.
Emma bristled at his casual remark.
“It never looks like much in the beginning,” she said defensively.
He held his hands up. “No offense intended, Emma. I promise!” he said quickly. “I’m sure it will be beautiful when it’s finished.”
“There’s a lot of work to be done. At least another month’s worth.” she said, not sure why she felt the need to explain herself to this stranger. “Just who are you anyway, and what business is it of yours what’s going on here?”
“I live here,” he said. “In the main house, that is. When I’m in the country, anyway.”
Emma looked at him suspiciously. “I don’t remember Jessica saying anything about you.”
“Did you two discuss everyone who lives here on the estate?” he asked.
“Well, no, we didn’t,” Emma admitted.
“Well there you go,” he said. “There was no reason for my name to come up. She does exactly as she pleases without any need for my input.” He slid from the table and walked over to the tiles waiting to be placed behind the new stove. He stood quietly for several minutes, arranging the mosaic.
“What time are you done for the day?” he asked abruptly, looking back at her.
Emma frowned. “Why do you ask?”
He walked back to where she was standing and reached out to tuck a stray hair behind her ear. She drew back, wary of his touch.
He smiled crookedly. No less than what he had expected. “Because I’d like to take you to dinner,” he said. “Is there something wrong with that?”
Emma arched one eyebrow as she looked at him suspiciously. “Mr. Rochester, this is only the second time I’ve laid eyes on you and frankly you scared the hell out of me the first time. Why would I want to go to dinner with you?”
“Blake, please,” he said. “And you should go to dinner with me so I can have a chance to redeem myself and prove that I’m not a serial killer or something.” He waited patiently for her decision. Seeing her obvious reluctance he tried a different approach. “How about we meet somewhere, then? That way you’ll have your own vehicle and you can leave whenever you get ready.”
Emma stared at him, unsure of her answer. Clearly, she would be playing with fire but she couldn’t resist the opportunity to get to know this man. Could this be the chance she had been waiting for? Her skills with the opposite sex were woefully nonexistent, so her judgment wasn’t exactly the best in the world, she knew that. But no other man had held her thoughts and her dreams so firmly after just one meeting. She wavered. Surely one meal wouldn’t hurt. She should be safe enough if she drove herself.
“Alright,” she finally agreed. She smiled at the look of delight on his face at her answer.
“How about you call me when you get ready to leave?” he suggested. “Give me your cell phone and I’ll put the number in for you.”
She watched as he quickly entered the information.
“There you go,” he said. “And I won’t ask for yours until you’re ready to give it to me.”
Emma laughed. “Like you won’t have it when I call you tonight.”
He took her hand and kissed it, lingering over the contact to press his lips to the sensitive spot at the base of her wrist a second time before letting her go. “So block your number.”
Her hand tingled where his lips had touched it. “Maybe I’ll just do that,” she said, her voice husky.
CHAPTER 5
Emma sang to herself as she drove back to the Connell estate once again. Eight long weeks and the job was finally finished. Today was the final walk through. Even though she had not actually given her final approval, Jessica had spread the word among all her friends how pleased she was with Emma’s work and the calls had already started coming in. She was going to have to hire an assistant just to keep up with the office so she could do the million other things necessary to maintain her business. No matter how successful she became, she couldn’t forget that it was her personal touch that the clients were paying for. Even her personal life was like a dream come true. Blake had been an absolute gentleman until she had gotten to know him, and become more comfortable with him, only then attempting to get closer to her. They had either been together or spoken on the phone every night since he had walked into that house and scared the hell out of her for the second time. Their dates had ranged from hamburgers at a drive-in in a nearby small town to a hockey game in Minnesota he had surprised her with, flying on a private jet. He obviously was wealthy, saying only that he had family money and had made a few lucky investments. Emma could respect his desire for privacy. It wasn’t like they were married or anything. Some things people just didn’t want to share.
Jessica was waiting for Emma at the door. Her eyes were sparkling and she was as excited as a schoolgirl. She grabbed Emma’s hand and pulled her into the foyer.
“Oh Emma, I can’t believe how beautiful everything is!” she exclaimed. “I know I was supposed to wait for you but I couldn’t help myself!”
Emma laughed at the older woman’s enthusiasm. “I’ll bet you opened your Christmas presents early, too!”
Jessica hugged her tightly. “I’ve got a surprise for you,” she said, turning and motioning
