“It was my pleasure, and it’s good for Gigi too. I know she thinks she doesn’t have an eye for draping, but I see potential.” Neena shined her broad smile at her assistant while Anna gathered her things.
“I can’t thank you both enough. Will you let me know what I owe you?”
“This one’s on me,” Neena said, waving away her offer. “Wear it like a good luck charm, and be sure to let me know how it works.”
She hugged Anna, and stepped back to let them say their goodbyes.
Chapter Five
“Anna Granger, you brazen hussy!”
Elaine was on speakerphone while Anna cracked two eggs for her breakfast into a bowl and described the surprising appearance of one Leo the Mystery Man and his inhabiting of the house next door.
“It’s kismet,” she said, shrugging. “What can I say?”
“But what about Daniel?”
“This has nothing to do with Daniel.” The eggs were whisking up so sloppily that half of them slurped onto the counter. She used the side of her hand to slide the runny mixture back into the bowl, blended in a pinch of dill, and poured it all into the waiting frying pan.
“But it will have something to do with Daniel,” Elaine argued, “if Mr. Leo here happens to be a gifted study-buddy.”
“Did you say studly buddy?” Anna reached for a plate with one hand and stirred the cooking eggs with the other, visions of a naked, sculpted Leo dancing through her head.
“Study buddy, Anna. Stud-dy. Bud-dy.”
“I thought about asking if you wanted to practice together,” Anna said, scraping the fragrant, perfectly cooked scramble onto the plate. “But I already know there’s no way we could keep a straight face.”
Elaine snorted and agreed. “True. Plus, some of the exercises are penis and vagina only, and much as I love you, last time I checked, you didn’t have a penis.”
Anna almost choked on her breakfast.
“You really should be doing stand-up, El. And in case I haven’t mentioned it lately, I’m grateful you’re in my life. I couldn’t have survived the past five years without you.”
“Aw, it’s your time to fly, Little Grasshopper.”
“I think you’re mixing up your TV show metaphors.”
“Probably,” Elaine agreed, “but that’s what a night of unbridled lust with a thirty-six-year-old will do for you.”
“Uh, who’s the brazen hussy now?”
“Me. I am the founding member of the Brazen Hussy Club, and you, Anna Granger,” she said, her voice laden with long-term affection, “are my second in command.”
“I can’t wait to see our uniforms.”
Anna was sliding her toothbrush into the wall-mounted holder when Leo knocked at her door.
“I heard you laughing all the way from my cottage,” he commented as she welcomed him in. He stepped across the threshold and reached behind his neck, grabbing a handful of his boat-neck sweater, and tugging it forward and over his head. His knit cap came off in the process and landed on the floor. Leo scooped it up and stuffed it into one arm of the sweater before hanging it on one of the hooks by the back door.
The snug, navy blue T-shirt he wore underneath had ridden up and exposed the skin above the waistband of his sweatpants, treating Anna to a performance akin to the opening beats of a private strip tease.
She swallowed and took a half step away.
“I was talking to my friend,” she explained. “Elaine, the one I mentioned who signed me up for the workshop in the first place. We keep each other amused.”
“Those kinds of friends are important,” he offered, crouching on one knee. He looped his fingers through the laces of his boots and loosened them enough for his feet to slide out. More sexy, endearing smile lines radiated from the corners of his eyes.
Anna’s toes curled. Muscles in her pelvic floor contracted in and up with a zing of anticipation. Someone had been paying attention when she’d reviewed the chapter on the anatomy of the female pelvis.
“Can I get you anything?” She sidestepped into the kitchen and pulled her gaze away from Leo’s fine form and even finer, kind eyes.
“Water. Please.”
She filled two glasses from the pitcher she kept in the refrigerator and handed one across the countertop. “Let’s sit over there, in the living room.”
Anna felt Leo’s gaze follow her as she placed her glass on the fireplace hearth, got onto her knees, and pulled floor cushions from underneath the low table in front of the couch.
“Is this temperature okay?” she asked, once she’d plumped the cushions and sat on hers.
“Yes, everything’s fine.” He suddenly seemed more interested in a careful survey of the windows and walls than whether the room was too hot or cold. “How long have you lived here?”
“Close to twenty-five years. My husband’s grandmother owned a few cottages on the island, and she gave us this one.”
“The wood in here is in need of some TLC. And you’re overdue for some upkeep on the outside of the house. But the bones are good. Some of this is redwood they can’t even harvest anymore.” He ran his fingertips along the extra deep windowsills, faded by direct sun and gray in places with water stains. Her living room showed its age in the uncompromising morning light, and he didn’t seem to miss a thing. “Please don’t take my observations as an insult. It’s one of the hazards of my work, always wanting to see how things were made, what needs fixing. And I’m talking houses, not people.”
The smile playing at the corners of his mouth urged hers to do the same. Anna gave a soft laugh. “I’m not insulted. There’s only so much I can do on my own, and I’ve been waiting for enough projects to accumulate to justify hiring someone to come in and fix it all.”
Leo stepped away from the window and settled himself on the square cushion facing Anna. Sunshine poured in through the skylights, highlighting the copper tips of
