The door opened and Kinsley’s breath caught in her throat. Instead of Lincoln’s normal uniform of jeans and tee shirt, he wore a pair of slacks and a crisp, white shirt that made his shoulders look even more amazing, and his skin looked tanner than usual. The slacks showed off his lean waist and flat abs and it was all Kinsley could do to stop herself from drooling as she stepped into the wood and stone foyer.
“Come on in,” Lincoln said, his eyes moving over her from her head, pausing at the double strand of fake pearls around her neck, all the way down to the toes of her black heels. Then his gaze returned to meet hers, something strange there now.
He stepped back and only briefly glanced at Carl, giving a nod of acknowledgement.
“You look lovely,” he said. “Can I take your coat?”
Lincoln moved behind her, helping her remove her coat. He hung it away in a closet, then finally turned to Carl. “I’m Lincoln Meyers. You must be Keith.”
Kinsley rolled her eyes. Carl shot her an odd glance as he extended his hand in greeting. “Carl Monohan,” Carl corrected.
“My mistake,” Lincoln replied, then looked at Kinsley, and winked, which only validated her suspicion that he knew Carl’s name and was being a jerk.
“Behave!” she told him firmly.
He grinned, warning her that he wasn’t going to behave. Not even a little!
“Come on in. What can I get you to drink?” Turning to Kinsley, he added, “I have a great white wine. Or if you’d prefer something lighter, I have more of that lemonade you liked from the other day.”
“Oh, white wine sounds great. Thanks.”
Lincoln turned to Carl. “And what can I get you to drink?”
“Wine sounds great. Thanks so much.”
Lincoln moved over to the kitchen, which was really just part of the great room since it all flowed together. The kitchen was made of different kinds of mellow wood with a marble countertop. There were cabinets along the wall with the stove and fridge. But there was also a long counter that separated the kitchen from the living area space. It allowed the cook to interact with the rest of the room. Everything was open, airy, and lovely.
“This is gorgeous!” Kinsley murmured, looking around. When she turned, she realized that the living room area had a whole wall of wood framed windows and doors that looked out at the mountains in the distance. There was also a wide deck where one could sit and absorb the view. “I don’t know how you ever leave here.”
“Great view,” Carl agreed. Lincoln handed out glasses of wine.
“It’s pretty nice. Especially during evenings when I can watch the sunset.”
Carl shifted closer to her and Kinsley cringed, recognizing his “I’m a man” posturing. “I know that Kinsley has been working for you for about a month, but what do you actually do, Lincoln?”
Lincoln glanced over at Kinsley and she took a sip of her wine.
“Kinsley hasn’t explained?”
Carl shook his head. “Not a word. She mentioned an NDA that she signed.”
Lincoln glanced at her and she blushed. “I just…I keep your secrets, Linc,” she said, aiming for quiet dignity. She hid her hot cheeks behind the crystal glass, pretending to take a sip of wine.
“Well, that’s good to hear.” He turned back to Carl. “I invent things.”
Carl nodded slowly as if Lincoln had just announced something prophetic. “What kinds of things?”
“Well, that’s the secret,” Lincoln grinned, waving towards the two couches that were set up in front of a massive stone fireplace. “I have appetizers set up while dinner finishes cooking. Please, help yourself.”
The three of them moved to the sofas and Kinsley sat down first, expecting Carl to sit next to her. It’s what a boyfriend-soon-to-be-fiancé would do. But instead, he moved to the other sofa, sitting down opposite her. She felt Lincoln’s confusion, but the man was the ultimate host and sat down next to her.
“I’ve worked on several components that have increased the fuel efficiency on cars and trucks.”
Carl nodded as if he fully understood what that meant. “That sound interesting,” he replied, his tone saying that he wasn’t interested at all.
“What do you do?” Lincoln asked.
Carl reached forward, selecting a cracker from the coffee table in front of him. “Kinsley didn’t tell you?”
Lincoln eyed the man and, in that instant, realized that he really didn’t like Carl. Not one bit. And even more, he didn’t like the fact that the ass would get to take Kinsley home tonight. And probably sleep with her curled up against him. Yeah, that really pissed him off. He’d been relieved when Carl had sat on the opposite sofa. Although, it seemed like an odd move. But he liked any action that kept the jerk away from Kinsley.
“I’m a computer programmer,” Carl explained, bracing his elbows on the back of the sofa and bringing his ankle up so that it rested on his knee. Lincoln suspected that the guy was trying to relax his body language and feign importance. But the shift in his legs only made the guy look awkward and off-balance. “I’m currently working on a government project that should finish up in about a month or two.”
Lincoln nodded easily. He’d worked with government agencies and knew that they had tight contracts with deadlines and schedules. The idea that a program “might” be released out to the agency’s users in “a month or two” was ridiculous and
