Cup of Sugar (7 page)

The Chambers’ house was small and homey, and in the course of an hour, Nia’s down-to-earth parents had made him feel like a lifelong friend. He could see why Nia had been determined to make her way here, snowstorm be damned.

“I’ll give you a tip.” Peter’s voice dropped to secret-sharing level. “If we’re really quiet and don’t make any sudden movements, the women will forget we’re here.”

Conn let his gaze drift to Nia, prepping food in the kitchen. She’d pulled her hair into a high ponytail, and it bobbed slightly as she diced apples on a thick, wooden cutting board. The sight of Nia, relaxed and doing her thing, as if he wasn’t twenty feet away and they hadn’t burned up the sheets at a roadside motel last night, had him mesmerized.

She must have sensed him watching, because she stopped working and looked up. She met his gaze and gave him one of her shy smiles—the kind that that took his insides and tied them in to dozens of bows. Giftwrapping for his heart. She shook her head at his wink and returned her attention to chopping duty.

Peter chuckled under his breath. “Though I suppose having Nia ignore you is the last thing you want.”

“That obvious, eh?” Conn asked

“Only to anybody with eyes.” Peter glanced at his daughter, then leveled a fatherly stare at Conn. “She said you’re not her boyfriend, yet you’re spending an entire holiday weekend taxiing her a thousand kilometers. Fill in the blanks for an overprotective father who lives too damn far away from his little girl.”

The man was direct. Conn appreciated that, so he’d return the favor. “I’ve been trying to get to know her since she moved into the house next to mine eight months ago, but she hasn’t made it easy.”

“It’s not you, son, it’s her.” Peter waved a hand in the air, then plopped it onto the arm of the recliner. “I guess your persistence paid off.”

“Not really. Her car broke down and I kind of got in her face while offering a ride. I think she accepted just to spite me.”

Peter grinned and smacked his palm against his leg. “Whatever works, right?” He chuckled again. “Well, you’re in the front door. Got a plan to keep it that way?”

“Make her realize she’s crazy about me?”

This time, Peter didn’t chuckle, he tipped his head back and laughed out loud. “Oh, I think she’s already aware of that. In fact, that might be your biggest obstacle. But I wish you luck, I do.”

“Thank you, sir.” Conn rose from his chair, grabbed the man’s hand and gave it a solid shake. “Enjoy the beautiful view. I’m off to tackle that obstacle.”

* * * * *

Watching Conn and her dad hit it off brought the romantic dreamer inside Nia bubbling to the surface. She needed to lock that troublesome twit down. Pronto.

Yes, Conn was friendly, sweet and easy to be around. And hotness—he
owned
that category. She’d been smart to keep her distance the past eight months. Last night had been a slip in judgment—a world-rocking, toe-curling slip—but not the beginning of something. No matter how thoroughly he’d gotten under her skin in the course of less than twenty-four hours. Or how quickly her parents had taken to him. Or how incredible his sexy smile and accompanying wink were. Shit.

She lowered her head and gave the apples her undivided attention. No, she would not fall back into her old pattern just to see where things might lead. She already knew.

Conn was interested in her, but judging from the array of female visitors to his house, he was interested in a lot of women. He didn’t even appear to have a type. Nia hadn’t seen any sign of a steady girlfriend since she moved in. She had no problem with Conn’s preference for variety, but she couldn’t stomach being part of his buffet.

All she had to do was get through the remainder of the weekend. Then she’d be home, able to hide out while secretly watching Conn, as she’d done for the previous eight months. Brick walls and locked doors would prevent him from further invading her space and senses with his numerous tempting traits.

At the moment, though, she had her work cut out for her. Six-plus feet of temptation was headed her way. She didn’t look up, but her peripheral vision worked just fine. An easy smile tipped the best kissing lips she’d ever experienced. A dark-blue t-shirt molded to his lean, muscular upper body, and broken-in jeans that were just the right amount of tight rode enticingly low on his hips. Conn was like a male, sexualized version of Medusa. Forget turning to stone—if Nia looked at him directly, she’d turn to goo. A hot mess of infatuated, horny, female goo.

“What’re you making?” Conn’s voice wrapped around her like a satiny sheet. He stood with one hand on the island where she was working, the rest of his body so close to hers she could almost feel his touch.

“Apple crumble.”

“Sounds good. What can I do to help?”

Oh…stand behind her and slide his hands all over her body. Kiss her neck and whisper dirty-sweet things in her ear. For starters.

She ducked her head lower so he wouldn’t see
that
answer written all over her heated face. “Nothing. Go, sit. Enjoy the scenery.”

“I prefer the scenery in the kitchen.”

Over by the sink, her mother chuckled under breath. Then she excused herself from the room under the guise of fetching more wine from the fridge in the garage. Because they needed more wine before anybody had even started drinking the stuff. Uh-huh.

“I apologize for accepting your mom’s invitation to stay without asking if you minded.”

Nia would have to look at him eventually, so she forced herself to do it now. “Of course I don’t mind, you’re hanging around to do me a service.”

“I’m happy to service you, sweetheart. Any way, any place, any time.”

She squeaked—damn that stupid, involuntary noise—and tried not to fidget on the spot. Hard to do with his slow, spreading smile sending a jolt of awareness straight to her core. So much for her resolve.

“My desire to service you aside, I think you need to understand something. Driving you here, sticking around so I can take you home tomorrow—I’m not doing those things because I’m a nice guy.” He moved a few inches closer, his sparkling eyes never leaving her face. “Those were strictly self-serving choices, Nia. I saw an opportunity to get what I want and I took it.”

“Conn…”

The back door slammed with a resounding
whump
. Zeus sprang to his feet, on alert despite being a visitor to the house, and bounded toward the source of the noise.

“Hey, ho, happy family, I’m—holy shit!” Several high-pitched shrieks ensued. “Why is there a giant dog-beast in our house?”

Saved by her sister. Wasn’t that ironic?

“Guess I’d better go collect Zeus before he scares your sister away.”

“Ha. If it were that easy, I would’ve brought a dog home years ago.”

Conn’s eyebrows rose, his smile changing from one full of sensual promises to one of good-natured amusement.

She eased back a couple steps and waggled her fingers at him. “Go. Save another damsel in distress.”

Chapter Five

“Zeus, come.” Conn snapped his fingers and the dog trotted from the mudroom, straight to his side.

From earlier conversations with Nia and her parents, he knew Nia only had one sibling, a sister. That was the extent of his information. He’d assumed Sara would be fair skinned, blonde and mild-mannered, like the rest of her family. He should’ve known better than to assume.

An attractive woman with long, dark hair peeked around the corner. Her eyes widened as she stepped into the open-concept living area of the Chambers’ home. “Whoa. Who are you? And why was I not advised of your presence in advance, so I could wear something more appropriate. Or less appropriate, actually.” She shrugged out of a short, silver jacket and tossed it on a chair. “That dog is enormous. Does it bite?” She gave Conn a no-holds-barred, top-to-bottom onceover. “You’re pretty big too. Do you bite?”

“No biting, you’re safe.”

“Part of me is relieved,” a suggestive wink came his way, “but the other part’s a little disappointed.”

He glanced at Nia in the kitchen, beyond Sara’s view. Nia rolled her eyes but made no move to intervene. She just shook her head and resumed dicing.

The backdoor thudded again. Zeus stayed at Conn’s side, but his tail thumped steadily against the floor. Didn’t take dogs long to assess people, and they usually got it right.

“There’s my other girl,” Meredith said as she rounded the corner. She passed two bottles of wine to Conn, then pulled her other daughter into a hug. “Sara, I see you met Conn and Zeus—they’re here with Nia.”

“You’re shitting me.” Sara dragged her eyes up and down Conn’s body some more. “You are so
not
my sister’s type.”

Interesting.

“For heaven’s sake, Sara, some couth would be lovely.” Meredith directed her deeper into the house, releasing her with an affectionate pat on the bum. “Go keep your father company.”

“I take it he’s hiding in his chair, trying to avoid kitchen detail?” Sara stopped halfway to Peter’s not-so-secret location. She planted her hands on her curvy hips and raised one dark eyebrow at Conn. “You’re really Nia’s boyfriend?”

“Conn’s my neighbor,” Nia piped up before he had a chance to answer.

“Well, that explains it.” Sara looked beyond him to the open side of the kitchen, and Nia. “I guess you are her type.”

Conn turned. Nia had paused mid-chop to stare at her sister—and it wasn’t with fondness. He’d thought Nia’s comment about scaring her sister away was cute and said with affection. Show him siblings that hadn’t irritated the shit out of one another as kids. Hell, he and his brother Curtis had pounded on each other regularly and still wound up friends. And typical of little brothers everywhere, Conn had made it his mission to antagonize his older sister while they shared a roof, but they were close now. As close as possible with an ocean separating them.

Fifteen feet separated the sisters in front of him. From the expression on Nia’s face, she’d prefer an ocean.

Zeus must’ve picked up on it too, because he moseyed into the kitchen, despite having been told that area was off-limits. Good dog. Good idea too.

Conn followed, giving Zeus the hand signal for “down” before placing that hand on Nia’s lower back and making small, gentle circles. Not a huge display of affection. More of a subtle, silent show of support. One she obviously appreciated, because she relaxed against his touch.

“Thank you,” she said after Sara walked away. “You’re really good at the ‘white knight’ thing, aren’t you?”

“Not so much.” He let his arm fall from her back and he took a step to one side, putting space between them.

Twice in the course of ten minutes she’d accused him of playing the hero. Okay,
accused
wasn’t right—there’d been zero negativity in her tone, either time. But she’d touched a nerve, regardless. Heroes came with promises of happy endings. Conn didn’t fit in that category.

“Did I say something to piss you off?” Her question snapped him from his brooding.

The soft voice, the way she looked up at him through thick, fluttering eyelashes. Like a woman with expectations. Hell, she’d told him as much in the truck last night, when she said she wanted a man to sweep her off her feet. Shit.

“Sorry.” He shook his head, pasted on the best smile he could muster. “Just thinking about something I have to do next week.”

“Okay.”

Nia didn’t get involved with neighbors and Conn didn’t get involved with women who wanted guarantees. Simple stuff. Too bad he didn’t have an ounce of simple in him while looking into Nia’s eyes.

“Here, let me finish that.” Meredith materialized at Nia’s side, deftly relieving her of the chopping board and giant mixing bowl before Nia could protest. “That poor dog has been cooped up in a truck, a motel room, and now this house. It’s a beautiful day and we have lots of space for him to run. Take him out.” She motioned back and forth between them with one finger. “Both of you. The fresh air will be good for those grumpy faces.”

Never argue with the matriarch. Conn knew that rule well. “Good idea, Meredith. Thanks.” He signaled for Zeus to follow him, pausing on the other side of the island to look back at Nia, still glued to her spot. Probably because she thought he was angry. Which he had been, though not at her.

“I think I’ll stay in and help with the food,” she said, answering his unspoken question.

“No, you absolutely will not.” Meredith smacked Nia’s hand when she reached for the bag of flour Meredith had placed on the island. She followed the reprimand with a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. Stubborn yet sweet, much like Nia. “When was the last time you hiked through the woods? Or skated on the bay?”

“A while ago.” Nia’s voice had the grudging tone of somebody who knows they’re fighting a losing battle.

“Ages ago, you mean. You spend so much time in that dark restaurant now. You’ve probably forgotten how much you used to love things like hiking and skating.” Meredith turned her head toward Conn. “I bet you enjoy the outdoors.”

“I do.”

Meredith issued what was clearly a victory nod. “Do you skate?”

“Since I was old enough to walk.”

“There you go. Your skates are still hanging in the garage, Nia. Conn can borrow your dad’s.” Meredith leaned over the island, her eyes at floor level. “What size do you wear?”

“Twelve.”

“I see. Big feet.”

“Yeah.” He flashed his hands briefly before stuffing them into his pockets. “They match the hands.”

“Well, then.” Meredith’s gaze shifted to Nia. And if Conn wasn’t mistaken, the woman winked at her daughter. “I guess you won’t be skating, but maybe you’ll find some other activity to do. Take the boathouse key, in case you need a place to warm up.”

“Oh my god, Mom. Seriously?” A deep-pink blush flared on Nia’s cheeks.

He held back his laughter, but the grin was already plastered on his face when Nia spun on her heel and stormed from the kitchen.

“Dinner’s at five.” This time, Meredith Chambers’ wink was directed at him. “Have a fun afternoon.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Because how else should he reply to what sure as hell seemed like a blessing to get busy with the woman’s daughter?