Hidden Pleasures - Brenda Jackson [33]
“All those are SID’s, a corporation that I own along with two college friends. All three of us can claim success of the company.”
“See there,” she said as a huge smile touched her face.
“You’re a fast learner. You could have been conceited and taken all the credit for the success of your company, but you didn’t. You shared the spotlight. You remembered your manners. I’m proud of you for doing so.”
Galen shook his head. For the first time in a long time a woman had left him speechless.
So instead of saying anything, he began walking again while wondering for the first time what he had gotten himself into.
Brittany couldn’t help but notice that Galen had suddenly gotten quiet on her. Just as well because she needed to think a minute. One thing she’d learned over the years was to respect another’s need for a quiet moment. So while Galen seemed to be indulging in his, she glanced around, thoroughly pulled in by the appeal of his home.
It had a charm about it that spoke volumes. Whether Galen realized it, his house revealed a lot about his personality. A segment of it at least. She doubted very few, except those close to him, knew the real Galen Steele.
She’d never considered herself an outdoorsy person, but evidently Galen was. Most of the paintings on his wall indicated his appreciation for nature, in that they captured the natural beauty of the outdoors. And then she couldn’t get over the view outside the window they were walking by. It literally took her breath away. In Tampa she was mostly surrounded by water, but here in the desert, she was surrounded by mountains. Mountains out of which Galen had mapped his space. One he was comfortable with. One that was totally him.
He stopped when they came to another room and she did likewise. When he stood back she stepped inside. It was another bedroom and Brittany thought it just as nicely furnished as the others she’d seen so far.
She glanced over at him. “You have a lot of house for only one person.”
“I like my space.”
She’d figured as much and wondered if he was giving her a hint. But then she dismissed the idea when she recalled that her being here was his idea. She had offered to stay at the other house, but he’d turned her down.
Moments later after showing her three other guest bedrooms, several spacious bathrooms and an upstairs library stacked with numerous books and video games, they walked down a hall that jutted into a wing that was basically a separate extension of the house.
Galen glanced over at her and said, “In addition to my space I also like my privacy. I have five brothers and once in a while we get together and play video games until dawn. When I want to retire for the night I prefer not hearing their excitement from winning or their strong, colorful expletives from losing. They tend to be rather rowdy.”
“You and your brothers are close.”
“Yes, although we pretend not to be at times. Tends to be more fun that way and with us, there’s never a boring moment, trust me. Our parents are our rock. They have a strong marriage, a solid one. And I think what I admire about them most of all is that they’re best friends.”
“That’s impressive.”
Galen nodded. He’d always thought so, and he knew his brothers had, as well. But to hear an outsider confirm it pretty much validated their feelings. He hadn’t asked her anything about her family and he couldn’t help wondering if she found that odd. No odder than her not asking for those papers when she had insisted on them just last night. He couldn’t help speculating why.
He pulled in a deep breath wondering if she knew how good she smelled. He guessed it didn’t matter, because he did. He covertly studied her profile and wondered why he was even bothering when he was used to openly checking out any woman he was interested in. Any woman he wanted. But he wanted to watch her when she wasn’t aware she was being watched.
It didn’t take long to decide the side of her looked just as nice as the front. Her nose seemed rather short, but her full lips made up for it, and when you tacked on a sexy-looking chin,