Hot Westmoreland Nights - Brenda Jackson [31]
“Well, what?” he asked, deciding to play along just for the hell of it. Irritate her a bit. He liked the way her lips curved in a frown when she was aggravated about something. In addition to that, he liked her sexy pose on the sofa and the eager look on her face to find out more. Now if he could only get her out of wearing those damn leggings.
The glare she gave him denoted she was getting impatient, downright annoyed, at the length of time it was taking for him to tell her what she wanted to know. “Tell me some more about your great-grandfather’s twin,” she said with barely restrained impatience.
He could and would do so if it meant keeping her mind occupied while he continued to check her out. “We discovered over a year ago that our great-grandfather Raphael had a twin by the name of Reginald.”
“And none of you had any idea?”
“No. Great-Grampa Raphael led everyone to believe he’d been born the only child. One of the Atlanta Westmorelands’ genealogy search provided proof that Raphael and Reginald were twins and that Raphael had been considered the black sheep of the family after running off with a married woman. He finally settled here in Denver five wives later.”
Ramsey paused when he felt a rush of sensations hammer his veins when Chloe shifted her body on the sofa once again and his gaze moved to her feet. They were bare and her toes were painted a prissy pink. When had seeing painted toes on a woman become so erotic?
He found it an effort to move his gaze from her feet back to her face, especially when his eyes had to pass over her chest. Of course it lingered awhile before moving on. When he finally settled on her eyes he saw hers were narrowed. “I’m sure there is more to this story,” she said.
He nodded. “Of course and maybe one day I’ll tell you the rest.”
He had no idea why he’d said that. There wouldn’t be a “one day” where they were concerned. Although he had changed his mind about calling the agency for another cook, he needed to keep his guard up around her. Yet here he was, misleading her into thinking he would share anything else about his family with her.
He eased out of his chair, deciding he’d said enough and had stayed in here with her longer than he’d needed to. Definitely longer than he should have. It then occurred to him he was still wearing his hat. Damn.
He took it off his head thinking the woman had a way of making him not think straight and that wasn’t a good thing. “I’m taking a shower and going out to grab something for dinner,” he said, and then wondered why on earth was he telling her his plans. His comings and goings were really none of her business.
He moved to leave the room and head upstairs, but her words stopped him. “I prepared dinner for you, Ramsey.”
He stopped, turned and looked over at her. She was only getting paid to fix breakfast and lunch because his men usually ate dinner at their own homes with their families. Usually he dined at Penney’s Diner a few miles down the road or with one of his family members.
“You didn’t have to do that, Chloe.”
“I know, but I wanted to because I need to eat, too,” she replied, as if that explained things.
“Suit yourself,” he said, knowing he sounded totally nonchalant and ungrateful when he was anything but. After spending practically her entire day in the kitchen preparing breakfast and lunch for his men, she had gone out of her way to prepare him dinner when she really didn’t have to do it.
He turned in the direction of the kitchen and when he got to the edge of the room, he paused and then turned back around. She was staring into space as if she was trying to figure out in her own mind what had happened next with Raphael Westmoreland. She had moved from her earlier pose and was now curled up in the corner of his sofa, and every so often after taking a sip of wine her tongue would dart out to lick her top lip as if savoring the taste. Ramsey felt his body tighten with desire as he watched her.
“Chloe?”
She looked over at him and he could tell from her expression she was surprised to see him still standing there.