Read Online Her Backup Boyfriend (Entangled Bliss) (Sorensen Family) by Ashlee Mallory - Free Book Online Page A

comment had had any effect. “Well, enjoy your dinner. Don’t let Michael get carried away with the bread basket. He always feels guilty later, you know.”
    Kate couldn’t help but note Nicole’s hand tightening on her pen. But she kept her attention on the file in front of her and barely nodded when Kate said good-bye.
    She grabbed her notes and made a beeline for the door. She could be home in thirty minutes. She checked herself as she raced down the hall, telling herself that the excitement and nervousness she was feeling had to be because of the planning she and Dominic had ahead of them if they wanted their charade to be a success. Nothing else.
    But it wouldn’t hurt to brush a quick layer of polish on her lips. She had to moisturize, after all. And if the color and shine perked up the fatigue that might be evident on her face, it was purely coincidental.
    That’s right. She could be professional.
    Only Kate couldn’t deny the small bubble of excitement in her chest when she saw Dominic’s truck parked in front of her house and the lights on upstairs when she pulled up. It was almost six and it was already dark outside, but her house looked warm and welcoming. Like home. She loved it.
    “Hello?” she called when she walked inside, dropping the keys on the hall table.
    “Up here,” he called. “Come and take a look.”
    Kate found him standing at the sink in the guest bathroom with a smile on his lips and her cat curled at his feet. His light blue T-shirt was rolled up at his arms. Who knew forearms could be sexy? Or the display of muscles that were hard to miss in the fitted shirt as he crossed his arms in front of him. She almost licked her lips, which would have displaced the layer of gloss she’d put on. “Give it a try.” He nodded toward the sink.
    Her fingers skimmed the shiny, cool surface of the new faucets she’d selected last Saturday. Chic. She turned the handle and waited. Usually the water took a good minute to even reach tepid, but within ten seconds, it was running hot. She smiled and looked up. “You did it.”
    “You’ll find the same in your bathroom, but since we’ll be tearing out everything for the remodel, you’ll only have a few more days to enjoy it.”
    “It will definitely be worth it,” she said as she pictured the bright pink-and-white tiles that ran across the floor and up to the ceiling of her master bath. They had to go. Kate looked around the small guest bath that Dominic had turned his attention to today. Even with just the small tweaks of the new faucets, towel racks, and new lighting and mirror, it looked brand-new.
    “Did you get a chance to decide on some paint shades for the master bath and kitchen?” he asked and turned those impossibly brilliant blue eyes in her direction. Had he chosen that shirt because he knew the way it brought them out? Yeah. Probably. Men like him absolutely knew the kind of effect they had on women. Take that grin of his that he had to have practiced in the mirror a few times.
    She noticed he was still waiting for a response. Right. “I think so. I have it narrowed down to three shades of yellow for the kitchen and two different blues for the bath.”
    Dominic gathered all the trash from the floor into a black plastic bag and she purposely turned her attention to the new faucets in the sink instead of his backside. It about killed her.
    Unaware of the serious self-control she was exerting, Dominic said, “I was thinking about heading to Home Depot for a few things. Want to come with? We can pick up the paint samples and maybe a pizza for dinner. Give us time to discuss some of the details about our little arrangement.”
    “Let’s do it,” she said without hesitation. For a moment she worried she’d answered too quickly. “I mean, I’m pretty hungry, and pizza sounds great. Let me put some jeans on first.”
    They debated all the way out to the driveway whose car they were taking, and Dominic ended up victorious, but only