No Love Allowed(29)

“Why aren’t you answering my texts?” He faced her fully, expectation in the seriousness of his gaze. “Did you get the art supplies? Nathan said he’d given them to you.”

“Thank you for those. And you know I’m totally painting you naked, right? Nathan approves.”

He paled. “Please don’t tell me you’re serious.”

“Oh!” She circled a finger over his face. “Just for that look of horror I’m totally making you do it. And you can’t back down because that is my price for all this.”

“Didi—”

“Wait here.” She left him in the living room. Let him stew over her evil plans. The guy deserved to squirm. Entering the kitchen, she veered into her room and snatched the phone from her dresser. When she returned, she found Caleb standing in the exact same spot she had left him. “You actually waited.”

His lips twisted. “You said wait. I do know how to follow orders.”

Not sure if he’d meant it as a joke, she didn’t bother responding. Instead she handed him the phone. “I never got any texts. I forgot to grab the charger.”

Caleb settled the bags on the floor and took the phone from her as his sexy frown returned.

She shrugged. “To be honest, I don’t need one. You can have that back. Anyway, like you said, this is only for the summer. That phone is no better than a paperweight after you leave. No one’s paying the bill.”

He opened his mouth as if to argue. She waited. Closing his mouth and swallowing, he scratched the back of his head and pocketed the phone. “Fine.”

“You know where I live anyway. It’s not like I’ve got anywhere else to go.” She moved to a pad her mom used for notes hanging on the wall by the front door and scribbled her home number at the bottom, then tore the piece off. “If you really need to reach me, call the landline.”

Taking the paper as he had the phone, he stared at the digits for a moment, then snorted. “Landline. Haven’t heard that word in a while.”

“I’m so not getting into another fight with you about being poor,” she said.

As if he caught her drift, he picked up the shopping bags and handed them to her. “These are from Nathan. He said you agreed to him shopping for you. Today’s event is themed.”

She gave him a look. Not like she had been given any other choice in the matter. She suspected Nathan had boa constrictor DNA in his blood. Once you were in his clutches, he would never let go.

“Please don’t fight me on this, Didi.”

“Since you said please.”

“Just wear what’s in those bags, and let’s go.”

She would have rolled her eyes at him, but she was too curious about the contents of the bags. Leaving him again in the living room, she hurried back to her room and placed the bags on her bed. She upended the first one.

A rain of brand-new cosmetics and hair products bounced and scattered on her mattress—everything Nathan had taught her how to use for the garden party. Then she peeked inside the second bag.

“Cowboy boots?” she asked loudly, taking out the brown leather boots and blinking at them. When she checked the soles, her size was stamped there along with the words GENUINE LEATHER. She should have known Nate would overspend.

“The event is called the Summer Swing,” Caleb replied from the living room.

“You’re really going to stay there until I’m done?”

“I think that’s for the best, yes.”

Shaking her head, she rummaged through the rest of the bag’s contents and came up with the cutest pink-checkered linen dress. She had to hand it to Nathan. The guy had taste. Maybe having him as her personal shopper wouldn’t be so bad.

“Yee-haw,” she said under her breath.

“Did you say something?”

Holding Didi’s hand—for appearance’s sake, definitely not because he liked how hers fit in his—Caleb led the way to the massive red barn where the Summer Swing was . . . well, in full swing. He hated himself for the pun, but having Didi with him changed the air surrounding them. She lightened his mood significantly after a stressful week at the firm. His father had been on a tear because of an important case. Dare Caleb say he had looked forward to seeing her again? A part of him wished he could have been there when Nathan brought the art supplies. But damn his cousin for even suggesting that he should pose for her naked. Just like him to plant that seed in Didi’s head to get him back for making her mad. It had become obvious pretty fast that Nathan was on her side, after he declared her his personal Barbie. The traitor.

And he had met her mother. What must that have been like?

He had come to her house with the specific purpose of picking her up and giving her a piece of his mind for not returning his texts. But as soon as she had opened the door in her painting overalls and dry paintbrushes sticking out of a messy bun, his annoyance deflated. A buoyant kind of happiness had taken its place. He could barely contain himself when she allowed him into her home. Small as it was, the space was warm and lived in, with its comfortable couch, picture frames, and fireplace. And her paintings . . . The vibrant colors went with her vibrant attitude.

On the ride over she had asked him question after question about the event, and he had answered them to the best of his abilities, letting her know that each Summer Swing was different depending on who his father hired to plan it. This particular one they were attending had a Western theme. “Hence the boots,” she had said, an impish twinkle in her eyes as she twirled for him after he’d helped her out of the car.