She found Nash in her tiny kitchen. The cabinets were taped off. The countertop was covered in plastic. The bistro table they’d eaten their cheeseburgers at the other day was tucked into a corner of the living room. Two wide stripes of paint covered a good-size swath of space above her kitchen sink. One was cornflower blue and the other was a gorgeous, mossy green that really fit with the dark, eclectic vibe of the rest of the apartment and made her fantasy book–loving soul give a happy sigh.

To be honest with herself, she wasn’t sure if she was mad because she loved that color so much or because she hadn’t had the ovaries to just paint the kitchen the shade she wanted. Who was going to know she’d done it? Also, it was a stupid clause in a dumb control-freak will and she owned the apartment now. It was hers to do what she wanted and—

She fisted her hands and let out a frustrated growl of a pissed-off groan.

Nash’s shoulders drooped. “You hate it.”

“Worse,” she muttered. “I love it.”

Nash shot her a double-dimple grin as he crossed over to her, pivoting so they stood next to each other, staring at the paint stripes on the wall. He didn’t tower over her, not completely, but being this close to him was enough to scatter her thoughts in the direction of wondering what else he could do with those strong hands of his.

“I started talking to the graphic design team at Beckett Cosmetics as soon as I realized you wanted to change it.”

What? “I never said that.”

“Sure you did,” he said as he crossed his thick arms over his chest. “You said you hated the color but that you yourself couldn’t change it.”

Something inside Chelle’s chest shifted at the realization that he had listened to her. It wasn’t that he nodded and added the uh-huhs at appropriate times like her dad had or offered meaningless platitudes like her mom had. He’d really listened and had given her words weight and value.

And that’s when it clicked.

Nash wasn’t seducing her by putting the moves on her. He was seducing her brain and appealing to her with acts of service at the same time.

Fucking A. How am I supposed to resist that?

“I, however, can paint it. Problem solved,” he continued. “Now, the question is, blue or green? The graphic designers agreed both are soothing colors, and the green is the hot new shade for kitchens. The blue feels more traditionally kitchen, but the green makes me think of an enchanted forest. I don’t know. It just sorta seems to fit the rest of your place with the sword and all.”