Maid for Him.

Chapter Thirteen

Dinner arrived, they ate in silence. Cole, through much frustration, managed to get the crib together, before turning to the changing table and groaning.

"Maybe I should get Beverly over here. She's studying a Masters in engineering."

Tess's ears prick up at the mention of Beverly. "She's still here?"

"Well, yes. She's on semester break. There aren't many other options for her during vacation time. I'm sure if there was, she'd be anywhere but here." Cole said. He dragged the change table box over and ripped at the top. "Why the interest in Beverly?"

"No, reason." She said, a little too quickly. Cole noticed and stopped what he was doing to make eye contact with her.

"Spill it." He insisted.

Tess sighed. "I don't know; she was just giving me a weird vibe at dinner that first night."

"Pft." Cole hissed. "Don't worry about Beverly, she wouldn't hurt a fly."

"You didn't see the way she glared at me across the table. It was like I'd taken the last piece of chicken or something."

Cole raised an eyebrow at her. He was crouched down, pulling the contents of the box out across the floor. A bag of nuts and bolts fell to the ground. He picked it up, turning it over in his hands. "There would have to be a thousand pieces here." He scratched the back of his head and twisted his lips into a snarl, before flopping back onto his sexy behind and crossing his legs like a schoolboy. Methodically he took each screw from the bag and laid it on the sheet of paper, on top of its picture. "Beverly is just a deep thinker. She's into all this social justice jazz and really thinks before she speaks. She's not in the least impulsive, but she's a good kid."

"Yeah, sounds like a laugh a minute." Tess walked over to the window seat and plonked down, leaning her back against the glass of the window.

"Hey, no judgy eyes. She'll warm up to you. She just likes to get to know people before she talks." Cole turned back to his task at hand.

"Can I help? It looks like this might take a while."

"Nope, I'm leaving it until tomorrow, it's getting late. I'll come back first thing after breakfast and we can spend the day doing up the nursery if you like." He was already on his feet and making his way to the front door.

"I'd like that." She smiled as he reached the door and turned to give her one last look.

"Alright, then I'll see you in the AM." He hesitated.

Tess looked at him, really looked at him. He looked tired, disheveled even. It wasn't something she was used to seeing from the strong, rugged Cole Washington. Color stained his cheeks as he became visibly uncomfortable under her gaze.

Did Cole just blush? No, must be the lighting. She told herself. Because admitting the truth may throw her into an emotional spin that she couldn't afford right now.

"Cole."

"Yes."

"Thanks for tonight." Her lips turned up at the corners, ever so slightly.

"Anytime." He said gruffly and made his way out across the lawn until the darkness swallowed him up.

Tess closed the door and surveyed the home. There was stuff strewn from one end of the house to the other. She wasn't even sure where the bags containing her new clothes were, which was a shame as they held a comfy set of flannel pajamas that were calling her name.

She peeked in the top of a few bags that were laying on the kitchen counter but they held baby bottles and diapers the size of the tiny underwear she used to wear in a past life before her ass became the size of the screen at the drive-in theater.