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warmth—a home I’d be eager to come back to every night. Or every morning, depending on my schedule,” he joked.
    I chuckled, remembering he was working the graveyard shift.
    He stroked the kitten’s tiny little head. “I want you to do the same thing for my place. Make it a home. Simple as that.”
    “Oh,” I said, my insides glowing from the compliment. Then my cheeks heated, and I glanced away. Guess I’d been pretty far off, thinking he’d bid on the auction because he liked me. Oh, embarrassment.
    He set the kitty on the counter then tilted his head my way. “You thought maybe I’d bought the package because I wanted to date you?”
    “No way.” I scoffed, even though he’d read my mind. The kitten pranced over to me, rubbing his soft cheek against my hand, and I was glad for the distraction “We should get back to business. Let’s talk style so we can narrow down exactly what you want.”
    “All right.” He picked up the kitty and gestured toward the living room. “We’ll discuss my style, or lack thereof, over on my very unfashionable sofa.”
    My cheeks burned as I walked toward his couch, unable to believe I’d let my thoughts get personal again. So mortifying.
    He fell in line beside me, then turned my way. “I bought your package based on your talent. True. But that doesn’t mean I don’t also want to date you. In case you were wondering.”
    “I wasn’t.” I tried to keep a straight face to maintain my professional dignity, but I could feel the corners of my mouth twitching.
    He winked at me. “Glad we cleared that up.”
    “Me, too,” I said, but couldn’t control the smile that swept across my face.

Chapter Four
    After flipping through various magazines, Greg and I decided on a traditional, classic style interior for his condo. Simple, with clean lines, but also warm and inviting. Jenna, from Sacramento Living magazine, shot the “before” photos at his place Wednesday afternoon during my lunch hour so I was able to be there to meet the woman who could jumpstart my very own decorating business.
    Due to the tight deadline, I promised to have the first room completed by Friday since she wanted to record the process as well as the results. After work, I gathered paint supplies, then recruited Mary Ann to be my assistant.
    “This is your project.” Mary Ann sat on the drop cloth I’d spread across the floor of Greg’s den to protect his new carpet. She twirled a paintbrush in her hand. “I don’t get why I have to be a part of this. I could be on a second date with Liam right now.”
    I dipped my brush into the beige paint. “I thought you didn’t date guys more than once.”
    “No, my rule is that I date a guy until I’m bored. It’s not my fault that’s usually after the first date.”
    Holding my hand steady, I slid my paintbrush carefully along the doorjamb to keep a straight line. “Could you just do this favor for me? If not to be nice to your sister, then to help me out because you bailed on rent this month.” I paused, glaring at my sibling with a raised brow. “I’m not made of money, you know.”
    She sighed and waved her brush. “A professional decorator would hire a painter, not paint herself.”
    “Any normal roommate would come up with her share of the rent,” I shot back, then dipped my brush into the paint bucket again. Dip. Brush. Paint. Repeat. “Besides, I’m going to make painting part of my business. My clients will get more than just decorating when they hire Up to Date by Ginger Nielsen. I’m thinking faux finishes . . . the works.”
    “Up to Date is actually a cute business name.” She made a tiny grunt, stood, then patted her belly. “You can’t expect me to work on an empty stomach, though. I’m going to check out what our hot neighbor has in his fridge.”
    Greg had left to run errands half an hour ago, and I didn’t know how long he’d be gone. There’s no way I wanted him to return to find Mary Ann snooping through his