He shook his head and stepped behind her chair as she set the pitcher on the table. “Tea is fine. I’m just waiting to pull out your chair for you.”
Paige tried to hide her surprise as she sat down. When was the last time a man had been chivalrous toward her? She couldn’t remember if Craig had ever shown her those kind of manners. Maybe when they’d first started dating or when they had attended one of the holiday balls at the Texas Cattleman’s Club and he’d noticed all of the other men pulling out their wives’ chairs for them. But she knew for certain that he had never done it for her when it was just the two of them sitting down for dinner at home.
“Thank you,” she murmured as Cole sat across the table from her.
He shook his head. “I’m the one who should be thanking you for making all of this. Everything looks and smells delicious.”
“I love to cook but rarely take the time anymore,” she said as they filled their plates. “Cooking for just myself isn’t as much fun as it is when I’m cooking for others.”
“You don’t have someone to do the cooking and cleaning?” he asked, taking a bite of his potatoes.
“After your father passed away, Maria stayed on as the cook and housekeeper for a couple of years before she retired,” Paige answered, smiling fondly as she remembered the sweet older woman who had helped her early in her marriage and had taken care of the house and helped raise the twins after the boys’ mother had died when they were five. “Craig wanted me to hire someone to replace her, but I talked him out of it.”
Cole frowned as he took a drink of his iced tea. “Why?”
“I’m not the type to spend a lot of time on the tennis court or golf course,” she said, trying not to notice the play of muscles in his forearms as he used his knife and fork to cut into the steak. “And until the tornado came through, my charity work only kept me busy a couple of days a week.” She shrugged one shoulder. “I had to have something to do to keep me busy.”
She wasn’t going to mention that she had hoped to fill her hours taking care of her children. But it didn’t appear that she was going to have any. And it was too emotionally painful to think that she might never have a child of her own.
They fell silent for a time before Cole asked, “Do you still paint? If I remember correctly, you used to be a fairly good artist when you were in school.”
“I hadn’t put a brush to canvas in years,” she said, surprised he remembered her love of art. “But I recently started painting again and thought I might turn Craig’s den into a studio.”
“Isn’t that room a little too dark?” Cole asked, frowning. “I thought natural light was better for painting.”
“It is,” she agreed, smiling. “Craig converted the sitting room off the family room into his office.”
“That would be a good place for a studio,” Cole said, taking a bite of his steak. “With that wall of windows on the east side, the lighting should be perfect in the mornings.”
“I thought so, too.” His genuine interest made her smile. It was nice for a change to have a conversation while she ate, instead of dining alone in silence. “Craig gave me your father’s den for my office when he converted that room and since I don’t need two, I think it’s the obvious choice for a studio.”
Cole looked thoughtful. “You know, the lighting would be even better if the south wall was all windows, as well.”
“I thought about that, but I wasn’t sure it was structurally possible,” she admitted. “What do you think?”
“It would need to be braced up in the attic since that’s a load-bearing wall and a couple of beams added for support where the two walls meet in the corner, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work.” His smile caused her pulse to flutter. “I’ll check it out for you before I head back to Dallas and let you know for sure just what would need to be done.”
“I’d really appreciate that,” she said, excited at the possibility of having an artist’s studio with the perfect amount of natural lighting.
When she rose to cut them each a slice of apple pie, Cole carried their empty plates to the sink, rinsed them and placed them in the dishwasher. “No more work than I think it would take to make those changes, if you’d like, I could have my work crew get that done for you before we go back to Dallas.”
“Really?” she asked, her excitement for the project rapidly building. Craig hadn’t discouraged her love of art, but he had never encouraged it, either. “It could be done that soon?”
“Sure.”
Cole’s smile made her feel several degrees warmer. How could a man look sexy as sin with nothing more than a smile?
“There’s no reason not to go ahead if that’s what you want,” he continued, seemingly unaware of the effect he was having on her. “The work crew will be here, and even if it takes a couple of extra days, I doubt they’ll mind. It will just add to the small fortune Aaron and I have paid them in overtime and travel expenses over the past six months.”
“Thank you so much, Cole.” Thrilled that she was actually going to have her own art studio, she turned and, without thinking, wrapped her arms around him for a hug.
“No problem,” he said as his arms lightly closed around her.
They both froze in place, and to say the moment was awkward would have been an understatement. Aside from the fact that she had embarrassed herself with her impulsiveness, the feel of Cole’s solid strength surrounding her caused her knees to wobble. Staring up at him, she could tell that he was just as surprised by the embrace as she was. But it was an awareness in his dark green eyes that shocked her all the way to her core.
“I...um, thank you,” she said apologetically, feeling heat color her cheeks. Taking a step back, she hoped he didn’t notice her hands trembling as she dished up their dessert. “Would you like a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of your pie?”
He shook his head. “Not this time. It looks and smells delicious just the way it is.” She started to reach for the dessert plates, but he picked them up and carried them to the table for her. “As long as we’ll be working on it, are there any other changes you’d like to make to your studio?”
His voice sounded just a bit deeper. Was he feeling the tension between them the same way she was?
“How much trouble would it be to put down a laminate or tile floor?” she asked, feeling a little more comfortable now that they were back on the subject of renovating the ranch house.
“No trouble at all,” he said, taking a bite of his pie. He seemed more relaxed, as well. “While we get started on the barn, why don’t you think about all the changes you want made and then let me know what you decide later on in the week?”
She smiled. “I’ll do that.”
As they continued to talk about the renovations to Craig and Cole’s childhood home, Paige couldn’t help but wonder again what had happened all those years ago. What had caused the twin brothers to have a falling out? And why had Cole left Royal without at least telling her goodbye?
Being an only child, she had no idea about the dynamics of sibling relationships. But she couldn’t imagine anything so upsetting that it would make them stop talking to each other for more than a decade.
When they’d first married, she had asked Craig about Cole’s departure, but he’d told her it didn’t matter and they had never talked about it again. Of course, Craig had rarely discussed anything of importance with her. She had always felt a bit like an outsider within her own marriage.
“Thank you for going to the trouble of making dinner,” Cole said, drawing her back to the present. He stood up and carried their empty plates to the sink, rinsed them and