Let Me Show You

by Becca Seymour

  “Everything really seems perfect, Tanner. Seriously.” He paused a moment, his eyes lighting up in eagerness as he said, “I would love you to take it on. When do you think you can start?”

  His smile was infectious, and I quickly found myself grinning back. I knew it had been a competitive price. Damn, with the discount I’d offered him, he’d have been crazy not to accept it, but still, it felt good to be caught up in his excitement. “I should be able to start full-time in a month.” His face dropped. Rushing out to reassure him, hating the look on his face, I added, “I just have other jobs to finish off, but what I can do is stop by a few days a week to begin the demo.” His smile was back, along with his brows lifted in surprise.

  “I can’t expect you to—”

  “Honestly, I want to. It’s all good. I can make a good start while materials are on order. It will mean you’ll need to limit room usage. I’ll start in the attic and work my way down. Eventually, you’ll be living out of three rooms. One of the bathrooms, your bedroom, and the kitchen. But we’ll figure it all out.” I wasn’t quite sure how we’d figure it out, but we’d cross that bridge when we came to it in a few months.

  “Well, three days a week, I finish work early at two, so maybe those days I could help you out? That way I can be here to move things out of your way.” He laughed. “I could be your laborer.”

  I raised my brow at his suggestion. Never, in all my years in the trade, had I ever allowed a client to assist. Clients could be pains in the ass and often got in the way. Not only that, but they were potentially a huge insurance headache waiting to happen.

  Carter took a gulp of his wine, looking especially pleased with himself. “I have a tool belt and tools I’ve been wanting to break in.” He paused, his gaze landing on mine. “Erm, if that’s okay. I promise not to get under your feet. I’ll be where you need me to be and do exactly what you tell me to.” He gave a one-shoulder shrug and offered me a small smile.

  I inwardly groaned. With an offer like that, there was no way I could refuse. Plus his enthusiasm was sexy as fuck. I cleared my throat before speaking, pushing the thought of Carter bending to my will aside. “Sure. I could do with your help. More hands, less work and all that.” I paused. “But no power tools and no falling through any floorboards.”

  He raised his glass toward me and I clinked my bottle against it. “Cheers, Tanner. I think this is all going to be perfect.”

  I smiled and hoped I wouldn’t regret bending the rules.

  Chapter Six

  CARTER

  The last three weeks had been torture, and it seemed I was an eager fool. Every minute I wasn’t with Tanner, I spent thinking about him. The thoughts left me desperate and needy. If that wasn’t bad enough, I’d had hard-ons at the most awkward of times when I should have been focusing on an animal’s balls rather than my own.

  On top of that, the three nights a week and Saturdays that I’d managed to get time with him left me so frustrated, I was sure I would die from blue balls. All I’d discovered about Tanner made me lust after him even more. He was patient to a T, putting up with my incessant questions and my getting in the way. We’d quickly discovered that I was ridiculously clumsy. I was convinced this was to do with my blood rushing to all manner of areas when I was around him, considering I usually had a steady hand and nerves—pretty much needed when operating on an animal. It seemed that I also wasn’t much use at ripping stuff out. It was crazy. How hard was it to tear down a ceiling or a wall? Apparently, not so easy, well, not for me anyway. The last time I tried, I ended up tearing through some wiring.

  So, after a few rounds of realizing my help could be more of a hindrance, I was tasked with cleanup and garbage removal duty, which my aching muscles could attest to. Plus, I was chief coffee maker and chef. Admittedly, I had every intention of ensuring I fed Tanner a good meal at the end of every evening he came by. I’d expected more of a fight from him when I insisted on cooking for him, sure he’d have to rush off home, but after our first after-work meal of steak and trimmings, he’d readily agreed.

  Those meals had become the best parts of my week. While I loved watching him work and get all sweaty and dirty, it was the ease of our conversation over food that kept me going, and of course tortured me.

  “Are you about wrapped up? Dinner will be in fifteen.” I stood at the bottom of the ladder looking up at Tanner and not so discreetly staring at his perfect butt. His jeans molded his ass, leaving little to my overactive imagination. The fact that it was framed with a tool belt made him even more levels of hot.

  My gaze lifted to his face when he spoke and angled to look at me. His raised brow indicated he’d seen me checking him out. I clamped my jaw shut, willing my embarrassment to not travel to my cheeks. “Sure. I’m all done,” he said. “I just need to move the boards to the dumpster.”

  “I can do that.” I smiled and then looked at the stack of broken boards to my right.

  “They’re pretty heavy. We can do them together.” I nodded and watched as he climbed down the ladder, my hands on the sides keeping it steady for him. His feet touched the ground while I remained in position, his back a mere inch from my chest.

  Flip! His closeness, his scent, both washed over me. I released a shaky breath and realized I needed to release the ladder and take a step back. Instead, I remained frozen until Tanner cleared his throat. I let go of the ladder and backed up, banging into materials piled behind me. In slow motion, I flailed, my eyes on Tanner as he turned. His eyes widened in horror.

  I was tumbling and knew there was no soft landing around me. A moment before I hit the ground, strong hands grabbed me, one on the front of my shirt, the other on my arm. I jerked to a stop as Tanner tugged, helping me find my balance. In the process, buttons flew and material tore as my shirt was ripped open. I clasped his arms as I steadied myself, my heart pounding erratically.

  “You okay?” Tanner was out of breath, still wide-eyed and closer than I’d realized.

  I raised my head to look better into his eyes and nodded. “Yes.” My voice was barely a whisper as I willed my heart to calm, an impossible task considering I was in the arms of the man I’d been dreaming of since the day I met him. “Thank you.”

  A smile lifted his mouth, finally washing away the panic from his eyes. He released my arm, his hand moving to my face as he swept at my cheek. I stopped breathing. Honest to God, forgot to inhale and take air into my lungs at the contact. The moment was over all too quickly. His eyes flashed with an emotion I couldn’t quite figure out before he stepped away from me. “Umm, you had dust on your cheek.” He then cleared his throat, his eyes landing on my chest. “Erm, sorry about that.” A slow color crept up his neck, dusting his jaw and cheeks.

  I glanced down at my exposed chest and ruined shirt before looking back at Tanner. “It’s all good. I’d much prefer a ripped shirt to a banged-up head.” He nodded, looking away from me. For the first time, awkwardness settled over us. I hated it. With feigned lightness, I said, “Let me just throw on a shirt, and we’ll get on with clearing that up, yeah?”

  Despite his shoulders remaining rigid, he returned his gaze to mine and offered me a small grin. “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Be back in a minute.” I rushed into my room and opened my closet. Tugging off my shirt, I pulled on a light blue T-shirt and gave myself a moment to cool down. We’d definitely had a moment. Christ, the past few weeks had been filled with connections, and I was sure I hadn’t been misreading the signs.

  I often wished there was a crazy simple way of discovering someone’s sexuality. Admittedly, outright asking a person, in theory, was just that, but I didn’t appear to be the man who had super gaydar senses. I wasn’t blessed with that gift. It was, however, getting to the point where I needed to know for sure or not. My ability to screwup signals was too prevalent. The last thing I wanted was to make things awkward, especially since Tanner was working for me. I didn’t want to lose him in any facet of my life.

  I groane
d and placed my head in my hands. Gay or straight, attracted to me or not, I had to clear the air and move on one way or another. While my balls would ache from spending time with him, I could easily be friends with him too. I hoped.

  Kicking myself into gear, I headed to the pile of old material for the dumpster. Tanner had already moved a load while I’d been getting my head straight. He reentered just as I bent to lift a heavy board. He jogged the short distance to the other end when he saw me, hands immediately on the board, and lifted.

  “Got it?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I’m good.”

  He nodded, and we heaved the board outside to the waiting dumpster. It was the third one I hired so far. Amazing how quickly these things filled up.

  “On three?”

  “Sure,” I answered with a smile as we lifted, swung, counted, and threw the plank inside. “Is there much more?”

  Tanner fell into step beside me as we headed to the pile. “Just a couple more. They’re smaller and lighter though so we can grab both at once.” His arm brushed mine as we maneuvered to enter the house, sending a delicious tingle along my skin.

  “Okay.” It was all I could manage. He affected me so much, too much. It cemented my need to clear the air with him all the more.

  Together, we made swift work of the clearing up and just fifteen minutes later, I headed into the kitchen to pull the lasagna out of the oven. As I removed the prepared salad from the refrigerator, Tanner entered the room. His face and hands were clean after a quick wash.

  “You know, you’re always free to have a shower or whatever here before we eat.” The words were out of my mouth before I had time to think them through.

  His brows rose before a smirk lifted his lips. “You saying I’m dirty, stink, or both?”

  Unable to stop myself, my gaze roamed his face and then his body, my lips parting when I wondered just how dirty he was underneath his clothes. I’d happily offer to help him shower. Clamping my mouth shut as heat scuttled across my cheeks, I cleared my throat. “Erm, I just meant it can’t be comfortable staying in your work gear while eating or trying to relax.”

  He stepped further into the kitchen, heading to the fridge while chuckling. “It’s all good. I may just do that. Thanks.” He threw me a wink before turning his back on me and sorting our drinks. We’d created an easy routine over the weeks around dinner time that included Tanner preparing our drinks and setting the table. He’d also clear the table and dry while I washed. The moments were companionable and effortless, adding to the reasons why I loved these evenings.

  Moving around the kitchen together, it didn’t take long before we sat and were eating. Lasagna was one of the meals Tanner loved most. I made sure to make it once a week for him. Not only was he an appreciative eater with his ready compliments, but the noises he made while eating my lasagna were so hot. That may have also been why I made it eagerly.

  “We’re expecting a big delivery on Friday. I’ll coordinate with the supplier and make sure I’m here. It’ll be during the day.”

  I nodded. “I’ll give you a key. Remind me before you leave.” I took a sip of my merlot and then asked, “Are you still set to start full-time the following week?” I held my breath in anticipation. I’d get him to myself five times a week. No doubt the Saturdays would stop, but still, five out of seven days a week was enough to have nervous excitement bubbling in my chest.

  “Actually, I’ll start on Friday. The day of the delivery. Everything else should be wrapped up by then, so I should be set.”

  Grinning, I placed down my glass. “Perfect.” I bit my bottom lip while I built the courage to pry a bit further. “So I imagine you can have your Saturdays back.” I smiled, though it was a little forced. “I imagine the…” I faltered. Screw it. “…man in your life will be happy with that.” I kept my smile fixed in place and watched him carefully. There were so many potential scenarios for the outcome. The worst being a punch to the jaw and him walking off the job for suggesting he was gay.

  He stopped eating, putting his cutlery down before bringing his beer to his lips. His eyes remained on me the whole time. It was torture, and by the glint in his eye, the sexy bastard knew it. He placed his bottle down, rested his elbows on the table, and leaned forward slightly. He angled his head to the side. “I’ll be here on Saturday.” He grinned, leaned back, picked up his fork and shoveled lasagna into his mouth.

  What did that even mean? Frowning, I squinted at him. I wasn’t great at looking hardass. That was confirmed when he laughed and took another swig of beer. I lifted a brow at him in challenge. I needed him to answer the stinkin’ question already, but he seemed far too amused by my wayward attempt at prying information out of him.

  “You okay?” he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes.

  “Fine.” The word came out as a sigh.

  Leaning forward again, Tanner asked, “You have something you want to ask me?”

  He was really going to make me ask. Why did it feel like I was in high school again? Not that my high school experience was anything like this, at all actually. Absorbing the amusement rolling off him, I smiled. How could I not when such a fine specimen of man was playing me?

  “Do you date men?”

  I said it. Despite feeling slightly moronic, relief filtered through me. I really needed to know. Did I have a chance or not?

  He pursed his lips into a small smile that made it seem like he held back laughter. With his hands cupped before him, elbows on the table, he brushed a thumb across his bottom lip. I followed every movement, wishing more than anything to replace his thumb with my tongue.

  “Yes. I date men.” I wasn’t sure if his voice had dipped low or I was simply hoping it had. “I’m not dating right now. There’s no man, boyfriend, lover, or husband waiting for me at home.” He paused a moment before he continued, “I do have a brother, well, my friend, and a niece who I spend a lot of time with, and I help them out whenever I can. He’s a new dad and a single parent.” I nodded in understanding. Heck, Tanner was such a good guy, and his commitment to his family upped his sexiness from hot to scorching. “Davis is doing better though and is actively kicking my ass to get out from under his feet.” He grinned, seemingly amused by his brother. “I’ll put in a few Saturdays to get ahead of the work, too. If that’s okay?” With his hands still in the same position before him, his thumb resting on his bottom lip, his eyes focused on mine.

  “Yes.” I practically squeaked the word. My heart pounded hard in my chest while my tightening pants were making it impossibly difficult to concentrate on anything else. It was in celebratory mode, currently sitting up and taking complete notice of Tanner’s mouth and thumb. I cleared my throat. “Saturdays are perfect. You’re more than welcome here whenever you need.” I grinned.

  Nodding, he nibbled on the end of his thumb. While he still held the same confidence as earlier, his teasing seemed to have vanished. This time when he spoke, his voice was definitely deeper. “So with my new key I can come by whenever and not worry about interrupting you or anything?”

  I shook my head immediately. What little cool I had went flying out the window and into the gutter with my dirty thoughts. “I’m not dating anyone. It’s been a while. While this place is friendly enough, it’s not the easiest place to meet a guy, you know?” Embarrassment flushed through me. What if he thought I was only interested because there were slim pickings? Hell, that couldn’t be further from the truth. In the short amount of time I’d known Tanner, everything I’d discovered, I liked. A lot. “Shoot, erm….” Heat rushed over me, but I was too far gone to hold back. “I don’t want you to think I’m hitting on you just because you’re gay.”

  I considered jumping up and down in hopes that the floor would swallow me whole. My brain cells had vanished along with my ability to not sound like a turd.

  “I mean….” What the hell did I mean?

  Both of Tanner’s brows were high as he watched me struggle to extract my foot out of my mouth. “What? Wha
t did you mean?” he asked.

  I clamped my mouth closed before blowing out a breath of air, puffing out my cheeks. I shrugged. A loud laugh burst from Tanner, and I grinned in relief.

  “So you’re not hitting on me then? Is that it?”

  My grin slipped. How on earth was I to answer that? While his smile remained in place, the air between us became charged. I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could, he said, “I’m joking.” But there was no humor in his eyes. “It’s all good. I’m pleased we cleared the air.” He looked at his watch. “But I need to get going. It’s getting late, so we best get all this cleared up.” Standing, he picked up both of our plates and headed to the sink, leaving me sitting dumbstruck.

  I had no idea what had happened. The tension had been there, and not in the “I’m going to knock you out” kind of way. I was sure he’d felt something for me too. Could I have misread him completely?

  I said goodbye to Tanner at the door before handing him the spare key. With a “thanks,” he’d left, not once looking behind him. Sighing, I finished tidying up and made my way to my room. I had an earlier start the next day than usual with a staff meeting, so I needed an early night. But sleep didn’t come swiftly. Instead, I lay awake for far too long thinking about Tanner.

  He confused the sense out of me. I wasn’t an idiot to think just because he’d winked a few times he’d be interested. Christ, that would be a dick move of mine. I flirted with guys and women all the time, and usually—obviously when it came to flirting with women—it was nothing to do with attraction. It meant jack shit. I was a flirt and always had been; it came as naturally to me as breathing. So Tanner baffled me. His unobtrusive flirting moments, his friendly nature, there were times when I convinced myself real attraction fed those. But over dinner I received the message loud and clear. He wasn’t interested.

  I was no novice and had been in a couple of fairly serious relationships since school, but nothing had ever stuck. I was far from desperate to settle down. Hell, I was only twenty-nine, but I saw something in Tanner that was different. And the crux was, that indescribable feeling, the invisible connection pulsing inside me, whether he was near or far, had my heart sitting up and paying attention. He made me want more, imagine something bigger, something real and palpable. And once I worked out what exactly it was, I didn’t know if I’d be able to let it go.