by Ann, Natalie
“Where is that coming from?” Because Alec really wanted to know. Yes, he and Phil always knew what the other was thinking, but this was a bit too close for comfort.
“I watched you when Mom brought up Brynn today.” Alec turned with a start, but Phil continued on. “I don’t know what’s going on. I know you, I know you’ll be careful, and in a situation like this, you’ll probably beat yourself up over her working for us, but don’t. Think it through, work it out, but don’t wait, Alec. Don’t wait to find what you’re looking for; don’t make the mistakes I did.”
With those last words, Phil walked away. Alec watched him go, knowing this was another thing for him to think about, because Phil was right: he didn’t want to wait. No more than twenty-eight days—and he was counting them down.
***
Brynn spent her day driving around Saratoga looking for houses for sale. She was trying to find that diamond in the rough.
After spending the last two days working on Alec’s home, she had the itch full force to find her own flip, or her own home. Maybe she would find the perfect spot, the perfect one, and she would keep it. It would be her dream home.
Only, in her mind, her dream home was brand new, new everything. She always leaned toward modern and streamlined. Even a rehabbed house wasn’t brand new. It wasn’t just hers alone; it was someone else’s first.
That was why living in the model home appealed to her so much. She was the first. The first one to stay there and form some memories in the house. She could say she put her stamp on it before anyone else.
So after driving around and not finding anything that caught her eye, she found herself nearing the lake. She knew the Harpers all lived on the lake—well, most of them anyway. She didn’t know where, and it’s not like she was looking for them.
But she drove around, found a public beach, and parked. Walking out on the beach, she looked around. It was so pretty. The houses were all right out of a picture book. Some old, some new, some downright stunning, others tiny and quaint, and that was only a fraction of them.
She wondered if there was any land available. Wouldn’t it be nice to live here? Look at this every day. Every morning wake up and watch the sun rise over the water while she drank her coffee.
She never saw herself living on the water before, but now, looking out over the lake, she could completely imagine herself there.
Tempt Me
Two weeks later, and fourteen more days down—only fourteen to go. That thirty- day mark was inching its way closer and Alec was wishing for it to move faster.
In all honesty, the last two weeks did go by fast. Of course, he spent most of his time at the job sites and away from Brynn, not on purpose. And he made it a point to stop in a few times during the week, first to take care of some paperwork, but second to see how they were around each other.
He was right. They were fine in the office. No one would know or suspect a thing. They worked so well together, even sharing a work space, they were always joking with each other.
She was so funny, had a great sense of humor that mixed well with his, and she wasn’t afraid to give it back as good as she got. He loved that about her.
He never understood how a woman could joke with a man and then get all offended when the man joked back. It was his personality to laugh and have fun. He never wanted to purposely hurt anyone’s feelings, but he’d dated some women that just couldn’t take a joke. It bothered him more than he cared for.
But not Brynn.
He came in Friday morning again, pulling pieces of paper out of his pocket and laying them on his desk. His notes. Brynn had set up the app for him on his tablet, but he was having trouble figuring it out. Sometimes he found it easier to just grab the paper and write.
“So. You can’t figure out how to take notes on the tablet, can you?” she asked.
He turned to look at her. Her face was completely relaxed, but she hadn’t been able to keep the laughter out of her voice. “I’ve sent you messages through it just fine,” he pointed out.
“Yep, you have, and I’ve replied back, but that isn’t what I asked.” She leaned back in her chair, getting comfortable and watching him try to smooth out the crinkles from the papers on his desk.
“Well, maybe if someone showed me how to use it, rather than just installing it, I would do better,” he replied back, raising his eyebrows at her.
She nodded and smiled back at him, then said, “Maybe someone should learn how to ask for help.”
Point taken. “Maybe someone could offer,” he said back.
“We could go on like this all day,” she said, grinning at him. “It’s your choice. I know how to use it just fine.”
He stood up from behind his desk, walked out of the room, out to his truck, got his tablet and brought it back over and sat on the edge of her desk. She was smirking at him, but he didn’t care. It was the closest he had gotten to her in the office since they threw down the thirty-day rule. He wanted to test the waters.
Calmly, she reached her hand out for the tablet and he handed it over. She didn’t look at it though, just kept her eyes on his, then wiggled them a little and had him laughing. The perfect move she could have made. Fun, playful, teasing and it released any tension he’d been feeling at that moment.
To see if she was feeling anything else, he nudged her hand with his knee, then shot her a grin. She stared long at his leg, and then her eyes rose to his and she returned his grin. Tilting her head to see if anyone was by the door, she whispered, “Don’t temp me. It’ll blow our cover.”
He let out a laugh. Yep, she was feeling the same as him, and he was more than relieved about it. The week before, they’d seen each other a little at work, but nothing afterward. In the last two weeks, he hadn’t even been able to kiss her again. It was driving him insane that maybe she was finding excuses to not be alone with him.
Now he realized that was crazy. She had a life too. They weren’t officially dating. They weren’t obligated to spend time together…except he wanted to, he needed to, and he needed to get his hands on her soon. He wasn’t used to doubting himself so much with women. Honestly, he had never really taken any relationship seriously enough to have doubts. It worked or it didn’t, end of story. But now, for the first time, he was filled with doubts and anticipation, mixed in with a touch of fear.
“Have any plans this weekend?” he asked.
“Not really. Do you have any suggestions?”
“Well, I thought maybe you wouldn’t mind some painting.”
“Is that all I’m good for? Slave labor for you?” she returned, lightly punching his thigh.
He tried real hard to push the heat from the little punch out of his mind. “You’re good in a lot of ways to me.”
She blushed, just like he hoped she would. Before she had a chance to reply, Phil was clearing his throat in the doorway. “Am I interrupting anything?” he asked, his lips twitching.
Alec didn’t move from her desk, didn’t even stop smiling, and just answered back, “I’m trying to explain to Brynn that she is good in a lot of ways.”
Phil’s eyes shifted to Brynn, and Alec noticed her face was even more flushed than before. She held up Alec’s tablet and rushed out, “I’m showing him how to take notes in the app. He’s been too afraid to ask for help, but I twisted his arm just now.”
“Sometimes Alec needs his arm twisted more than necessary for him to see,” Phil replied back, staring at Alec now.
Alec grinned back. “And I was trying to see if she wanted to help paint the walls on the model home this weekend. Then, she might be able to start moving in early next week. Maybe even this Sunday if we got some done tonight,” he threw out there.
She jumped in the chair slightly. “You didn’t say it was the model home. I thought it was for your flip. Definitely. I’ll be there right after work tonight. Seriously, I might be able to move in on Sunday?”
“I don’t see why not, if I can round up a few people to help you move,�
� Alec said.
“All I need is my bed and some clothes for a week. I’ll figure the rest out later.”
Alec could see the excitement in her eyes and he was glad. “We can do better than that. Right, Phil?”
“Sure can. I can come help paint tonight if you want. I’m sure we can get Ben and Ryan to help move on Sunday, probably Lucas and Mac, too. That’s more than enough to get you all moved in,” Phil said.
“Who are Lucas and Mac? Not that I care, but just asking,” she said, almost bouncing in her chair with excitement.
“Good friends of ours,” Alec replied. “Kind of like family, in a way. You know Ryan is Kaitlin’s husband. Lucas is Ryan’s brother and we all grew up together, and Mac is Lucas’ brother-in law. They live on the lake too, but Mac might be on-call this weekend. Either way, I bet Mom would be willing to have a nice big dinner for everyone later on too. What do you think, Phil?”
“You know she would love nothing better than to have everyone together,” Phil agreed.
“That’s nice. It really is, but honestly, no. Your mom doesn’t have to cook for everyone. I will. I can. Seriously I can. I like to cook.”
“You’re not going to be able to cook for everyone while all your stuff is in boxes,” Alec pointed out, laughing at her. But he was touched; he really was.
“Okay, compromise. Pizza and beer, on me, I mean it. I’m just so happy right now, and it’s the least I can do.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Phil said, then walked out the door.
***
Later that night, Brynn was almost jumping out of her skin with excitement as she rolled the paint down the wall of the living room. They were keeping everything light and neutral, easier to sell that way, too. She didn’t care since it wasn’t going to be her permanent home.
“You’re moving pretty fast over there,” Alec said.
“At the rate we’re going, we’ll be done with the downstairs tonight. I bet we can punch out the bedrooms pretty fast too.” She had already calculated it all in her head. Everything would be nice and dry downstairs while they were painting the rooms upstairs and nothing was going to be touched upstairs on Sunday when they moved in. Nothing more than the master bedroom and bathroom. The other rooms would stay empty.
“Bedrooms always go fast, actually paint goes fast. It’s the taping of everything that takes so long.”
She knew that, but she was good and fast at taping, even Alec commented on it. She had a steady hand and a sharp eye. So if she had her way, she would try to tape off a few rooms tonight before they left. She didn’t care if she was here until midnight, but she doubted it would come to that. Phil had come and gone already, so that helped them out too.
“Actually,” he said, interrupting her thoughts, “if you don’t mind, why don’t you go tape the rooms upstairs now, and I’ll keep painting down here. That will cut our day in half tomorrow. If I’m not done by the time you are, we can finish up together.”
Crazy. Just crazy that he was thinking along the same lines as her. She put her roller down without answering him, then walked over and took the roller out of his hand and laid it down.
He was staring at her, watching her every move, and she didn’t care. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and just continued to look at him. “Thank you,” she said.
“For what?” he whispered back.
“For putting a rush on this. For seeming to know how much it meant to me to move in, for letting me be a part of it and most of all, for being you.” His eyes widened and she placed her mouth over his before he could respond. She didn’t want to give him a chance to question the last part of what she said. She wasn’t even sure why she said it. It just came out, but it felt like it needed to be said, because she felt it. She knew he was a good person, just like Carly said.
***
By the time she came downstairs, finally finished with all the taping around the windows, Alec was washing up the rollers. They’d made good time.
“Do you have a lot of packing to do?” Alec asked.
“No. Everything of mine is in storage, everything but some of my clothes. Even most of my clothes are in storage. It won’t take me long.”
“That’s good. We should be able to get you moved in on Sunday then.”
“We aren’t moving all my furniture in, are we? Don’t you want to stage the house with new furniture?”
“Let’s see what you’ve got and go from there. I’ll take your word on it. I don’t want you to only have a bed to sit on.”
“That’s all you’ve got,” she reminded him.
He shrugged. “True, but I’m used to living like that.”
“I can handle it.”
“We’ll figure it out on Sunday then.”
“Sounds good to me,” she replied, flipping off the light switch in the kitchen once he was done washing his hands.
Before she had a chance to speak again he pinned her against the center island, his hands on her hips, lifting her and placing her butt down on that same island. Then he stepped between her legs, and put his large hands on her face and his lips over hers.
It was fast and urgent, more exciting than the kiss she had given him earlier. He’d been craving this. It had been two weeks since their last kiss. He knew they were still on track with their thirty days, but they hadn’t been alone once since that last kiss when she left his house weeks ago.
Tonight, he fought back the urge to grab and kiss her the minute they walked in the door. Of course, she was so giddy and thrilled that he thought it was cute and was just enjoying her reaction to everything. She seemed to have a one-track mind and was excited to get started, so he pushed his own urges back.
Now, well, now was perfect to him, because he didn’t mind ending the night just like this. Of course he could think of another way to end the night, only they still had two long weeks to go, so better not let his mind go there.
But he tested it a bit more, sliding his hands under her shirt, over her waist and slowly up her ribs. It felt right, just right. Even more so, when his hand slid under her bra and the tips of his fingers caressed her nipple. A soft moan escaped her lips.
That only urged him on even more. He pushed against her overheated core with his waist, prompting her to wrap her legs around him and hold him tighter. His other hand went between them and straight to the button of her shorts.
“Alec,” she mumbled around his lips.
“Hmm,” he said, kissing her deeply again and moving his hand inside her shorts a bit more.
Pushing her head back, she said, “We need to stop.”
He laid his head on her chest, against her pounding heart, and hugged her tight. “I know. Damn, this is hard.”
She chuckled humorlessly. “Don’t I know it.”
“Then let’s not wait,” he said, lifting his head and grinning at her mischievously.
She unlocked her legs from around his waist and gave him a little shove away so she could breathe. “Don’t tempt me anymore.”
“Saying those things to me isn’t helping any.”
“No, it’s not, for either of us. So step back and let me get down.”
He sighed and moved back so she could get down. “How about you dance for me instead?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows at her.
She frowned. “What?”
“A dance,” he repeated. What didn’t she understand? “I’ll go turn the music on. I’m sure I can find something with a nice sexy beat.”
Her face turned scarlet. “Is this some kind of a joke to you?”
“I’m just having fun,” he said, still smiling bright and walking toward the radio he’d shut off earlier.
“Alec,” she said sharply and he stopped in his tracks to look at her. Her hands were clenched, her eyes narrowing. “Insulting and degrading is not fun. Maybe I was wrong about you, but I was willing to take a chance. I was taking this seriously, this thing between us.”
She was rapidly moving her hand back and forth be
tween them and he was getting the feeling he totally overstepped his bounds asking her to dance to a sexy song for him. He really was trying to just have fun with her; she’d been open to teasing before, but maybe it wasn’t the time. He understood it was new to them, but still, she didn’t have to get so upset over it. She looked to be fuming and he had no idea why. “I’m taking it seriously too,” he argued.
“Asking me to perform for you is taking this seriously? We haven’t been on any dates, we see each other at work and we tease and we flirt and I enjoy it. I know you do too, but asking me to dance sexy for you, your own little personal show, just makes me think I’m nothing but a notch on your bedpost.”
Okay, now he got it. It wasn’t what he intended. He didn’t even understand why he asked it. Well, that wasn’t true; he was turned on from that kiss but knew they needed to stop, so he tried to lighten things up. He thought it would be fun, and well, definitely sexy, to see her move her hips to the beat. His own little private dance. Crap, she was right; he was asking her to perform for him and didn’t even realize it.
He held his hands up in surrender and walked toward her, his face relaxed, if not a bit flushed over his embarrassment. “Listen, I’m sorry. That came out totally wrong on my part. I didn’t mean to insult you or demean you in any way. I just wanted to have a little fun. I wasn’t thinking and it came out wrong, but I can see where you would be insulted.”
“I don’t want to be, but I am. Alec, those comments are things I’ve heard my whole life working around men. I’ve laughed them off and moved past them most of the time, but I thought you were different and it hurt to hear you say it. It’s not like we are anywhere near a situation where I would do that for someone. We don’t even know if we’re close to a relationship. We’re just testing the waters.”
“And I made a lot of waves just now, right?” he asked, slightly distressed and wondering how he could get back on track with her. He didn’t want her to feel this way and had no idea she’d react the way she did.
