She couldn’t deny the zing between them, either.
And no matter how firm a line she had tried to draw between them, he continuously crossed it. And he acted like he cared. About her property. About her future. About her.
“Come on, brats. Time to load back into the car. Nana’s waiting to take you to the park.”
The kids shouted their goodbyes. Reed waved, smiling on the outside and panicking on the inside.
She couldn’t fall for a man like Rogan. He deserved much better than what she could offer.
Chapter Seven
She wasn’t flirting. And neither was he. They were simply being pleasant with one another while working up a sweat in the increasingly hot and humid New England summer.
So maybe she noticed that he’d move a little slower when brushing past her in a tight space. And maybe she touched his arm more than she normally would touch another human being.
Just friendly. That’s all.
Besides, if their friendliness helped the days go by a little faster, so be it. And if her nights felt a little lonelier, that had absolutely nothing to do with Rogan.
She had to admit—she was damned impressed with his work ethic. He showed up for work earlier and earlier and stayed later and later. His workmanship was beautiful, too. And she was amazed at how cleverly he repurposed things she would have thrown away.
He was a craftsman.
And he looked delicious replacing a broken floor board.
“Do you need something?”
Reed jumped back when he caught her staring.
“Yes, I was, um. Never mind.”
She turned to leave, closing her eyes and shaking her head at her own audacity.
She was practically sexually harassing the guy!
She never would have put up with ogling in her office.
Yet here she was, ogling away.
Strong arms caught her off-guard and wrapped around her midsection, then lifted her and twirled her around. She screeched, shocked.
“What are you doing?” She struggled to have her feet reach the ground.
Rogan stopped spinning and slid her down. A thrill tore through her when she felt his erection on her backside.
“You looked a little hot. Like you needed a fanning.”
Words wouldn’t come. She was thankful she was facing away from him, but he held on a little too long to be appropriate.
“That’s an unconventional way of cooling someone down, but thank you.”
She stepped away from his arms and tried not to trip with her jelly legs.
She thought she heard him say, “Anytime,” but she wasn’t about to turn toward him to let him see the lust on her face.
***
“Absolutely not.”
Reed frantically texted her sister. No way would she allow her to come here to fight her battles for her. She had simply asked for some legal advice—not an intervention.
Another text popped up, this time from her other sister.
“I am fine. Do not show up here. I forbid it.”
Reed wouldn’t even give them the name of the town she had moved to, let alone the address.
They were by no means a close family. They had been. Once upon a time. But the fairy tale had ended when they grew up and all wanted vastly different things from life.
They had reconnected a bit when their mother passed away, but their relationships were still works in progress.
As two of her sisters ganged up on her simultaneously, she was halfway grateful that her other sister pretended none of them existed.
The phone rang, and Reed immediately sent the call to voicemail.
Her sisters made the sharks of the business world look like dolphins.
Warding them off via text was hard enough—actually talking to them on the phone would be the death of her.
“I’m turning off my phone now. Goodbye.”
She sent the message in a group text. Then she followed through on her threat and powered out.
So many thoughts flew through her head as she tried to settle down to sleep. She hadn’t seen Rogan since the previous day. He worked on her projects every day except Sunday, though he had offered to come for part of the day, anyway. She firmly told him to spend some time with his kids and to be ready for another back-bending week ahead.
She knew she’d see him tomorrow morning, yet she couldn’t stop…
Missing him?
She sat upright in the bed, kicking her sheet to the floor.
Impossible.
Clearly she was bored.
Maybe she wasn’t working hard enough.
She stomped to the bathroom and retrieved the hair chalk from the vanity below the sink. She had purchased it after her skateboarding incident, when she had gone shopping for new clothes. The bright packaging had caught her eye—it was the exact opposite of anything her old persona would have considered.
And the very thing her mother would have loved.
Without another thought, Reed ripped open the package and read the instructions.
***
“Is everything all right? It’s midnight.”
“Yes, everything is okay. I needed someone to talk to, and you’re my only friend around here.”
She paused when she finally looked up at Rogan rather than at the worn, floral doormat.
Bare-chested. Plaid pajama pants. Bare-chested.
His disheveled hair and blurry eyes informed her that he had been in bed.
Bare-chested.
Get yourself together.
She straightened her shoulders and lifted her gaze to his eyes. She was a professional. He was just a man.
A bare-chested man.
A really, really, really well built, bare-chested man.
She swallowed.
Was she truly standing at his front door in the middle of the night?
“What happened to your hair?”
She reached up to touch it. He looked horrified.
“I like it.” Her voice sounded weak to her own ears.
“I’m glad. But what did you do?”
“Tried something different.” Okay, she could admit that the purple and teal streaks had been sort of impulsive.
“Are you okay?”
She snapped, “You already asked me that.” Reed softened the blow of her snippiness with a slight smile, which was all she could really manage.
He didn’t say anything in reply, but he moved out of the doorway and gestured for her to enter.
What the hell was she doing here? Clearly she had been in a state of hypnosis when she got into her car, dug his business card out of her purse, put his address into her GPS, and allowed herself to drive here.
She crinkled her nose at the smell of his house, then reminded herself not to make her disdain obvious. He was a single dad with too many kids—of course his house would smell vaguely like sour milk and a garbage can that needed to be changed.
He had gifted her with a helmet. Maybe she’d give him a Yankee Candle.
“Drink?”
“Water, please.”
He filled a glass with water from the fridge and handed it to her while he studied her face.
“You really hate it?” Her hand moved to her new hairstyle.
“Nah. It looks good. Different, but good.”
“I’m not looking for approval.”
His eyebrows shot up.
“So you asked because…”
She slumped into one of the stools at his kitchen island.
“I’m looking for approval.” She frowned. She didn’t recognize herself. At all.
“Don’t beat yourself up, boss. And don’t go looking for approval anywhere but inside yourself.”
“I don’t know why you keep calling me that. I’m not your boss. It’s a mutual business arrangement.”
“I know.” He flicked a crumb off the counter. “I just like getting you riled up.”
“That’s not nice. Or professional.”
“Sa
ys the lady who showed up at my front door at midnight with purple and green hair.”
“It’s teal.”
“Whatever you say.”
She sipped her water, but stared at him over the rim of the glass.
“This water is good.”
“New Hampshire’s best.”
“Do you think the Springs here really heal?”
“That’s what the tourist division would like you to think.”
She sighed, disappointed. Had she really believed such magic could exist? Water was water, right?
She hadn’t really thought she’d heal in Healing Springs, had she? Had her subconscious run away on a flight of fantasy?
“I guess the idea is too good to be true.” She traced the drops of condensation on the outside of the glass.
“Eh, who knows? People come from all over to dip into the Springs. If there wasn’t a grain of truth, it would all collapse, right?”
“Maybe.”
“Reed?”
She looked up.
“Are you okay?”
His tone was different this time. He didn’t sound like he was asking if she had lost her marbles. He looked… concerned. Genuinely. Like a friend.
She sat upright in the stool.
“I am.” She smiled. “I really am.”
She hopped off the stool and moved around the island. She grabbed his arms and kissed him on the cheek, waving goodbye as she moved toward the door.
“See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, okay. See you… tomorrow.”
She laughed at his wrinkled forehead and narrowed eyes.
“Oh, hey. I was wondering. Feel free to say no, and if you feel this is inappropriate, please say so.”
He cocked his head, waiting for her to drop her next bomb. She could feel his tension all the way across the room.
“Are you available Friday night? Would you like to spend some time with me? Off the clock.”
Rogan stepped toward her, his arms crossed over his chest.
Dear God. His shoulders. His muscles.
“Ms. Peterson. Are you asking me on a date?”
She hesitated. This was such a bad idea.
“Actually, I guess I am.”
“Hmm.” He stepped closer. “And are you hoping I’ll say ‘yes’?”
She nibbled her lower lip, but stopped as soon as she realized she was showing her insecurity.
Insecurity didn’t win you deals.
“I know you’ll say yes.”
“You do, huh? And why is that?”
Humor made his eyes twinkle and her belly grow warmer.
She placed one hand on her hip and the other hand on the doorframe.
“I know you’ll say yes, because I always get what I want.”
“And you want me?”
She hesitated. He was good.
“I want to see this town. And I want company while doing it. Going to the bar alone would be inappropriate.”
“So you’re just looking for friendly companionship.”
He made the statement, but his eyes told her he didn’t believe her. And when had he moved so close to her? She was up close and personal with the stubble on his face, the pores around his nose. His soapy clean scent awakened something she couldn’t identify, but she wanted to keep it awake.
“Of course. What else could there be?”
His hands captured the sides of her face. She didn’t dare look away. Too much was at stake in this moment—she knew they were at a turning point, and she couldn’t be the one to compromise.
As if testing her, he lowered his face. Closer. His lips hovered so near, she could feel her energy leaping onto him.
Her breathing became shallow, urgent.
Her mouth parted slightly.
She struggled to keep her eyes open.
He closed the distance, kissing the very corner of her mouth.
The urge to grab him and pull him to her was strong, but she refused to succumb.
He kissed the other corner of her mouth, and she closed her eyes, leaning her chest into his.
He pulled away, smiling.
“Okay. I accept your proposal.”
She started to speak, but found that she had to clear her throat.
She nodded curtly.
“Very well. I’ll see you Friday.”
“You’ll see me tomorrow.”
“Yes, I’ll see you all week. But I’ll see you in a different capacity on Friday.”
Walking down the narrow driveway, she worked hard to ignore the laughter that followed her.
Chapter Eight
Rogan checked his reflection in the rearview mirror and brushed his hair back one last time. After much effort, he had managed to convince Reed that he should be allowed to pick her up for their date.
After her strange visit to his house, he had thought work might be awkward. He had underestimated Reed’s ability to compartmentalize her life. She never said a word, and he followed suit. Over the course of the week, he watched as her clothes became more casual, her chalked hair faded, and her mood fluctuated between trying-to-be-someone-else, fake relaxation and uptight hard ass.
The one thing that didn’t change was how damned hard that woman worked. He never saw her resting. She was already engaged in a project when he arrived in the morning and continued making headway long after he left at night.
He swung open the door to his SUV when he noticed her coming out of her front door. He hadn’t planned for her to come out on her own—he had a script rehearsed for greeting her.
Since she was already on her way toward him, he had to improvise.
It had been a long time since he had been on a date.
“Hey.” Brilliant, asshole.
“Hey.” She grinned.
He stopped in his tracks. She had taken extra care with her appearance. She looked like a blasted angel.
Had he really questioned his attraction to her when they first met?
Her hair hung loose, but with small braids on the side. Her face glowed, and when she smiled, she looked ten years younger. The dress she wore skimmed all the right places, but was loose and swung when she walked.
“Your eyes are different.”
She paused as if confused.
“Oh, I took out my colored contacts.”
He found his footing and moved to her side, then held her arm as he escorted her to the truck.
“You’re stunning.”
He meant it. With her natural golden eyes and her brilliant smile, she was a living, breathing weapon.
She lowered her head and smiled, and he watched appreciatively as a blush spread over her face and neck. He held the door open until she was situated in her seat, then closed it, all the while unable to take his eyes off her.
“Sorry about all the Cheerios. I vacuumed yesterday, but leave it to the kids to spill at the last minute.”
She laughed. “I don’t mind.”
He knew she did. One thing he had learned about her was that she couldn’t stand a mess. She hated disorder. She planned everything.
What did it mean that she was being polite about his mess?
They had made an agreement that there would be no talking shop tonight, so he was at a loss as to what to discuss on the drive. With the town’s deadline for repairs quickly approaching, things had been tense, to say the least.
She asked some questions about the town, and he happily played tour guide.
“You sure you want to go to Jake’s Lounge? I can take you someplace better.”
“Are you kidding? Jake offered me a free drink and appetizer if I came in.”
Did she wink at him, or was something caught in her eye?
His hand felt natural on her lower back as they walked into the local bar. He wasn’t a huge fan of the weekend noise, but he was more than happy to be seen with her by his side.
“Look who’s here.” Jake’s eyes worked their way up and down Reed’s body. Rogan tightened his hands into fists. “What
can I get the sexy lady?”
“I’ll have a Midori Sour.”
“Excellent choice.”
Jake turned away to make Reed’s drink.
“Is it a new practice to ignore customers?” Rogan shouted to be heard over the blaring band.
“I thought if I pretended you weren’t there, you’d go away.”
Jake’s grin made Rogan want to punch his good friend in the face.
“The usual?” Jake asked over his shoulder.
“Yeah.”
Once the drinks were delivered, Jake leaned forward on the bar. “So, Reed, right?”
She nodded.
“I’m glad you’re venturing into town. It’s good for you to get to know other people. I don’t want you to think the entire town is made up of buffoons like our Rogan here.”
“Watch it.” Rogan clenched his teeth.
“I have to tend to the other customers, but if you need anything, Reed, please yell.” He refreshed her drink. “I hope to see you out there dancing.”
“Oh, no. I’m not much of a dancer.”
Rogan released a pent up breath. He didn’t dance, either. Now he wouldn’t have to worry about letting her down.
He rubbed his sore thigh. He should have taken ibuprofen before leaving, but in the rush of getting things squared away with the kids and the babysitter, he had forgotten.
“I love this song.” Reed suddenly came to life. She closed her eyes, clearly consumed by the music, and started bopping around on her seat.
“Do you want something to eat?”
“No, I want to dance.”
“You said you don’t dance.”
“That was the old me talking.”
She grabbed his hand and forced him to a stand.
Mesmerized by the sway of her hips and the way her dress rode up on her thigh when she raised her arms in the air, he thought he might become a fan of dancing, after all.
Jake slid another drink across the bar, and Reed drank it in one gulp.
“Slow down there, boss.”
“Don’t call me that. And why would I slow down? You’re driving.”
Her dancing turned seductive, and his erection grew harder. He never would have guessed that she could move like that. She made every other woman in the bar pale in comparison.
A Heart to Call Home Page 6
