Give It Up

by Lee Kilraine

  I quirked my eyebrow right back, making sure to roll my shoulders back, giving him an eyeful of my perky nipples. Both of his eyebrows rose.

  That’s right, buddy. Suck it. I mean, no, there would be no sucking. None. Zero. No thinking about his lips at all. I had to exterminate that image from my brain before my pulse headed into defibrillation territory.

  His eyebrows lowered from their sky-high perch on the ladder of cockiness. Looked like round one went to me. Ha!

  “You’ve got a piece of lettuce on your…uh…top.” His face looked innocent but the laughter in his eyes was like a whipped cream pie to my face.

  I looked down and sure enough a piece of lettuce clung to my chest like a bull’s-eye over my right nipple. Nice, Sam. Nothing said classy and professional like a lettuce leaf pasty!

  I did what any crazy, trying-to-hold-on-to-her-dignity woman would do. I peeled off the lettuce and popped it into my mouth. I chewed and swallowed delicately. “One can never get enough fiber.”

  I dragged my gaze from his gorgeousness and over to Lila who seemed to have not a clue that having to compete for the job against Beckett Thorne was not on my list of top one million things I needed to do to be happy. Granted, my thing with Beckett was a few months before I’d met Lila, so it’s not like she’d pitted us at each other on purpose. This was simply a shrewd business move by Lila. It was smart to get multiple bids for her job.

  “Thank you both for coming today. Sam, come sit on the couch and we’ll get started. Sorry about the lack of furnishings, but Denver and I knew we wanted to renovate before moving in.”

  “No apology necessary. I don’t know many people in the business who’d complain about a clean slate to work with.” I sat on the other end of the couch, as close to the armrest as possible, but angled my body so I could keep an eye on the Thorne in my side. On—on my side.

  Although, who was I kidding? I didn’t need to look at him to be alerted to where he was. Ever since the first time I’d met him, it was like my body could sense his. Like that dumb butterfly effect theory. Beck moved, and it sent a tsunami of awareness through my body.

  “Apologies for the heat in the house. Seems like this hot spell is too much for the old a/c unit.” Lila handed identical folders to each of us before boosting herself up to sit on a portable buffet table, the only other piece of furniture in the house. She used her legal pad to fan her face. “It’s like we’ve skipped July and moved right into late August.”

  “It’s something all right. We’re finding creative ways to keep our crews cool on the jobsite, that’s for sure.” Beck’s eyes twinkled enough to guess it probably involved near naked construction workers and hoses.

  As it happened, I had an easily-recalled picture of Beck in my memory of similar circumstances. I mean, to the extent that it involved a naked, sweaty Beck and a hose, of a sort. I squeezed my eyes shut, attempting to banish the so not helpful image from my mind. Focus, Samantha.

  “On second thought, let’s do a walkthrough first so I can give you a few ideas about what I’m picturing.” She stood up, tossing the yellow legal pad onto the table. “You can see what you’ve got to work with.”

  I was more than happy to put some space between me and Thorne. His scent was already messing with my composure. We both stood and followed Lila from the sunroom and through the house.

  “The real estate agent said the house has good bones. I’m more concerned with the feng shui, and that is going to need some work. The front door is lined up with the back French doors.” Lila gestured with her hand, showing the straight shot between the two entry points. “I swear I can stand in the foyer and feel the good energy speeding right out. Like it’s being sucked into a black hole.”

  I nodded, opening a door under one set of stairs to peek in. “This bathroom will have to be relocated. It’s at the yin-yang point in the house.”

  “Exactly.” Lila pointed at me before turning to examine the space more critically. “The heart of the home should be light and beautiful. Energy needs to flow from here throughout the house. Do you feel it, Beck?”

  Behind Lila’s back, his gaze landed on mine. His face was inscrutable, but his eyes held mine intensely. “I definitely feel something.”

  Oh, please. If he thought he could throw me off my game, he had a thing or two to learn.

  “Then again, you’ve got a red door with a westerly-facing house. The T-intersection opposite your lot and the straight sidewalk up to the structure aren’t helping either.” Beck said all this so nonchalantly, like he not only knew what he was talking about but believed it too.

  “Your brother said you were good, but he failed to mention your knowledge about the harmonizing concept of design and chi flow. Excellent.”

  Not excellent. My knowledge of feng shui was supposed to be a plus in my column. I’d have never guessed Thorne was enlightened in the ways of the ancient Chinese art, the smarty pants. Not that I knew him well—except physically. Oh, boy did I. That had been an amazing and intimate twenty-four hours. But enlightened in the metaphysical? He’d come across as more of an analytical man. A very thorough, detail-oriented man.

  We walked through every room of the house, spending the most time on the first floor. Each new room only made me more determined to win this job. The real estate agent had been right; this one hundred-year-old house had great bones. High ceilings, graceful lines, large windows. I’d bet the play of light through the house during the day was stunning. My gaze tracked along the floor-to-ceiling windows at the back of the family room, imagining the lambent light. “Amazing.”

  I turned my head to see if Beckett had noticed the potential natural light only to find his gaze on my ass. Clearing my throat, I turned around, removing my behind from his line of sight.

  His gaze rose to mine, his lips cocked in a confident smile. “I bet the play of light through the rooms is nothing short of stunning.”

  What? No. The man was stealing all the good points.

  “You’d be right. I feel like you’re on my wavelength, Beck.”

  How the heck had the day fallen apart? It was supposed to be the kind of day when all the hard work I’d put in was going to pay off. I’d put everything into my business and I’d more than paid my dues. This was absolutely not how I’d pictured this meeting going when my eyes popped open with my alarm at five this morning.

  Between my father’s phone call and finding out none other than Beckett Thorne was my competition for the best job to ever come my way, it was looking like I should have pulled the pillow over my head and stayed in bed.

  “This house is over five thousand square feet, but I hope to split the job into two phases. The first phase will tackle the whole first floor, the backyard, and the master bedroom and bath on the second floor. I’m talking family room, dining room, and a total gut of the kitchen. Moving a few walls, but Denver doesn’t want to go open concept on account of noise.”

  I nodded. “He’s right about that. Open concept is definitely a tradeoff with noise abatement.”

  Lila picked up her iPhone and pulled up her calendar. “It’s the beginning of July and we’d like to get phase one finished in time for the Roughnecks’ Annual Holiday Fundraiser.”

  “That’s only five months away.” Beck tugged on his ear, looking thoughtful before his eyes glanced my way. “That would be tight, but doable. I can make that work.”

  Damn, I think that’s the same thing he said our one time together in the sack. Tight but doable. And what the heck was wrong with me?

  I cleared my throat and forced myself to look at Lila. And only Lila. “The fact that the house is empty is already saving time. And my crew can begin gutting while I’m working on the design plans.”

  “I like that competitive spirit. You’re going to need it.” She pointed at me with a grin. “Because I’d like you each to come up with a sketch of my dream master bedroom. Th
e winning design gets the contract for the whole house renovation.”

  Chapter 3

  Beckett

  Oh, this would be fun. It wasn’t that my company had never vied for the same contracts with Samantha’s company. Competition was a natural part of doing business. It was that we’d never been pitted against each other in person before. The fact that Lila had set it up that way was unconventional, but then, she seemed like a unique woman.

  “Sorry to interrupt, but there’s a neighbor out front that wants to welcome you to the neighborhood.” Tina’s voice crackled over the 70s-looking intercom system.

  “Lovely. Please talk amongst yourselves until I get back.” Lila spun around and left the room. Her bright-colored flowery skirt reminded me of old photos from the peace and love generation. Or maybe it was what women were wearing today. Hell, the only thing I knew about women’s clothing was how to help them out of it.

  As a matter of fact, I had a vivid memory of doing just that with the woman staring me down from across the room. And if the circumstances were different—no big contract that I needed to win standing between us—I’d be very interested in repeating our night together.

  “Well, this is a surprise.” Samantha crossed her arms over her chest, her gaze narrowing on me like an insect she’d like to take a swat at. “I never would have figured you for believing in feng shui. Looks like you’re going to be stiff competition.”

  Stiff competition? She didn’t know the half of it. Because, damn, something about this woman did it for me from the first time I’d met her, although that had been purely physical. There was more now. Along with the white-hot physical attraction, I’d gained a healthy respect for her as a businesswoman.

  I knew exactly what kind of effort it took to establish a presence in this city. Hell, I’d started years before Samantha and Six Brothers Construction was only now gaining solid footing. Not that people weren’t friendly here—they were. But when a client had a choice between hiring a new-to-Raleigh designer or the grandchild of their cousin’s best friend’s first grade teacher who happened to be the third cousin once removed of their Aunt Rita who’d won the blue ribbon for peach cobbler in the North Carolina State Fair for ten years running…nine times out of ten that peach cobbler held more sway than a professional, stunning portfolio.

  So I could appreciate how badly she wanted—needed—a contract like this. I was still going to fight like hell to win it from her. But we could have a little fun while we were at it, right?

  “I never said I believed in it.” I walked across the room until I was close enough to see the yellow streaks in Samantha’s green eyes. Until I could feel the electricity arc between us. Until I heard her pull in a sharp breath and tilt her head back because she didn’t have it in her to break eye contact any more than I did. “What I do believe in is giving my clients exactly what they want. I like leaving them happy and satisfied.”

  Her teeth bit into her plump bottom lip as she blinked up at me. “Um… Are we still talking about work?”

  “Of course. Where else would you hope to get exactly what you want and be left happy and satisfied?” I might be torturing myself too, but it was worth seeing Samantha’s reaction. The small shiver she couldn’t hide. The soft flush of pink in her cheeks. The flutter of her eyelashes as she tried to conceal her eyes from me. Too late.

  She tilted her head to one side and looked me directly in the eyes. “Oh, I guess I can think of lots of places. Sam’s…Luigi’s…Mack Daddy’s House of Sin…Big Eddie’s…”

  “Those are all restaurants.” Restaurants named after their male owners. Was she talking about the food and service or just the service? She had to be messing with me. Right? Sam, Luigi, Mack, and Big Eddie. Big Eddie? I knew him and he wasn’t very tall so… Whoa, full stop. Now she had me sizing up another man’s junk? Hell no. “Uh huh, I see what you did there. I knew you were smart, but the fact that you’re trying to get in my head—nice. Game on, Samantha. I’ve got all kinds of feng shui tricks up my sleeve.”

  Sam’s eyes narrowed on me like an angry cat about to pounce. Would it shock her if I opened my arms and told her to have at me? Probably. But I wouldn’t. No, locking down this job and walking out with the contract was the only thing I would let myself think about from here on out. Samantha was sexy as hell. Hell yes, I wanted her, but I needed the job more.

  “Good luck to us both,” I said, sticking out my hand to shake hers in a gesture of good will. I’d noticed she’d avoided touching me earlier. Two could play at this game. With just the two of us in the room, she’d look like she was backing down if she didn’t shake my hand. I quirked an eyebrow at her hesitation and she slapped her hand into mine. I should have thought it through.

  Because her hand in mine had memories rushing at me. To another time when her soft skin and firm grip had all my attention. I clenched my jaw and let go of her hand, taking a step back while forcing that memory of our night together from my mind. Her back went straighter as we both took each other’s measure.

  “Right. Good luck.” She tipped her chin up in a challenge. “No offense, but I’ve sort of made it my life’s goal not to lose to a man so I don’t plan on going easy simply because design isn’t your specialty.”

  “Fine with me, but you have no idea what my specialty is.” It’s not that I hadn’t done any design, it’s just that I’d moved away from it into sales and CEO duties in the last two years. Good design was timeless, so I doubted not being up on the latest trends would be a disadvantage. Especially because Lila seemed more eclectic than a trend follower.

  “Peach cobbler from my neighbor! That’s a good omen.” Lila reentered the room. “Okay, where were we?”

  “I believe you’d just set up the cage match between us,” I said.

  “You know, that’s not a bad comparison.” Lila tilted her head in thought. “I read a book last week about the way intense competition forces the human brain to a totally new level of creativity. Like the way pressure creates a diamond.”

  “It’s an interesting theory,” Samantha said in a polite, noncommittal tone.

  “Isn’t it though? So here’s what I’d like… Instead of going through both of your portfolios today, I want you each to come up with a detailed plan for the master bedroom. I’ll email the room specs along with photographs from different angles and the horoscope profiles for both Denver and me. I’d like to meet back here in three days to go over what you come up with.”

  “Three days is tight. I’ll need time to reshuffle jobs so Gray can get on this.”

  “Margo and I can start—”

  “No. No Gray and no Margo. Just you and Beck.” Lila shook her head. “I think you misunderstand. This isn’t simply design to me. This is about karma and good energy creating the perfect harmonic convergence. I’m sensing great creative depth in you both. I don’t want to dilute that. So if you don’t think you can give my job your personal attention—bow out now.”

  Just because I didn’t believe in karma or good energy didn’t mean I discounted someone else’s belief in it. But there were times when someone’s passion for life unsettled me. Growing up, I never had the luxury of being passionate about anything. I’d been in survival mode for as long as I could remember.

  “Not to be melodramatic here but my future, Denver’s future, thus the future of the Roughnecks and their playoff chances, are all on the line with this design. Bad design that creates bad energy can be life destroying.”

  No, that wasn’t melodramatic at all. Hell, Ash would probably agree with Lila on all that. Athletes were notoriously superstitious. I shoved my hands in my pockets, unconsciously reaching for the button I kept there. I ran the pad of my thumb over it once, twice.

  “I don’t need to bow out. I’m happy to give your job my undivided attention.” I could do this. Just because I’d been focusing on the business end the last few years didn’t mean I didn’t
know my stuff.

  “Excellent. Samantha?”

  “I can’t wait to get back to my office and get started.”

  “Love it. Can you already feel that sizzle of energy flowing in the room?” Lila rubbed the palms of her hands together. “I haven’t been this excited since Mercury was retrograde during the last partial eclipse. This is going to be fun.”

  Chapter 4

  Beckett

  This was going to be a pain in the ass. Just trying to mentally rearrange everyone’s schedules on the drive back to the office was making me itchy. By the time I entered the Six Brothers’ office I may not have known where my design was starting, but I knew who I needed to talk to. And with only three days I was a man on a mission.

  “Leesa, please get me Ash on the phone.” I strode past the reception desk without even turning my head. “Also, is Gray around?”

  “Who’s Leesa?”

  The frail voice stopped me in my tracks and I turned back around to the reception desk. The woman sitting there was not Leesa. She was the anti-Leesa.

  “Uh, our receptionist?”

  “Well, that can’t be. That nice young man—you know the one who looks like Cary Grant—he told me I was the receptionist.”

  I had no clue what Cary Grant looked like, but I could guess which brother had hired her. “Would you excuse me for one minute?”

  “Oh, certainly.”

  I walked down the hall into Wyatt’s office, shutting the door firmly behind me. “Excuse me, Wyatt, you want to explain the new receptionist?”

  Wyatt pulled his gaze from his computer screen and shot me a look of annoyance. “What’s to explain? Leesa wasn’t working out.”

  “This is true, but Wyatt…”

  “I got stuck with letting her go. We needed someone that Gray wouldn’t sleep with. And someone that Ash wouldn’t sleep with. If you don’t like this new one, you fire her.”