by Riley, Alexa
Built For Her
Alexa Riley
Contents
Built For Her
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Epilogue
Epilogue
Thankful For Her
Chapter 1
Stalk the Author
Copyright © 2018 by Author Alexa Riley LLC. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email to [email protected]
http://alexariley.com/
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Edited by Aquila Editing
Cover by Perfect Pear Cover Creations
Photograph by Sara Eirew
Built For Her
by Alexa Riley
Chapter 1
Genevieve
“You’re not moving in there,” my twin sister, Gabi, says with horror in her voice. “It looks haunted.”
I can already imagine the face she’s making just from the sound of her voice. I don’t glance over at her because I can see it in my mind, and I don’t want her negative assessment of my house to bring me down. I’m excited and I want her to be, too, but I also know there’s a lot of work to be done. Plus, she’s always a little more dramatic than me even though I’m sure she’d deny it.
I stare at my house, which I closed on this morning. This is why I never showed it to her to begin with. I knew she would try to talk me out of buying it. I see something more in it than she does. This house is over a hundred years old and full of history. Of course, it needs some love and care, so why can’t I be the one to give it to it? I broke the bank buying it, but I’ve got all the time in the world. I’ll have to do things slowly, but I’m ready for the challenge.
“This is what they call a ‘money pit,’” Gabi adds, reading my mind. We’ve been able to do that with one another since we were little.
“I’ve saved,” I defend, but her eyes narrow on me.
I fell in love with the house the moment I laid eyes on it. It’s a beautiful Georgian-style house with columns and a double front door. It’s like something out of a fairytale, if you can look past all the things wrong with it. I knew it would be a fight with my sister to buy it. Hence why I’m springing it on her like this. What’s done is done and there’s no going back.
We both turn at the sound a truck pulling up. “Oh my god. Tell me that’s not a moving truck, Ginny,” my sister pleads.
Her head drops back like she’s praying to the sky to find serenity.
“Maybe.” I wrap my arm around her and make her look at the house again. “It’s fine, Gabi. It needs some work, but look at the history,” I tell her.
“You and the freaking history,” she groans, making me smile.
Gabi and I are so much alike and yet so different. We might look identical, but she’s polished and I’m a little less than organized. Most people can only tell us apart from the way we dress. I’m more casual with sneakers and jeans, and Gabi doesn’t go anywhere without heels and makeup.
“You’re looking at it all wrong. Trust me.” I’m not sure which one of us I’m trying to convince. I mean, I know the house needs work and maybe I am in a little over my head. But I’m sure I can do this.
“You can’t sleep in there,” she says, her face scrunching up like she can see the dirt from out here.
“It passed the inspection.” Kind of.
I have the paperwork that gave it the all-clear thanks to my friend Mark who did the inspection. We both work for the city and I asked him to do me a solid. All I had to do was agree to go on a date with him—something I still need to do. He’s already texted me three times today about when we are going out. I keep putting him off and telling him I’m packing. I just need to pull up my big-girl panties and go on the date already so I can get it over with.
“You know everyone who works for the city.” Gabi stares at me, and I smile brightly, ignoring her.
“Come on, let’s go check it out.” We both know she’s right and I’m not going to give her the satisfaction of hearing it out loud.
I lead her up the sidewalk to the porch. One of my favorite things about the house is that the porch wraps all the way around it. I can already picture window boxes of flowers hanging over the sides, giving the white house some color. Well, it will be all white once I can hit it with a few coats of paint. Though I think it might need more than that with all the peeling happening. I push that thought aside and focus on the parts I love.
The steps creak as we walk up. “Holy crap,” Gabi mumbles under her breath. “We are not telling Mom and Dad about this place.”
“Yeah, I was going to wait until I get it more together,” I agree. They moved to Florida a few months ago and are living it up down there. I’m not telling them yet because my mom is a worrier just like Gabi. She’d have her and Dad on a plane in minutes to make sure my new home was livable.
I slide my key into the double front doors then push the doors open.
“Oh wow,” Gabi says, and she can’t hide the awe in her voice.
I smile. “Finally, you see it.” I nudge her with my elbow. I take her hand and bring her into the entrance. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Yeah, it really is. It just needs some TLC.” She looks around and I can tell she’s getting it. The house isn't unlivable, it just needs some work. As long as the water and lights are on, I’ll be fine.
“I’ll show you around real quick.” We go through each room, and I talk excitedly about what I’d like to do. What I love about this house is how much of the original details are still intact. It’s over a hundred years old, but it’s got good bones. Just a little updating here and there, but more than anything it needs to be restored.
“This house really is you,” Gabi says as she leans up against the master bathroom sink.
“I know there’s a lot to do, but when I saw it I had to have it.”
“You were always the impulsive one.”
“You’re the one who got married three weeks after you met Neal,” I laugh.
“I had to. Some other woman could have snatched him up.” She looks completely shocked, like I’m crazy for thinking she shouldn't have married him so fast. I laugh even harder. He was in just as much of a rush as her.
Neal and Gabi are complete opposites. Everyone thought she’d end up with some male model, but she married one of the smartest men I’ve ever met. Nothing gets my sister more excited than when Neal does what she calls his Smart Talk, where he rambles on about something she doesn't understand. They really are adorable together.
He looks at her like she hung the moon for him. Maybe one day I’ll find something like that.
“You two are perfect together.”
“I know. Now if you could find someone we could do as we always planned.” Her hand goes to her stomach.
I stand up from where I’m sitting on the edge of the clawfoot bathtub. “Gabi, you are not waiting for me to get pregnant.” She does a small shoulder shrug like she’s not listening. “If you wait for me than you’ll be waiting forever,” I tease, trying to make light of my romantic life, because it’s terrible. So terrible I’ve pretty much given up.
“Look how big this house is! You have to fill it with squishy little babies.” Her eyes turn hopeful.
“I’m going to marry this house from the looks of it.” That prospect might not be too bad.
“That sounds lonely,” she whispers. I know she worries about me and there’s no fighting it. We’ll both always worry about each other.
“Maybe, but right now I’m going to focus on this. I’ll worry about everything else later. I mean, look at you and Neal,” I remind her. “You weren’t even looking and you found your soulmate.”
“Who knew I’d find the man of my dreams at a comic book convention.”
“I told you we’d have fun!” I rub it in her face for the millionth time.
I dragged her with me because I hadn’t wanted to go alone. I’m the shy one between the two of us, but no one is a stranger to Gabi longer than five minutes. I still laugh at how she zoned in on Neal. I’m not sure he knew what hit him. He still doesn’t, and they’ve been married for four months.
“You were right.” She rolls her eyes but still smiles.
“It always hurts to admit it, doesn’t it?” I laugh. “You’re going with me again, right?”
“Neal already got us all tickets,” she says, reminding me that I’m now the third wheel.
That has taken some getting used to. It had always been Gabi and me, but I knew a day would come when we’d have to detach from each other. I think she still has a hard time with it, because Gabi invites me along with them all the time. Even when it’s stuff that they should really be doing as a couple.
“Maybe we’ll find you a guy.” She nudges me with her elbow.
“No thanks.” I shake my head, walking out of the bathroom. I can hear the boots of the movers bringing boxes in. Gabi follows me, hot on my heels.
“Come on! Give me another shot at this,” she pleads.
“Hard pass.”
Gabi and I have way different taste in men. Everyone she’s tried to set me up with was a disaster. To be honest, I think she tried to set me up with men who are somewhat like me. Which doesn't work because then you have two shy people at a table in a restaurant and they barely say two words in the course of the evening.
When I get downstairs, I make sure boxes are being put where they belong. I probably should have waited until I did some work before I moved all my stuff, but I didn't want to pay rent on my apartment and have a mortgage on top of it. I need all the extra money I can get for this place.
“Are you going to help?” I ask her as I rip open a box.
“I would have worn my work heels if I’d known this was what were we doing.” She looks down at her pretty purple heels. “I’ll text Neal.”
“Already here.” We both scream at the sound of Neal’s voice. He comes walking in from the other room holding a box of what look like cleaning supplies.
“You knew?” Gabi asks him.
“You didn't answer when I called you, so I checked your tracker.” He shrugs as if that’s a normal thing to do. But when I think about it, it is in this family. Gabi and I both leave our tracking on for each other on our phones. “When I saw what was happening I hopped over to the hardware store and grabbed some stuff.” He looks around the kitchen. “But I think you’re going to need a professional.”
“Oh!” Gabi opens her purse and digs through it until she finds a card. She pulls it out and hands it over to me. “I know this guy. He owns a construction company and can do whatever you need while you’re working. I just gave him a spare key and he got everything done while I was gone during the day. He really did a great job.”
I take it from her and glance down at the card. My fingers trace over the raised lettering: Barrett Cooper of Cooper Construction.
“Maybe this phone number won’t turn out as badly as the others you’ve given me,” I joke.
Gabi rolls her eyes. “He’s not your type,” she says, taking a bag from Neal. “No snacks?”
I choke back a laugh as Neal kisses Gabi then leaves to go get us food. I slip the card into the back pocket of my jeans and go back to unpacking.
Chapter 2
Barrett
I recheck the email from my office secretary and look over the address. When I pulled up to the big white house, I didn’t see a car in the driveway. I scan the yard as I get out of my truck, looking for the person I’m supposed to be meeting.
Normally I’m not the one to come out and meet the owner. I’ve got a couple of crew bosses who handle all of that, and I just manage them. But the email my secretary sent said a woman called and asked for me specifically. She said her sister and her husband had used me recently and left her name and number. I tried to call it this morning but didn’t get an answer, so I thought I’d just drive on over at the arranged time.
I grab my measuring tape and notebook so I can write down what the homeowner wants. But when I get closer to the house, I see that what they need done is going to take up more pages than I’ve got.
“Damn,” I say, as I stand in front of it and take it all in. It’s a beautiful historic home that needs some love, but homes like these aren't being built anymore. The person who bought this has definitely found a diamond in the rough, and a project like this makes me excited about what I do.
For the most part a lot of the homes I work on are regular cookie-cutter types. I rarely, if ever, get to work on something like this. The reason I got into construction was because as a kid it was a good summer job and I got to work on my tan. It didn’t hurt that I’ve always been a big guy, and being able to carry lumber is an advantage in my line of work. But becoming the boss means you don’t get a lot of hands-on work anymore. Seeing this place up close makes my mind race with possibilities, though. I know right away that this one is mine. I’m not handing this off to my guys. I want to do this one myself.
Walking over to the side, I hear the steps groan from my weight and I pull out my notebook to write it down. I take out my tape measure and write down what size boards I’ll need to fix the porch. Then I check out the lights and see the electrical needs to be updated and I start writing a list.
The sound of a car engine and a door closing has me looking up. The sun is directly in my face and I have to put my hand above my eyes to try and block it out. When I do, I see the outline of a redhead walking towards me. I can’t make out her face, all I see are curves, and I have to close my mouth to stop from drooling.
“Hey, are you Barrett?” she says, holding out her hand. “I’m Genevieve, but people call me Ginny.”
I step to the side so I can get the damn sun out of my face and look at her. She smiles brightly up at me and she pushes her sunglasses on top of her head.
“Um, yes,” I say, clearing my throat and extending my hand.
I’m a jumble of thoughts as I slip my rough hand into hers, and I’m impressed when she gives me a firm shake back. Her hand is soft and so much smaller than mine, but I have a suspicion this little thing has some moxie. I let it go and she puts her hands on her hips, drawing my attention there.
“It’s okay, most people get us mixed up,” she says, and I’m confused. “My sister Gabi and me. We’re twins.”
“Oh yeah,” I say, snapping my eyes back up to hers. It’s then I realize she does look similar to her, but definitely way hotter. “She’s Neal’s wife. Yeah, we went to college together. I did some work for them a few months ago. They had jus
t gotten married.” I wasn’t thinking that she looked like someone else, I was thinking about how drop dead gorgeous she is.
“Yeah, they didn’t waste any time.” She smiles, and I swear it’s brighter than the sun that just tried to blind me.
“Beautiful,” I whisper, and she cocks her head to the house. “The house,” I stammer, covering my blatant fumble of words.
“I know,” she says, and there’s praise in her voice, like the house is her child and it graduated first in its class.
“Why don’t you show me around?” I offer, and God help me, I’m using it as an excuse for her to turn around and show me her ass.
“Great,” she says, and spins around to unlock the front doors.
“Fuck,” I mumble, but she doesn’t catch it. I put my fist to my mouth as she walks in the door and I watch her round ass move. It’s pulled tight in her jeans and I’m willing to bet everything I have that she thinks it’s too big. But that’s the kind of fat back end that I’d get down on my knees and worship.
Who is this woman?
“Do you think you can handle it?” she asks as she turns around to face me. Her bright green eyes are looking at me, and I see a blush tint her cheeks.
“Hell yeah,” I say, not paying one ounce of attention to what she just said. I was too busy fantasizing about taking her from behind and having her sit on my face.
“That’s great.” She beams at me, and I would agree to anything to get her to keep looking at me that way.
