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“No,” she said, and I breathed out a sigh of relief. “If he tries to stay, I’ll talk to him.”
“Okay.” I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers. “Have a good day, gorgeous.”
“You too.”
“I’ll swing by when I’m done. Maybe we can get lunch if you have time for a break.”
“I’d love that.”
“I love you.” I kissed her again.
She smiled against my mouth. “I love you too.”
I was never going to get tired of hearing her say that.
The heat of Craig’s glare beat at me through the windshield. My gaze flicked to him, then back to Marigold. He didn’t like me kissing his daughter?
Too bad.
For Marigold’s sake, I wouldn’t confront him. But I could only contain my troublemaker tendencies to a point. I slid my fingers into her hair and brought her mouth to mine, kissing her deeply. She didn’t hesitate or hold back, opening for me, her tongue sliding against mine.
Was it juvenile to kiss her like that just to provoke Craig? Probably. But no one had ever accused me of maturity.
She pulled away and laughed softly. “I think my dad is watching.”
“He is.”
“Serves him right. I’m not a kid anymore.”
“No, baby, you are not.” I licked the taste of her off my lips. “You’re all woman.”
“I really have to go. I have a client first thing.” She gathered up her purse. “I’ll see you later.”
“Bye, baby. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
She got out of my truck and I waited until she got inside the salon. Craig didn’t follow her in and I wondered how long he was going to hang around. Truthfully, I kind of hoped he wouldn’t leave; at least not for a while. Whether either of us liked it or not, we were in this together.
Reluctantly, I left and headed to Tilikum Hardware. The wiring issue was bigger than I’d expected. His building needed a lot of work, which was good for me. As much as I would have rather spent every waking moment with Marigold, life didn’t actually work that way.
I went to my truck and got out my laptop so I could put together a quote. I ran the numbers then sent it to him, letting him know my schedule was pretty open for now. I could get started as soon as he was ready.
A few seconds after I hit send, my phone rang. It was my dad.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Do you have some time today? We closed on that house on Maple Street. The wiring is a mess. I’m hoping you can take a look.”
“Yeah, sure.” It was too early for lunch anyway. “Are you there now? I can swing by.”
“I’m heading over. I’ll meet you there.”
“Sounds good.”
I ended the call and headed over to their latest acquisition.
Josiah and my dad were turning into small-town real estate moguls. They owned several rentals already, and typically as soon as they finished one remodel, they were on to the next. Their newest house wasn’t far from Marigold’s, on a quiet street lined with trees. From the outside, it didn’t look too bad, but they always bought houses that needed a lot of work. Sweat equity was a big part of their business model.
