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“What’s that for?” I asked.
“She’s adorable and good-looking and smart and talented, and how the hell did you spend three days with her on an island and not even get her number?” Henry replied in one rushing breath.
“It was four days, actually.”
Henry rolled his eyes as I walked past him toward the footprint of the hut we needed to focus on next. George was already there and talking to his men, so we didn’t interrupt him, but I got Henry to make notes for me on what I could see of the foundations, where we had expected to be, and questions to ask George.
Thankfully, the foreman didn’t take too long, and he came over to us with a few of his men for us to talk further. The changes to the materials had created a few differences here and there, but it was going to be fairly easy to adjust everything, and we needed to change the flow of which part was worked on more than any other changes.
The men made notes as well, helping to confirm we could work on the huts in the new order and would have what we needed on site in terms of equipment and people. It helped that Henry was with us. He had a handle on the full schedule even better than I did. He quickly came up with a few options based on the restrictions we had and everything Sarai had told us to give the foreman and his team more of an idea of what it meant for them and the build itself.
By the time he was done, I was exhausted, and my feet hurt from all the standing up and walking around the site. It was already coming along well, but the foreman eventually excused himself, and Henry and I were left to our own agenda.
“We should look over the huts closer to being finished and check the snagging and if they’re ready for the fitters and Kit’s furniture and design to be put in and implemented.” Henry pointed at the hut that was the most finished, and I happily followed him. The sooner we finished this part, the sooner we could stop for dinner.
And that meant seeing Kit again.
Focus, I told myself.You can’t do a bad job just to get to dinner faster. This is supposed to be a fun extra, not a distraction from the work.
But no matter how much I tried to remind myself that my work was more important than taking a girl on a date and finding out if she was genuine, I kept thinking about her. Eight that evening couldn’t come soon enough.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
“Your mind really isn’t on this, is it, boss?” Henry asked as I missed yet another defect that would need to be fixed in snagging. This wasn’t a normal task for someone who stuck to the architect role entirely either, but Sarai wanted me to oversee this, and I had promised that I would deliver a final build I was proud of.
When you were known for being the best in the area, you had to make sure that everyone was up to your standard or do it yourself. And that meant being on site and making sure each hut was as perfect as possible. Sarai’s reputation depended on it, and that meant mine did, too.
I sighed and looked at the lists we had already. Henry had managed to pick up on a good three-quarters of the snagging and things to check with the foreman, and only a quarter were mine. It was normally the other way around.
Given the list and whom we were working with, I felt confident that we had caught everything of importance, but so my conscience could rest clear, I went around again and checked the entire hut again. I spotted one very minor crack that might not even be considered major enough to do anything about, but I noted it anyway.
“Done?” Henry waited by the door, his list in his hand.
Although I wanted to give him some kind of smartass answer, I didn’t and simply nodded.
“Great. I’m about ready for that dinner Sarai promised, and even if you’re not there for the food, I plan on enjoying it.”
“Oh, trust me, I’m also there for the food. I don’t know how Sarai does it, but she always finds us great places to get something to eat. And she’s never backward about picking up the bill.”
“Saves you paying for us both when we work late.” Henry took my list to add to his, and we made our way to the site office again. Every step brought a new level of anxiety and desire with it. I still couldn’t quite believe that Kit had come over to say sorry to me when I had been a total asshat to her.
Still, I had the chance to make it up to her, and while we were walking over, I took the opportunity to send a quick text to Daniel and let him know the good news. I’d made sure I had another shot at this, and after he took the time to listen to me, he deserved to know that I had done my best to follow his advice, and so far, so good.
Since he hadn’t promised me that the dates would go well or anything other than I would have an excuse to go places that were no fun alone, he had every right to consider himself successful. Of course, Henry did, too, but he was already enjoying watching the situation with Kit play out before his eyes.
When we walked into the site office again, there wasn’t anyone there. I frowned, having just worked myself up about seeing Kit again, only to not see her.
“Is the car still here?” Henry asked, but he was already walking back to the door to find the answer to his question for us both.
I headed that way, too. There was no point in either of us waiting inside the building. It was beginning to get dark, and thiswas about the time Sarai had suggested we go out together. Had we somehow missed the group?
When we got to the parking lot and saw the cars, all the usual ones were there. No one had left yet. At least, no one whose car we recognized.
Before we could go anywhere else, however, Kit and Sarai came out of another of the not-quite-finished huts. It was one that wasn’t yet ready for snagging but close. One of the women handling the purchasing of bulk items like bed linen and toiletries was with them, and she was talking to Kit while Kit explained something.
They hadn’t seen us yet, which gave me an opportunity to study her for a moment. She was absorbed in her conversation and animated. Sshe used her hands to gesticulate while she talked, but they weren’t over-the-top gestures and appeared to be part of her talking.
Still, it drew attention to her slender, delicate fingers and small, pale wrists. I found myself imagining them in the leather restraints I had at home. It had been a while since I felt the desire to properly dom a woman, but Kit was reawakening it within me. She was bringing out the part of me that enjoyed controlling the pace and attention in the bedroom.
