“Whatever. Just study this, and don’t fuck it up,” I said, pressing the list against his chest. I had to go do something with my hands or I’d chase Delilah up to her office and confess that once wasn’t enough for me.
A little while later, I was working on reinforcing the new corral when her husky voice floated out of the veteran’s lodging. “Finn?” My jaw tightened, but I stayed focused on my task. Or tried to, anyway.
“Yes, ma’am?” Finn was a good guy, a construction foreman Cavendish Academy hired for the renovations. He was efficient and capable, and looked like me if sunshine and rainbows shot out of my ass. My hammer nearly slammed down on my thumb when she giggled. It was her flirty giggle, too. I’d heard it a thousand times over the course of my life, and yet this time, it bothered me that I wasn’t on the receiving end.
I glanced over my shoulder, and she was looking up at him, all doe-eyed and batting lashes. My stomach hollowed out.
This was insane. I couldn’t be jealous. She was my sisters’ friend. She wasDelilahfor fuck’s sake. Annoying. Reckless. Loud. Distracting…Gorgeous. Caring. Fun.
Goddamnit.
She put her hands on her hips. “I told you not to call me ma’am.”
“Well, you are my boss, and my mama raised me to respect authority. So what am I ‘sposed to call you? Ms. Chase?”
I scoffed to myself. What a crock of shit. Finn was no longer a good guy, and I was ready for him to get the hell off my ranch.
Delilah laughed again. “Can you help me rearrange some furniture in my office? It’s not really the vibe I’m going for, and I need your big muscles.” Something hot flared in my chest. Why hadn’t she asked me for help? My muscles were far bigger than his.
Probably because every time she asks you for something, you say no or bolt, you dumbass.
Finn chuckled. “Sure thing. I’ll be up in a sec, just need to finish this gate.”
“Okay,” she replied, her smile thick in her voice.
I didn’t know what pissed me off more. The fact that our night together seemed to mean next to nothing to her. Or the fact that she’d flirt with someone right in front of me just nine days after moaning my name until her voice went hoarse.
Either way, it shouldn’t have bothered me, but it did.
My hammer met the ground with a thud, and I went over to Finn. “Finish that. I’ll go help her.”
He glanced past my shoulder to the entrance of the building, looking unsure. Like his prize was being taken away. “Aren’t you busy?”
“Less busy than you.” I left no room for debate.
“Okay,” he said, defeated, and got back to work. I silently thanked Finn’s mother for making him too big a wimp to stand up to authority.
I jogged up the stairs to Delilah’s office. “Let’s go—” She froze when she saw me, planting a hand on her desk behind her. “Where’s Finn?” She swallowed, glancing at the door behind me.
“Busy.”
“Oh.”
Placing my hands on my hips, I looked around her office. “What’s thevibewe’re going for in here?” Hopefully, that would ease some of this tension that was making it hard to breathe.
Her lips flattened. “You heard that.”
“Sure did. Hope my muscles suffice.” That was childish of me, but apparently, I wasn’t above stooping to that level when I was desperate. I guess there was a first for everything.
She pursed her lips, looking me over. I wanted to fuck that fake displeased look right off her face. “They’ll do, I guess.”
She went to the empty bookshelf against the wall I backed her into three weeks ago; just seeing her over there sent my heart racing. She grabbed one side of it and paused when I didn’t follow after her. “I know I’m hot, but can you at least help me move this while you gawk at me?”
I bit back a smile. There she was. The Delilah I knew.
I grabbed the other side, and we moved it across the room. “Does this mean I have permission to gawk?”
She snorted. “Like you haven’t been already.”
