Page 58 of Meet Me in Ivy Falls

It was criminal how his stare could make my entire body snap to attention with a hungry ache. ‘It was unexpected, but I don’t regret it either. But Manny, he’ll know in a second when he looks at us so we have to do our best to stay professional.’

‘I’ll do anything you want.’

He reached out and grazed my cheek with the tips of his fingers and I felt heat all the way to my toes. It was like no time had passed between us. His touch was like a sense memory sending me back to the days when we couldn’t stand to be away from each other for a minute. Our hearts aching whenever we had to be apart.

‘Let me take you to dinner so we can talk. There are so many more things I want to tell you.’

‘Tor?’ Manny’s voice filtered out the upstairs window.

‘Dinner. Please,’ Beck pressed.

Damn. It was hard to resist when he asked so sweetly. ‘Okay. Call me later.’

I leapt to my feet and swiped the dirt from my overalls. Beck wound his arm around my waist and pulled me back into the grass, peppering my neck and lips with gentle kisses. For a moment I let myself get caught up in the moment. Sank back into the thrill of his touch, forgetting the men climbing on the roof and the frenzied tone of Manny’s voice calling my name. His hand slid under my overalls and stopped at the top of my breast, his finger teasing the edge of my hard peaks. A small whimper escaped my mouth when he pulled away.

‘I’ve missed that sound,’ he whispered in my ear, his hand moving to the other breast.

Warmth blazed between my legs.

How could he do that to me with a single kiss?

‘Beck, you have to stop,’ I groaned.

He gave one last peck to the side of my cheek, that wicked grin pulling up his lips. He pulled me to my feet and tipped his chin back to the house. ‘Go on. I’ll call you later.’

With wide strides he made his way to his car parked at the curb. I should have started back in the direction of the house but my feet stayed planted. Even after sleeping on a hard floor, his hair tousled in five different directions, he was still hotter than any guy on the cover of GQ. And for a few brief hours, he’d been all mine.

I darted back inside the house, the taste of Beck lingering on my lips. Rushing to the bedroom, I straightened out the tarp and pretended I didn’t look like a woman who’d been up half the night having mind-blowing sex with my ex whom I’d vowed to hate forever.

‘There you are. Didn’t you hear me calling you?’ Manny stood inside the threshold; his usual Titans hat pushed back on his head.

‘What?’ I yanked the headphones out of my ears. ‘Did you say something? You know I can’t hear anything when I have Goodbye June cranked up.’

His head tilted like he didn’t believe me. ‘Have you been here all night?’

‘Yep,’ I said, focusing back on the wall.

‘Were you alone?’

I ignored the question as I pressed a putty knife to a loose edge of wallpaper. ‘I’m determined to remove all this before lunch. The mosaic tile was delivered for the master bathroom floor. My plan is to start that later today. Get us back on schedule.’

He moved around the side of me. I held my breath, hoping he wouldn’t recognize the telltale signs of sex. My kiss-swollen lips and very apparent case of bedhead. His eyes surveyed the room and landed on a condom wrapper balled up in a corner.

Oh crap.

He let out a deep grumble and tugged me to the corner of the room. ‘Tor, what are you doing?’

‘I don’t know,’ I whispered. ‘Beck and I were here working late, and we got to talking. One thing led to another…’

He held up a hand. ‘I don’t need the gory details. And you don’t have to lie to me. All I want to know is if you’re okay?’

Manny came into my life when I’d needed a real friend. The bungalow on Westfort shook my confidence. Bad contractors. Shoddy plumbers. Even the electrical work I’d used most of my savings to pay for wasn’t done to code. At the brink of a total breakdown, I’d met Manny and we agreed to be partners. Since that moment, we’d always had each other’s back. When the anniversary of his wife’s death came around, I supported him and Lou in all the ways I could. After the YouTube video went live, he’d returned the favor, pulling me out of a self-imposed month-long exile. Kicking my butt out of bed. Forcing me to face life again.

‘Yes, I’m good,’ I said, reassuring him.

He placed a big mitt of a hand on my shoulder. ‘I’m glad you’re happy, but this guy hurt you once. I want to make sure there’s not a repeat performance.’

‘He explained what happened when we were kids. It’s made it easier to forgive him. Think about giving him another chance.’