Page 11 of Oops I Fell For The Electrician Next Door

"The family arrives Friday at three."

"It'll be close."

Kelsey takes one breath and squares her shoulders. "Tell me what I can do."

Nolan begins to say she can stay out of the way. I see it forming on his face, followed by the moment he thinks better of it.

"Call the utility locate service," he says instead. "We don't dig until the property is marked. I'll submit the repair permit tonight. Marc and I can expose the existing conduit by hand tomorrow evening if the locate is complete."

"I can dig."

"I don't doubt it," I say. "But no one touches the ground until it's marked, and no one works near the damaged service alone."

Her chin lifts. "Including you."

"Especially me."

That answer satisfies her. I watch some of the tension leave her shoulders, and the need to touch her becomes almost painful. I want to put both hands there and knead until every tight muscle relaxes beneath my fingers. I want to do a great deal more than that, but Nolan is standing six feet away.

We close and secure the equipment before he leaves. The three cabins remain dark, and Kelsey follows me toward them with her tablet against her chest.

"If everything goes well, we can reopen by Friday," she says.

"If everything goes well."

"You could pretend to be more optimistic."

"You don't want pretending."

She exhales. "No. I don't."

We reach the space between our cabins. Her gaze lingers on the travel mug in my hand. I rinsed it at the job site and brought it back because it belongs to her. The fact that I used it all day has made it feel oddly personal.

"Dinner?" she asks.

Kelsey’s flirty tone delivers the invitation and I feel it low in my torso. "Business?"

"No." A flush moves into her cheeks, but she keeps looking at me. "Tonight, I'm asking whether you would like to have dinner with me."

I set the mug on her porch rail. "Yes."

"You didn't let me tell you what I'm making."

"Doesn't matter."

"What if I'm heating frozen fish sticks?"

"I'll eat every one of them."

Her smile turns soft. "Seven o'clock. That gives you time to shower."

I move closer, stopping before her body touches mine. "Are you suggesting I need one?"

"I'm suggesting you spent all day at a construction site and then put your hands in an electrical cabinet beside a lake."

I lift one hand and slide a loose strand of hair behind her ear. This time, I do not stop before touching her. Her skin is warm, and her eyes darken as my knuckles pass along her cheek.

"Seven," I say.