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She clenched her teeth. “Phoebe.”

I assumed she was referring to Phoebe Cannon, who worked on the business side of things here at Fireweed. “She told me there was an extra bathroom down this hallway because the women’s one out there has a line. I wasn’t looking when I stepped through here.” Eden narrowed her eyes. “I fell and you’re up there demanding the story before helping me.” She put her hands on her hips, glaring up at me. “Get down here and help me. You’re a lot taller than me.”

They recently started an addition off the main building here, which had a slope behind it. Whatever was under construction, the spot where she’d fallen was a good six feet down. I knelt down, leaning on one hand, and landed lightly beside her. She looked up at me. “See, your head is still above the floor.”

“Have you tried to get up on your own?”

“Maybe,” Eden hedged, her cheeks flushing a little pink.

I did not need to be noticing how delectable she was when she blushed.

I bit my lip to keep from chuckling. “All right. This is going to involve me lifting you.”

“Obviously.” Her tone was dry. “So, how do we do this?”

“I’m going to lift you up and you’re going to crawl up over the edge.”

“How are you getting out?”

I took a slow breath, trying to marshal my revving pulse to slow the fuck down. “I’m glad you’re concerned about me.” That got me an eye roll. “Once you’re up, you’re going to give me your hand to help me pull myself up.”

Her gaze was skeptical. “Are you sure you can pick me up?”

I eyed her, mentally ordering myself not to notice her sweet curves. “Of course, Eden. Let’s just do this,” I finally said, because the longer we delayed, the more my control would slip. “I’m going to make a stirrup with my hands for your foot to lift you up. You can grab the edge and I’ll push you the rest of the way up.”

“How are you going to push me?” she asked, her tone decidedly suspicious.

“Well, I’m going to push your—” I pointed at her lush, curvy bottom.

Her blush deepened on her cheeks, and I wanted to kiss her. Jesus fucking Christ. I could not want to kiss my best friend’s little sister. This was not an option.

“Okay,” she said, taking a deep breath.

“I can climb back out on my own and go get a ladder, which is probably going to necessitate other people being involved,” I added.

“Fine,” she muttered.

I cupped my hands together. A moment later, Eden curled hands on the edge of the floor above. I made the mistake of looking up. Fuck me. Eden had the sweetest heart-shaped, lush bottom I’d ever laid eyes on. She was wearing fitted leggings with cowboy boots and a long flowy shirt.

“Grady,” she prompted, her voice breathy, which did not help matters for the state of, well, me.

I kept one hand under her foot and shifted the other, placing it on her bottom. At the feel of the soft give of her curves under my hand, well, fuck me all over again. With a breathy grunt, she made it up over the edge.

“Are you all the way there?” I asked as I glanced up.

She swung around to sit on her hips, her feet dangling down into the space. “Yup. Your turn,” she said.

As Eden looked down at me with her cheeks flushed and her hair a tousled mess, I knew I was in trouble. She stretched her hand down and I clasped it, reaching for the edge with my other hand. I was glad I was in shape, because even though I could see up over the edge of this space, it was mostly a single-arm pull-up with a little assist from her.

I hefted up beside her, swinging around to sit beside her. When we looked at each other, it felt like lightning sizzled in the air around us. She blinked. For a split second, she leaned toward me, and her lips were mere inches away when she abruptly shifted back.

“Welcome home, Eden,” I said, trying to quell the out-of-control pace of my pulse.

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