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“You sure you don’t want to rest first?”

He gave her a wry smile. “I’ve been doing nothing but resting this whole week. It feels good to have something to work toward now. Plus, I want to see what this place looks like all dolled up and pretty.”

“I get that,” she said quickly. “I just . . . Are you really okay with this arrangement and me not paying you? I don’t want you to feel like I’m taking advantage of you, or like you have to do this just because Vini put the idea out there.”

“Hey, no.” Aiden could understand her hesitancy, but he wanted to reassure her before she went back on things. He needed this, especially right now. With the way his credit was, getting approved for an apartment would probably be tough everywhere except for the worst of the worst. This would give him time to plan things, to save up money and figure out his next steps. “This is a great deal for both of us. You get your house fixed up, though slower than you would if there was a full team working on it, and I get a roof over my head that doesn’t come with a two-hour commute. It’s a win-win in my book.”

Janae studied him, her eyes probing deeply, locking him in place. They were the type of eyes he could easily fall into.

He forced himself to chill. This was a precarious situation, and he didn’t want to get thrown out on his ass before he even got to stay one night.

“Okay. If you’re sure.”

“I am,” he said firmly. “Trust when I say, I’m your man.”

The quiet that settled between them then wasn’t awkward. It was more just tentative, like the first stroke of paint on a fresh canvas. Aiden smiled, and if his heart did a little flutter when Janae smiled back, that was no one’s business but his own.

Chapter 6

The scent of coffee yanked Janae out of sleep, and for a moment she lay there, half asleep, blinking slowly at the ceiling as she waited for her brain to catch up. The scent was so unexpectedly warm and real. It drifted through the chill, rich and darkly familiar in a way that had her mouth watering. She blinked again slowly, stretching and enjoying having another day before going back to work, but the sound of clattering had her almost launching out of bed.

“What the hell?” she mumbled as reality settled in. She squinted at the streaks of sunlight curving around the sheet she’d pinned over the window across from her bed. The house was still then . . . but it clearly was not empty. It took her another few heartbeats to remember that she had invited someone else into her space.

Aiden.

Her brain caught up to her body by the time she swung her legs off the mattress. She winced at the cold bite of the floorboards and resolved to buy a couple rugs to cut the chill. She pulled on her cardigan and thick socks before padding down the narrow hallway, letting the scent of coffee beckon her toward the kitchen. The closer she got, the louder the sounds became. They weren’t ear-splitting, but they weren’t anything she was used to. Truthfully, she was surprised the noise hadn’t been what woke her. She had slept better last night than she had in a long time, and she vaguely wondered what that was all about. When she got to the kitchen doorway, she had to pause.

Aiden didn’t notice her from where he stood at the counter with his back to her. His head bopped to the soft music flowing from his phone. He bent down low, and Janae watched the fabric of his jeans tighten. She tried not to stare. He was only wearing a tank, his tattooed arm on full display as he moved, sanding down the cabinet. His arms flexed with each slow, deliberate pass, the dark ink on his skin rippling over his muscles. The morning light washed over his head, setting his curls ablaze with fiery highlights. There was a faint sheen of sweat on the back of his neck, and belatedly she wondered how long he had been working before she woke up.

Abruptly, Aiden stood back up and Janae’s mouth went dry. She had forgotten how tall he was, probably thanks to his dimples and boyish smile. She told herself to move and say good morning so she wasn’t caught standing and staring like a creep, but her body wouldn’t obey.

The sight of him doing work in the kitchen gave her some relief. She felt guilty about him feeling like he needed to work first thing in the morning, but she couldn’t deny it felt good that he was serious about upholding his part of the bargain. Still, it shook her somewhat seeing how right Aiden looked in the space. When he finally turned enough to catch sight of her, a flicker of surprise flitted across his face before being replaced by an easy smile.

“Hey,” he said, voice still slightly rough from sleep. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You didn’t,” she croaked out before coughing slightly to wake up her vocal cords. She stepped into the kitchen, staying close to the doorway in case she said something ridiculous and needed a quick escape to save herself from the embarrassment of putting her foot in her mouth. “I just wasn’t expecting you to be up and working already.”

Aiden chuckled and wiped his hands on a rag he pulled from his back pocket. “I’m an early riser when I know I have my work cut out for me. There’s coffee if you want some. I went ahead and made a whole pot.”

“Oh, thanks.” Janae moved to push off the doorway, but he stopped her.

“You stay there. I’ll bring it to you so you don’t get this stuff all over your socks.”

He walked over to the pot and poured some coffee into a mug before crossing the room and handing it to her. The tips of their fingers brushed, the skin barely grazing, yet it sent a bolt of pleasure skirting up Janae’s arm.

“Thank you,” she said before swallowing hard. She gripped the mug like it was the only anchor keeping her from floating away.

Aiden nodded before he turned to look at the cabinets again, a small scowl on his face. “Figured I’d get started with some of the easier tasks like fixing that damn leak. A couple of these hinges are rusty as hell, so we’ll need to replace them completely.”

“You didn’t have to do all this before work,” she said, letting the coffee warm her hands.

“It’s fine,” he said before bending over again. The muscles in his back flexed with each movement. “I was up anyway and thought I would get a few easy things out of the way before showering and heading to the shop.”

The rhythmic scrape of sandpaper floated through the air. Surprisingly, Janae found the sound soothing. She leaned against the doorframe and sipped her coffee. The kitchen was still a mess, with patches of drywall along the walls and cabinets without doors, but Janae could see some of the progress Aiden had already made. When he bent over farther this time, ass slightly in the air, Janae again tried and failed to avert her eyes. When she finally tore her gaze away, her heart was beating too damn fast. She nearly choked on her coffee when she realized Aiden was calling her name. She looked up to see him gazing at her over his shoulder, concern in his eyes.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said quickly. She stepped back and murmured something about needing to get ready for the day, retreating back down the hallway. When she reached her bedroom, she paused.