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Ashley was the first to say anything. “Wow, it looks so much bigger than I remember!” She turned on her heel, taking in the practically new room.
I nodded. “Yeah, seeing it empty gives me a better idea of what we’re working with. I think it will look good when we’re all finished.” Grant stood a few feet away with his broad arms crossed, legs spread wide, and a generic expression on his face.
His eyes scanned up and down my outfit, and his right eyebrow raised up. I self-consciously looked down at my clothes. I had on a plain white t-shirt and short overalls with my blue Converse. My long hair was in two braids to keep it out of my face. It all felt cute in the mirror this morning; my students gave me compliments the last time I wore this to class. But standing in front of Grant and seeing him scan me up and down made me feel like a little girl. I wanted to crawl in a hole.
Ashley nudged me with an elbow and nodded her head in his direction. “Oh right, Grant, this is Ashley, Ashley, this is Grant.” I introduced the two and watched Ashley’s eyes nearly bug out of her head. She reached out to shake his hand, and he, reluctantly, shook hers back.
“So, Grant, do you like drinking?” Well, leave Ashley to go straight to it.
“I guess, yeah.” Ashley clasped her hands together. “Then you should come to my work event tomorrow night! It’s an open bar at Jaded. There’s live music, and June will be there too.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
I interrupted after my name was mentioned. “All right, Ashley, I think he’s got it. He’s probably too busy to come anyway.” Grant’s eyes shifted between Ashley and me.
I expected him to decline rudely and hear his insolent groaning, but instead, I was surprised.
“I’ll be there. I don’t have much else to do, and an open bar sounds good.”
Well, that’s just—
“Great! We’ll see you there. I know June is just so excited!”
I felt my cheeks turn red, and I stepped back to grasp Ashley’s arm. “All right, that’s enough out of you. I think it’s best we take a quick walk-through and head out. Sorry to interrupt your work. I just wanted to see how it was going.” Ashley began to open her mouth again but quickly shut it when I pinched the back of her arm.
We left Grant in the kitchen, and I made the quickest tour possible, ready to dart out of the house. Ashley and Grant being in the same room together was too dangerous. As he mentioned, I noticed he had halfway peeled off the wallpaper in the guest room, but he had done much more than he let on.
From the minor updates Beau gave me, I figured it would be a slow process. He said these projects typically took the team three to five months since they have so many other clients. However, every time I checked on the house, there Grant was, working up a sweat in his stupidly hot work clothes.
Either this was the only big project they were currently doing, or it was a top priority. Come to think of it, Grant did start working suspiciously fast on this, considering everyone said he was always booked months ahead of time. I wasn’t one to complain, though—the sooner, the better.
Ashley’s bouncy curls bopped around her shoulders as she skipped through the demolition site.
“Look at this, June! You’re going to be like one of those cute hosts on HGTV! And I can be the cool, collected friend you bring to the house for the first time at the reveal!”
I shook my head at her. “Ashley, you are neither cool nor collected. I highly doubt that would work.” Her lips pursed into a cute pout, and she kept walking.
Making our way back to the kitchen, Grant stood where we left him as if he had not moved an inch in the last five minutes. Our eyes met for a second, and I immediately turned away. Something about him made me unable to have eye contact without blushing. The last thing I needed was Ashley giving me more fuss on the phone tonight.
“Okay, I think we’re going to go. I’m sorry to burst in here while you were working.” His eyes were still on me when I looked back his way, and there was a long quiet pause between us.
“It’s fine; I was about to take a break anyway.” He wasn’t, considering the wall was halfway scraped, and his tools were scattered, but I appreciated the comfort he was trying to provide, even if his deep voice sounded rude.
I turned toward Ashley and placed my hand on her shoulder, “We should probably go.”
Ashley nodded. “Bye, Grant! We can’t wait for tomorrow!” I wanted to roll my eyes and yank her out of the door like a toddler embarrassing their mom in the store, but I held back.
“I’ll see you tomorrow night, Hart.” Ashley and I made our way around the kitchen and headed out the back door.
Walking down the back porch steps, Ashley loudly exclaimed, “June! How are you not drooling right now? That man is so fine I think I blacked out for a second.”
I rolled my eyes and whisper-yelled, “Shh! He probably can hear you. And you didn’t blackout. You said plenty.”
She giggled and opened the back gate to stroll to her car. “You know he must be into you too because I’m telling you he was staring you down, and the second I mentioned you were going to the bar, he was immediately ready to go. The man was never social, why would he so willingly jump to come to a private event like that?”
I unlocked my car, needing something to fidget with my hands. “Yeah, because he likes drinking for free. It has nothing to do with me. Come on, let’s get you out of here before you embarrass me more.”
I thought about Ashley’s remark about Grant’s eyes on me. Looking in the rearview mirror, I checked to ensure I had nothing in my teeth. My makeup was minimal, but it’s still there. It was more than I did on most days, but it was still slightly embarrassing to think Grant was staring at this version of me.
I looked back up as I put my car in reverse, admiring the front of the house. It was already so cute on the outside, it just needed a little paint and landscaping. The thought of living here made me smile, and I felt like I was one step closer to Gram.
