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Hedidn’t want to get hurt, but he suspected there would already be a void in both their lives once Sarah left town.
…
A week later, Sarah stood staring at the refinished staircase leading to the upstairs guest rooms. They’d preserved as much of the original structure as possible, and with the treated wood finish, it was hard to tell the original planks from the new.
Her grandmother would be proud.
“Don’t worry, we’ve reinforced all the stairs from beneath, so no one…else…will be falling through,” Wes said, wiping his hands on his jeans as he came up behind her in the foyer.
“It looks so great. Thank you, Wes,” Sarah said, wanting to hug him.
And not just because his white T-shirt hugged his muscular chest and biceps. Or because seeing him every day, while he worked relentlessly to help her get the place in decent enough shape to sell, had turned her formerly innocent crush on her friend into something fierce.
Notjustfor those reasons.
Wes checked his watch. “We should get going. We have dinner plans with my in-laws…former in-laws…” He shrugged. “I’m still figuring out the terminology.” His smile looked pained.
“Marissa’s grandparents,” Sarah said.
“That’s definitely an easier way to put it. Thank you,” Wes said, removing his tool belt and closing his toolbox.
“I really can’t thank you enough for all of this. It means a lot.”
At one time,he’dmeant a lot. Sarah hadn’t realized the extent of her teenage feelings for him until those long-repressed emotions had returned with a new maturity. When she’d moved away and he’d married Kelly after high school, she’d firmly closed the door on thoughts of a relationship with him, ignoring the dull ache she’d felt seeing family photos on social media. They’d been so happy together that she hadn’t felt any jealousy or longing. She’d respected their relationship enough not to allow herself to pine for a man she couldn’t have.
Wes had been filed in the off-limits drawer for so long, she couldn’t take him out now. Could she?
At first she thought she was imagining the sexual tension between them, but after the near-kiss, she was certain of it lingering on the air whenever they were near each other. She was painfully aware of his presence all around the B&B as he worked…and she definitely hadn’t been imagining the looks she’d caught him sending her way when he thought she wasn’t looking.
But in the last few days, he’d also seemed to be trying harder not to be around her…avoiding her, even.
“My guys will finish the kitchen renovations this week, and then we will start on the guest room balconies.”
“Sounds great.”
“Ready to go?” he asked Marissa as she joined them in the foyer, her laptop under her arm and backpack on her back.
“Yep,” she said, then glanced at Sarah. “Hey, you should come to dinner with us tonight.”
This wasn’t the first invite, and Sarah was running out of excuses. She sensed a slight matchmaking attempt on Marissa’s part that she wouldn’t be completely averse to if Wes seemed at all interested in exploring the attraction between them, but as usual, he interjected. “We’re having dinner with Grandma and Grandpa, remember?”
Marissa looked disappointed that they kept putting her off. “Oh, right. Well, maybe another night?”
Sarah looked at Wes, then nodded slowly. “Yeah, maybe.”
Wes shifted from one foot to the other and cleared his throat. “Um…Marissa’s spending the night at her grandparents’ house, so a few of us were going to Trent’s Tavern. If you’re not busy, you should come,” he said.
Okay, that was different.
She hadn’t been out since she’d been back. A night out sounded great, and she wouldn’t lie to herself—seeing Wes in a different setting, enjoying a few drinks and laughs, didn’t sound terrible at all.
Which was why it was a bad idea.
Marissa’s hopeful expression confirmed how much of a bad idea it would be. They probably shouldn’t encourage the matchmaking going on in that genius little mind.
“That would be fun; thank you for the invite…but I thought I’d get started on the guest rooms.” She’d bought the paint the day before, and there was no time like the present to get started. She may not be great with a hammer and nails, but painting wasn’t that hard, and the faster she could get the renovations done and the place listed, the better.
“Are you sure?” Marissa asked as Wes led the way outside. “You deserve a night out.”
