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Would it be too forward to say with him naked? Probably. “Well, how about we figure out the measurements of the new area first. If we took that wall down, I could shift that counter out to open this area. I think it will give me enough room to allow me to add an island, plus have additional storage underneath.”
“Alright. We can do that. How about I call out measurements, and you write them down?”
“Perfect.” I collected my notepad and a pen and stood back as he walked around taking the measurements. I found myself rather intrigued by how his biceps and back muscles under his shirt moved and I kept shifting on my feet to keep from attacking him. Was it too early to have that conversation about sex?
I felt like a horny college student as I eyed the man in front of me, wishing he’d give me some kind of sign that he was interested. So far, he had been polite and professional, and I didn’t want either of those. I wanted dirty and sexy.
Once we had all the measurements, we talked about the counters and island and where the appliances could go. I forced myself to focus on the kitchen and not the bedroom—or at least not him naked.
With all that decided, he returned to his computer and started working.
“Is your son as hardheaded as your daughter?”
He lifted his gaze to mine momentarily, as if confused by the change in conversation before giving me a half grin. “No, he’s pretty easygoing.”
“My girls are more like their father than me. They aren’t as outgoing, at least not yet. I hope that changes. I think kids nowadays need to be outgoing if they want to get anywhere in life.”
“What makes you say that?” he asked as he worked on his laptop.
Although he wasn’t looking at me, I shrugged and then turned and popped my butt up on the counter beside him. I saw him shift his gaze toward my legs and then away quickly.
“Things are different than they were when we grew up. Now life demands that they take charge of things, and I think too many kids just kind of ride the winds without making any firm decisions. They do what they have to because they have to, not because they want to, or because they are driven to do it.”
He finally lifted his gaze to mine. “What kinds of things are you talking about?”
“Relationships, colleges, even sports. They do things because they are told to do them. Parents push kids to do sports because they want them to do them, not because the kids want to. You’d be surprised how many kids I have coached that didn’t want to be on the field, and almost as many kids that I know want to play, but their parents say no. Sadly, they don’t push back—or it falls on deaf ears at home. Then the kids pick college majors because their parents expect them to do as they are told, not because it’s what they want to do. It’s almost like the parents are projecting their own missed hopes on their kids and expect them to do everything that they should have done growing up.”
He chuckled slightly. “I wouldn’t do that to my kids.”
“No, you might not, but many other parents do. I think your family is a bit different than the traditional family out there.”
He cocked his head as he studied me. “What makes you say that?”
“Your parents are still married. That right there is a feat. None of your siblings are divorced. The only reason you are single is that your wife died. Otherwise, you’d still be happily married.”
“You don’t know that.”
“You don’t think you would still be happily married to Cheryl if she hadn’t died?”
He pursed his lips and returned his focus to the computer. “I don’t know. I’d like to think we might have—”
“Might have what?”
“Nothing, never mind.”
“No, don’t backtrack on that. You were going to say something. Tell me, Brad.”
“It’s not important.”
I laughed. “If you are trying so hard not to say it, it must have been important—at least to you.”
He stared at his screen for a few moments. “Things weren’t always great with my wife.”
“Is any marriage one hundred percent happy?”
He lifted his gaze to mine. “No, but a couple of days before she found out that she had cancer, I told her I wanted a divorce.”
That raised my brows slightly. “What did she think of that?”
