AllFreeNovel
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It was only one of the transgressions of the day. It seemed like Devon had gotten an earful from the homeowner and was trying to get things back on track, but the more I watched him work, the less confidence I had that he could get the job done.
I haven’t said anything to anyone yet, most of the framing guys went about their days normally, but there were several on this crew that worked their asses off. The ones that clearly wanted to keep their jobs, in my opinion.
I’d gone to school in the hopes of having a job like Devon’s before my life was ripped out from under me by bad investing, so I knew a thing or two about how that job worked.
I want to talk to Henry about it, but I am too new and don’t want to overstep.
I shake my head and finger-comb my hair into place before heading back toward the living room. I was too freaking exhausted to worry about jeans—I also didn’t have any that weren’t covered in dirt and sawdust—and wandered back out in basketball shorts and a tee.
The second I enter the room, Viv’s eyes snap to mine and I give her a smile. I freaking love that she looks at me like that now, I’d’ve killed for her to look at me like that for the last ten years.
I nod toward the kitchen, its walls hiding most of it from view and she gives a slight nod. Everyone else is in the thick of the game and judging by April jumping up and down, she and several others were more than a few drinks into the night.
I’m grateful because it means no one is paying attention to me.
I wait a few seconds before Viv comes in. Her steps when she enters are slow and her gaze, when it meets mine again, is shy, but I can’t seem to control myself when she’s finally near me again.
I grab her hand and yank her into me, she covers her mouth to conceal a squeak, and I smile down at her, taking in her appearance.
“Hi,” I say to her, my voice low and soft, trying not to alert anyone to our missing presence. I just need a minute with her. Just one.
“Hi,” she whispers back and gives me her gorgeous fucking smile.
“How are you?” I ask, taking my other hand and tucking her hair behind her ear. I rest my hand on her jaw.
“I’m alright. How are you?” She reaches up and lightly traces the skin beneath my eyes. “You look tired.”
I nod. “I am tired.” I lean down toward her and cut off anything else she was going to say with a gentle yet firm kiss to her full lips.
Fuck. She tastes so good.
She leans fully into me, and I take the opportunity to wrap my arms around her and turn, pinning her slightly against the countertop. I nip at her bottom lip and she lets out a surprised breath, opening her mouth and I take the chance to run my tongue along hers, tilting her head back for better access.
Her hands clutch at my T-shirt near my hips and I take my time, tasting every inch of her mouth with my tongue.
Hell, I could do this for hours. Every damn day of my life.
I fully plan on making this my reality.
Coming home to Viv at the end of each day would be an actual dream come true for me, I just have to get her on board with that dream, too.
We slow when there’s an eruption of laughter in the living room and when I pull away, I smile at Viv’s still closed eyes and panting breaths.
“I missed you.” The words slip out of my mouth before I give them permission to do so, but I don’t regret them. I finally have her here, in this headspace of actually being with me, and I don’t want to have her second-guessing anything.
“I missed you, too.” She opens her eyes then and looks up at me, smiling.
I pull her into me, hugging her close and letting us both just have a moment of peace. Four days was far too long for us to go without seeing each other.
“You busy tomorrow?” I ask, pulling back to look her in the eyes.
“No.” She shakes her head with a smile on her lips. I lean down and kiss her again, but stop myself from taking it too far.
“Good. I want to make you dinner.” I look around the kitchen and frown. “But maybe at your place, that way…” I trail off, trying to find a way to say what I need without sounding like a dick.
“My brother doesn’t wonder why you’re making me dinner?” She fills in with a sassy smirk on her face.
“Yeah,” I answer, then I think about saying something like, “but I want to tell your brother that you’re mine and he better get used to it.” I refrain. She wasn’t quite ready to hear that declaration, but I was hoping that would after tomorrow night.
