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“Was that Gabe’s truck in the drive?” Lucy asked.
I frowned. Weird question: Lucy knew full well what Gabe’s truck looked like. “Ah, yeah. He and Jake are starting on the yard today.”
“J-Jake’s here?” Emma faltered. There was no mistaking the edge to her tone.
“Yeah. But he won’t be coming anywhere near the house.” I had no idea why I said that, just that I’d felt the need to reassure Emma.
“It’s fine. That’s fine,” Emma replied, dipping her cloth in the bucket without looking up and wringing it out. It didn’t seemfineto me at all, but there wasn’t much I could do about it, so I finished filling the second bucket and took it to Lucy at the windows.
Realizing that the four of us would get the inside windows done in no time at all, I thought I might make a start on the outside. I’d just filled yet another bucket and started in when I jumped at the feel of a furry, wet nose touching my leg. “Bess!”
Matt rounded the corner of the house and stopped dead in his tracks, one booted foot on the patio step. “Sorry. I didn’t know you’d be out here.”
Taking a moment to catch the breath that had whooshed from my lungs at the sight of him, I said, “It’s okay.”Didn’t know I’d be out here? Did that mean he was avoiding me? He wouldn’t have come this way if he’d known I’d be there? Or was I just completely overthinking everything, as per usual? Most likely. Sigh.
“Anyway, while I’ve got you here, I might need to turn the power off in a little while. I want to fix up some of the wiring in the garage, if that’s okay.”
“Sure.”
“Great.” He smiled at me then and I felt a slow, warm flush pool in my belly. He was just too gorgeous for words. “I’ll let you know when I’m going to cut the power.”
“Okay.” He made no move to go, so I just stood there gazing at him. The sound of the sliding door opening behind me broke the spell.
“Matt.”
“Luce.”
“Sorry to interrupt, but it’s a bit crowded with all of us working in there, so Ally wanted to know if you needed a hand out here, Zara.”
Dragging my gaze away from Matt, I smiled at Lucy. “Sure, that would be great, thanks.”
“I’ll leave you ladies to it, then. I’ll let you know when I’m going to switch off the power.”
“Cool.” I watched him go before turning back to Lucy, who was grinning at me mischievously. Aware that I’d been caught staring, I got to work without another word, ignoring Lucy’s soft chuckle.
We all worked hard for the rest of the afternoon, until the sun cast long shadows across the yard, but we got the job done. I was very grateful for the help. It would have taken me days to do it by myself.
“Jesus, I’m starving,” Lucy said, emptying the water bucket down the sink in the kitchen.
“Me too,” I agreed as I felt my stomach rumble.
“I’m thinking we could get some pizzas, if you like?” Lucy suggested.
“Yeah, that sounds great,” I replied. “You in for pizza, Ally?”
Ally hesitated. “I’m not sure, I think I have to go.”
“Huh? I thought you were staying over tonight.” I frowned, concerned.
“Yeah, um, I was going to, but then I remembered I have to, uh, I have to…” She trailed off helplessly.
“Are you feeling okay?” I moved toward her, stopping when she backed up hastily.
“Sure, I’m fine. Yeah, on second thought, thanks Lucy. Pizza sounds good.”
“Great! You’ll stick around too, yeah, Em?” Barely waiting for Emma to reply, Lucy moved to the sliding door just as Matt, Gabe and Jake stepped up onto the patio. “Hey, we’re grabbing some pizzas and beers. You wanna join us?” They all agreed, so Lucy took everyone’s orders and called them in. “Jake, you’re parked nearest the gate, you don’t mind doing the pickup?”
“Ah, no, I don’t mind.”
