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The cute guy gaping at her on the other side of the door was utterly confused… and suspiciously familiar.
Ch. 13 Sully
It.
Was.
Her.
Alanna Sandoval, sex in heels, standing on his front porch.
Her lips were a scarlet red, and that tight body was wrapped in a blue dress that gave Sully’s imagination plenty of runway.
“I remember you,” she said. “You’re the guy from the winery.”
She remembered him! If Sully weren’t holding onto the door, he might have melted. Had the stars aligned? Had the universe plucked the secret dream of his heart and decided to grant it?
… Except the secret dream of his heart didn’t include Alanna frantically digging into her purse and then pointing a can of pepper spray at his eyeballs.
“What the hell is going on?” she demanded. “Is this some kind of sick joke? Are you catfishing me?” Her finger tightened unnervingly on the nozzle of the pepper spray. “Do you, like, have some secret sex dungeon in the basement or something?”
“No!” Sully choked out. “No sex dungeon. Just the world’s worst laminate flooring in the kitchen.” He’d just spent the last five hours prying it up, and his brain was fully addled on flooring. That must be why he opened his dumb mouth again. “But, luckily, the sub-flooring is in decent shape. I got a great deal on this gorgeous ceramic tile that I’m going to install tomorrow. It’s going to look great.”
What in the ever-lovin’ hell was wrong with him? Why would Alanna Sandoval give even the most microscopic shit about the sub-flooring in his kitchen?
Alanna stared at him. Notably, her grip on the can of pepper spray didn’t waver. Sully realized the sight he must present. He wore his “work clothes,” i.e. an old, stained college t-shirt and jeans with holes in both knees. A generous layer of grime added the final touch to his outfit.
Alanna’s gaze shifted, taking in the chaos behind him. Sully winced, imagining what she must be thinking. He’d spent yesterday in full demolition mode, using a sledgehammer to break down the upper half of the wall between the kitchen and living room. The result of his work was a ragged, gaping hole between the rooms, with piles of plaster littering the ground. (The dumpster he’d rented was showing up tomorrow.) When it was finished, the half wall would open up the house beautifully, but Alanna didn’t know that. All she saw was destruction.
No wonder she thought he was an utter creep.
“Is this 542 Highland Way?” she finally asked.
“Oh, uh, no.” Sully forced himself not to shove his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Best not to make any sudden moves. “That’s the next house over.” He slowly tilted his head to the right.
Alanna’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re the…” she seemed to trip on her words, “…the guy next door?”
Sully took a calculated risk and shrugged. “That’s me. Sorry for the mix-up. The new mailbox is on order.”
Alanna just stared at him in confusion.
“I did a lot of work on that house,” Sully tried to explain. “Take a look at the front porch when you head over. I just finished that up last week.” He couldn’t help the pride in his voice.
Thankfully, the can of pepper spray lowered a few inches. “So, this is… just a coincidence?” she asked.
Sully readjusted his glasses. No pepper spray erupted into his retinas. The situation was improving. “I guess so.”
Alanna didn’t seem entirely convinced, but the can of pepper spray disappeared into her purse. “Okay. Well…” She glanced at her phone. “I’ve got to head over to this Crazy Cat Lady meeting. Sorry for interrupting…” she gave him another puzzled look, “…whatever you were doing.”
“Kitchen flooring.”
“Yeah, kitchen flooring.”
“Not a problem,” Sully replied. “It was, uh, nice seeing you again.”And I would gladly build you a sex dungeon if you wanted one. I would build anything for you, Alanna Sandoval.
A smile tugged at the corner of her scarlet lips. Somewhere angels sang. Surely, he wasn’t the only one who heard them.
“Yeah, good seeing you, too,” she said. The smile abruptly disappeared. “I’m not a crazy cat lady, by the way.” Her chin tilted up.
