AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Oh my God, what in the hell is wrong with you, Rose Shaw? One second, you think it’s crazy. The next, you think it would have been a romantic gesture.
He reached down, finished off the water, and set it back on the table. “Thanks for the water. I’ll give you a call tomorrow, and maybe we can meet and talk about contracts, money, etc. I’ll see if Howie can recommend a lawyer in town to handle it all for us.”
Oh shit. I was so in over my head, and Bryson was treating me like an…employee.
Okay, Rose Marie. This was what you wanted, wasn’t it?
Nodding, I replied, “Sure. I work in the morning at the boutique downstairs, but I’ll be off at two.”
Bryson made his way to the front door, and I followed him, wiping my sweat-covered hands on my sweatpants.
Reaching for the door, Bryson opened it and stopped. I nearly ran into him and let out a small squeak of surprise. Slowly turning, he looked down at me, and my breath caught in my throat.
“First, it was an asshole move to call your place of employment and demand that you design the house. I’m sorry you quit your job over me.”
I shook my head, but no words came from my mouth. I was too busy looking at the intense look in his eyes.
“Second, Howie had no part in why I purchased the land in Victor. And third, I know you’ll do an amazing job on the house.”
My heartbeat intensified as I swallowed hard. A strange relief washed over me knowing he had bought the land to be near me. It was clear to me now that I was losing my damn mind.
“Thank you.” That was all I could manage to get out, and boy, did it sound breathless.
Bryson’s eyes darted down to my mouth, and for a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me. I even felt myself lift slightly onto my toes.
He suddenly cleared his throat and took a step back. “Good night, Rose. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
With a calm I didn’t feel, I smiled and replied, “’Night, Bryson. See you tomorrow.”
I watched as he headed down the steps and to a car that looked like it was a rental. He slipped inside, and I stood on my small porch and watched as he backed up and then drove down the narrow alley.
Slowly shaking my head, I whispered to myself, “You really are a coward, Rose.”
Chapter Eleven
BRYSON
Howie opened the front door of his modest three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath house and gawked at me. “You look like shit. What in the hell happened between the bar and here?”
I had lied to Rose about needing to go back to the bar and pick up Howie and Ruth, but I couldn’t stand to be in her house any longer. The urge to pull her into my arms and kiss her had been too powerful. Her message had been loud and clear that morning. She didn’t want anything from me.
“How did it go?” Ruth asked, popping up on the sofa and tucking her legs under her with a hopeful look.
My hand sliced through my hair, and I groaned. “I almost kissed her when I was leaving.”
Ruth gasped. “You didn’t, though, did you?”
Howie laughed. “Poor bastard. Let me fix you a drink.”
“Make it a double,” I said as I slouched down into the oversized chair opposite where Ruth sat.
I had told Howie and Ruth everything. From the night I spent with Rose. How I couldn’t stop thinking about her. How I ran off and bought land minutes from her hometown, and how I had marched into her office like a hotshot and demanded she work for me. After Howie got over his initial shock that I was strung up over a woman, he looked at his wife and said, “He needs your help.”
“Tell me exactly what happened,” Ruth said as she took a glass of whiskey from Howie.
When he handed me mine, I downed it.
“Alrighty, then,” he said as I handed it back to him. “Let me make you another one.”
Scrubbing my hands down my face, I took the cowboy hat off and set it on the floor, then looked at Ruth.
“She quit her job.”
Ruth gasped. “No!”
“Yes,” I said with a disbelieving laugh. “Told her boss she was going to design my house and shove it in his face once it was built.”
Smiling, Ruth said, “I like her already. What else?”
“She thought I was on a date tonight, and I was a dick and let her believe it for a few minutes.”
Nodding in approval, Ruth stated, “Good. This is good.”
“How is her thinking he was on a date good?” Howie asked.
“The one thing about women, gentlemen, is that when they aren’t ready to give you themselves, they certainly aren’t willing to let anyone else have you.”
