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“She broke down last night about everything,” I quietly admit. “I think this is finally the turning point for her.”
“I’m happy for her. She deserves a good guy like you.”
“She deserves to be happy for herself. If I’m the one to help her out, then my dream comes true too.” I clear my throat, not wanting to get choked up, and pick up new drawings. “Man, Quinn just keeps adding more and more.” I look over the new design plans. “The town really approved of doubling the in-law suite?”
“With recent tourism and lack of hotels, she’s going to be renting this out.” Rhett eyes me carefully, and I know he’s pulled some strings with the council. “The town is on board with it.”
Running my hand through my damp hair, I blow out a heavy breath. “Fuck, we need to get our asses on the next project. We will start breaking ground next week.”
“Maybe some of us shouldn’t have late nights and shower at a client's place.” He smirks and gives me a smartass look. “Showing up on time is important.” I roll my eyes.
“Hello again.” Emery emerges with two mugs and a sweet smile.“I made coffee for both of you.”
“Thank you.” Rhett accepts the mug, and Emery scurries off inside. “Dude, I’m happy for you, but remember you went on about us not having time for women?”
“We said not to hire anyone we’d want to sleep with. She is not a part of our company.” I shrug, taking a long sip.
“But she’s distracting you.”I pull myself away from staring at her patio door and realize he’s across the yard with his tools.
“No, she needs support.” Frustration grows as I make way over to him. “Are we supposed to stay single forever and only amount to completed jobs?”
“Alright, you have a point.” Rhett removes his shirt as the sun blazes, and my eyes zone in on his shoulder. “’Bout time you got laid.” He is mostly covered in tattoos, but I know those claw marks are fresh from a woman.“Fun time at the convention?”
“It was fine. It's a good thing you hired a designer because I probably would have brought the one I banged home. City chicks are high maintenance, but this one was something different.” I watch his unreadable face go back to that night. The fact that he’d considered inviting a woman to his hometown has me intrigued.
“Ferocious in bed?” I chuckle.
“Oh, she really took me by surprise. This hookup was…different.” I’ve never seen him at a loss for words.
“How so?”
“I mean, we hooked up, but we talked a lot of the night.” Rhett stares ahead, still reliving the moment. “Laughed. She was easy to talk to. Her family isn’t as tight as mine and she couldn’t believe I have a goat soap company on the side with my mother.” He laughs, taking me by surprise that he’s actually had beyond a surface level conversation with a woman. “Didn’t even get her name.” He shakes his head before adjusting his hat out of habit. “Not that I need it after our one night.”
“Damn, she must have really left an impression on you.”
“I mean, no one is perfect. She did bitch about her four-hundred-dollar heels breaking.” He shakes his head. “Can you imagine spending that much money on one pair of shoes? And here I thought our steel-toed boots were overpriced.”
“But you wouldn’t be upset if you ever saw her at another convention.” I set the design plans aside.
“She went fucking feral over my accent.” He winks. “Minus the heel fiasco, she was actually well rounded and enjoyable. We didn’t sleep. We ordered room service at two in the morning.” He shrugs, unsure of himself for once. “Maybe I should have gotten her number. Not that it would matter.” A soft expression takes over his face as he stares at the pile of nails.
“Okay, now who’s getting distracted.” I shoot him a smug grin.” Knock that lovesick smile off your face and get to fucking work.” Rhett nods, huffing a laugh as he picks up a drill.
“I’m trying to give the guys a hand here until we have more crew to start,” Rhett says, still half in his own thoughts. “You go over to the next project and make sure everything is in order.”
“Will do.” Walking to my truck, I notice Quinn is now home. My heart pulls at me, wanting to head back in the house to check on Emery. Make sure she isn’t reverting back to her closed-off self. I spot them in the kitchen window, and Quinn moves forward, wrapping her niece in a hug. Safe to say, Emery is on her way to a new beginning. And she has a town full of people to stand by her through it all.
I get in my truck and head down the road, overthinking the worst that could happen. I can’t lose her again. I won’t. Lost in thought, I blink as I arrive at the trail for the falls. How the hell did I even end up here? I run my hands over my face, taking a deep breath. Looking at the clock on the dash, I realize how late it is. I don’t have time to think about my personal life right now. Putting the truck into reverse, I head to the next job.
The afternoon passes, drowning in phone calls to make sure projects and equipment are ready to go and getting an office ready for our new interior designer, who arrives soon. After last night, my heart feels uneasy.
Emery sits on my porch, staring out at the lake as I return home. I park the truck as she stands, walking toward me with a purposeful strut. My heart squeezes, hoping to see her like this every day.
Her arms wrap around my neck, and my hands slip into the back pockets of her jeans. Leaning forward, I taste her sweet smile, and her relaxed giggle travels into my mouth.
This is what coming home feels like.
“You just made my evening. I can definitely get used to this.” I pull back, but keep her waist pressed to mine. “Have you been waiting long?”
