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“Me?” That wasn’t my job. I wasn’t the owner of Byrne Construction. “You’re sure?”
“It’s good work, Arlo. You should be proud.”
He stared at me again, and it was obvious he was waiting for me to say something.
“Sure, I can do that.”
He clapped a hand on my shoulder, and I stiffened. I wished he wouldn’t be so damned nice and reasonable.
I wished he’d tell me he needed me as more than just a carpenter.
God, I wished he sawme, and wantedme.
ChapterThree
JAX
The realtor-slash-investor was waitingfor his inspection, with exaggerated patience, tapping his foot and checking his watch.
“Arlo is running through the final checks with you,” I said.
The guy didn’t bat an eyelid. Anyone looking at the two of us working together would think we were business partners given the way Arlo had led this kitchen reno, made himself heard, and worked closely with all of our suppliers.
Or maybe it was because I impressed on people we worked with that he had my authorization. I had paperwork at home to make him a full partner, so in my heart, I was one hundred percent behind him. Leaving him to do his thing, I went out to the front, sitting on a low wall and staring at the expanse of grass running down to the road. The expensive house was on a hill, and there were views of trails, a distant man-made lake, and the scent of the ocean mixed with the fragrance from the alyssum, which formed a carpet of snow with its masses of tiny white blooms. I could live here if I had the money, but despite how pretty it all was, I still hankered after a place in the middle of nowhere like Mama and Papa had.
One day.
What in God’s name had just happened?
Why didn’t I tell him that he shouldn’t date whatever-his-name-was because it was wrong?
“Hey, Arlo, how about you forget sex with a random stranger and come on a date with me?” I whispered to no one at all. “Dinner, talking, a kiss, taking it slow, blah, blah.” I scowled at the beautiful view, only pulled from my melancholy when my phone buzzed and vibrated. I was expecting a call for our next project, and had my professional answering voice at hand, but when I saw the caller ID—Leo, my older brother—I immediately relaxed.
“Hey,” I said with a forced smile in my voice because Leo would ask questions if I sounded as stressed as I felt.
Leo’s voice was clear. “Hey. How’s it going with the fancy-ass kitchen installation?”
“Too fancy for the likes of you.” I glanced around. “Arlo’s signing off on it today,” I replied, trying to sound casual, as if this wasn’t a big thing for me to hand over the reins on a completed project.
“Arlo is? That’s big,” Leo said. “So, you’ve actually spoken to him about him being made partner?”
I winced; thankful Leo couldn’t see me. “Not yet.” Because we’d been happy going along as we were, and the time hadn’t been right. I always imagined that one day, I’d get him to sign papers and that was it. But what if I’d missed my chance with that in the same way I had the dating?
“You’re an idiot,” Leo muttered.
“No, please say what youreallythink,” I said with a side order of sarcasm.
“You need to show him the contract you drew up and offer him the partnership, idiot; otherwise, not only will you lose the one person who… whatever. Look, some other construction company will steal him from under you.”
“I’ll do it.”I will.“Did you just call to comment on my life, or was there something else?” I couldn’t recall anything family related that I’d messed up in the last few weeks. I’d visited Mama and Papa only last weekend, and I’d been the one to drive our sister, Lorna, to the airport at the ass crack of dawn, so in the ledger of being a good son, brother, and brother-in-law, I think I was in credit.
“Jax…” Leo began and then, went quiet.
I hated when he did that because it meant he was considering how to phrase whatever he was going to say. Although, last week, he’d called with the same gravitas to ask me why he couldn’t get a hair bobble to stay in his daughter’s hair.
“Is this another hair emergency?” I asked.
He didn’t rise to my teasing, but just because he was silent, didn’t mean anything was wrong; although, my chest tightened, and I felt a poke of worry. Was it Mama or Papa? Was something wrong with Leo’s small family? Was it Reid?
