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The next morning, I got ready for work, intending to stop by Marley’s house before I went to the job site. Before I left, Nolan called to ask me to handle an estimate for him because his stepdaughter, Charlie, was sick.
A few years ago, he’d fallen hard for a single mother and her twin girls. He often needed help to care for the kids.
When he texted the address, my heart pounded in my head. It was the Matthewses’ place. Marley must have contacted Morrison Construction to get an estimate for the renovations. What were the odds that I’d be the one called to her property?
At least I’d be able to knock out two things on my to-do list this morning. I got into my truck and drove past the main house onto the road before turning onto the lane that led to the inn. The gate hung off the hinges.
Lila hadn’t been able to keep up with the property in the end, and she was too proud to let us help with much beyond cutting the grass around the house.
I parked next to a small Mercedes convertible. I knocked, then tested the planks in various places on the porch while I waited. When no one opened the door, I used the knocker, hoping it would be louder.
Finally, the door opened. Marley stood at the door in shorts so tiny I barely saw the hem peeking out of her threadbare shirt, which read Sweet Dreams.
I swallowed hard.
Her nipples were hard and clearly visible through the near-transparent material. When I finally made my way to her face, I noticed the redness of her cheeks, the crease in her forehead, and her hair standing on end. “Did I wake you?”
“It’s seven.”
“My boss called and asked me to come over here and do your estimate. His daughter’s sick.”
Her expression softened. “Nolan’s your boss?”
“That’s right. I work for Morrison Construction.”
“I thought you wanted your own business.”
“Dreams don’t always work out.” I wasn’t in the mood to discuss unfulfilled desires with her this morning. I moved into the foyer, forcing her to take a few steps back. I closed the door behind me.
“Your furnace is working.”
“Gram had it replaced before she died.”
“That’s good.” One less thing to be concerned about.
Marley followed behind me, her bare feet not making any noise on the wood floors. “Do you normally do estimates this early?”
“I said I’d stop by to check on things here.”
Her lips turned down. “I didn’t think you meant this early.”
“I go in early, and I wanted to get it out of the way before I needed to be on-site. Where’s your coffee maker?” I moved into the kitchen, needing to do something with my hands. I wanted to touch the back of her thigh, to test the softness of the skin. I wanted to lift her onto the counter and step between her spread legs.
“Gram didn’t have one. She only drank tea.”
The kitchen itself was cluttered with Lila’s things, old newspapers were strewn over the large kitchen table, and knickknacks lined the counters. “It must be hard to be here.”
Marley didn’t respond, so I turned to face her.
She leaned a hip against the counter, her arms crossed over her chest. Her expression was pained. “It is.”
“Do you want me to walk through the house and make a list of repairs, or would you rather eat breakfast first?”
“Do what you need to do. I’m going to get dressed. I’ll be right back.” She moved through a door off the kitchen to what I remembered being Lila’s bedroom. It was originally a sitting room, but she’d turned it into her bedroom.
I tried not to think too much about what Marley was doing in there. She was most likely stripping off her clothes. She was naked, with nothing but a thin wall separating us. I pulled at my collar, feeling incredibly hot.
To take my mind off Marley, I wandered the first floor. I took notes of things we could do to improve the place. The kitchen needed to be updated, the fireplace inspected, the wallpaper removed, and the walls painted. The wood floors would need to be refurbished.
