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He sat in the seat next to her, worried when the thin wooden legs wobbled a little. “Everything is on schedule so far, but there’s a crap ton of work to go.”
He watched her blow on her tea to cool it down. The action had the opposite effect on his cock. Her full lips sans the peach lip gloss she’d worn earlier in the evening were even sexier than he once remembered. Her cute, oval-shaped face and the delicate line of her neck made him want to brush his lips against her satiny skin just to taste the warmth of her. At one time, it’d been her sweet innocence that had tugged at Vance, but Shayla was older now, and every curvy inch of her was all woman. “What are you doing exactly? Wanda didn’t really elaborate.”
Vance cleared his throat and said, “We aim to turn the diner into a bar and grill. It’ll be bigger, and there will be live music, a few big-screen televisions on the walls, and happy hour. The works.”
She took a sip of the warm liquid and hummed her approval. “That’s a huge project, Vance. Expensive too, I’d imagine.”
He nodded. “We’re trying to keep costs down as much as possible. My company is doing the bulk of the labor, and Brodix has a few ideas on how to pull in more business once we reopen.”
“Did you have to get a loan?” she asked. “And when will the reopening be?”
He tapped his foot on the floor in a lame effort to keep himself in check. She wasn’t up for what he had in mind, at least not tonight. “The grand opening will be April first. That gives us a month and a half. Not a lot of time for such a big job, I know, but there are a lot of us working on it.”
She sat up straighter and offered, “I’d like to pitch in, if I can.”
The idea of Shayla covered in sawdust and driving nails had his lips kicking upward. “Can you swing a hammer?”
“I don’t have any real experience, but I’m a quick study.”
He was unaccountably charmed by the notion that she was offering to help out his family. “Do you have the time? I mean, with your publishing business and all.”
She took another sip of her tea. The towel covering her head started to come unwound, and Vance had the urge to yank it off her and toss it to the floor, along with her clothes. “I’m sure I can work it in,” she said as she placed the mug back on the table. “A few hours here and there are better than nothing, right?”
He gave that some thought and knew she had it right. Besides, if she was at the diner helping him, then he’d have her close. Not a bad deal, all things considered. “What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?” he asked. “We can head over there, and I can show you around, if you want.”
Her eyes brightened. “I’d love that. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. Wait until you’ve seen the mess you’re about to walk into.”
She reached up, grasped the towel and pulled. It fell away from her head, and a tangled mass of wet red hair fell down around her shoulders. Vance reached out and fingered a lock. “I’ve always loved your hair, Shay. So soft and baby fine.”
“Thank you.” She yawned. “Oops, sorry.”
“You’re exhausted. Come on,” Vance said as he stood and reached out a hand. She took it willingly and smiled up at him. “How’s your stomach?”
He watched her swallow. “Better. Much better.”
“Good, but you need a good night’s sleep.”
“You’re leaving?”
She sounded disappointed. Hell, Vance knew that feeling well. He cupped her face in his palms and whispered, “Only because you aren’t one hundred percent right now. Tomorrow, when you’re feeling better, I plan to make up for it.”
Her gaze turned drowsy as her small hand came up to cover his. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Vance groaned and lowered his head. When their lips touched, the fire inside him built to an inferno of need. Her lips were the sweetest temptation. For a moment, he allowed himself free rein. He forgot that he was supposed to leave. Everything went up in smoke as the flavor of her fresh mint toothpaste and warm tea hit his tongue. Vance licked her bottom lip and sucked it into his mouth, nibbling and enjoying the eager sounds she made. She arched against him and whimpered, as if ready to plead for him to fuck her. He wanted to. God, how he wanted to. He would take her hard and fast. Slow and easy. He wanted her in so damn many ways it made his head spin.
When Vance reached out and massaged her left breast through the heavy sweatshirt with the palm of his hand, Shayla shuddered. He skated his lips over her cheek to her neck. He licked a spot just above the neckline of the sweatshirt, and Shayla let out a greedy sound. As he cupped the back of her head, her wet hair against his hand brought Vance back to reality. She wasn’t up for this, he reminded himself. Not an hour ago, she’d been hugging the porcelain. Christ, he was a royal ass.
With the last remnants of his willpower, Vance pulled away from her. “Sleep, honey,” he whispered. “You need it.”
“Uh, I’d rather do other things right now,” she said as she reached out for him. He took her hands in his and kissed the backs of her knuckles before dropping them away.
“Think of this as the end of chapter one,” he said. “Tomorrow we’ll get to chapter two, I promise.”
Shayla wrinkled her nose and plopped into the chair. “In that case, chapter two better be fantastic, because I’m not happy how this one ended.”
He chuckled and crouched in front of her. “Chapter two is going to be explosive. Just you wait and see.” He kissed her one last time, needing another taste of her, then said, “Two o’clock sound good to you?”
