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“For your information, Scar and I plotted how we’re gonna get you back for this.” I waggle my finger in her face, flicking her braid over her shoulder.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t have a good time talking about all the crazies that showed up.”
Rolling my eyes, I bend over and stretch, refusing whole-heartedly to tell her about sucking on Scarlett’s finger. That will go to the grave with me. I mentally tell my dick not to remember either and embarrass me.
“You’re lucky you’re my friend and sister or I’d fire you for unfair treatment of the boss. It was sheer misery having to sit through that, Sav. Never again, you hear me. I got propositioned by a character from a Dr. Seuss book, not sure if it was Thing one or Thing two.”
“And Scarlett?” she asks, being all innocent, but I know her games and I’m not playing into them.
“Met her own fair share of bozos,” is all I supply her. I know what she’s doing, trying to set us up. She’s never been very discreet with her slyness.
She leans against the door frame, her braid slung back over her shoulder, her fingers playing with the end as she laughs. “Okay, I hear you. I will do my best not to meddle in your affairs again. Scout’s honor.”
She holds up three fingers together, but her other hand is behind her back and the mischief in her eyes tells me she is again not playing fair.
“You better uncross those fingers behind your back, sis, or I swear I will make sure they stock the vending machine with only baked chips and dry granola bars, maybe some expired raisins. Oh, and possibly those jelly beans that taste like socks.”
She understands defeat and pulls her other hand out, waving it in my face. “You fight dirty. Fine, fine, I’ll stop. You know I’m just looking out for you.”
I escort her out the door and lock my office behind me. “It’s okay, I survived. I did meet someone, but before you say anything, it’s not what you think. She’s too young, and she has too much fun hopping from one speed-dating event to the other. I’m thinking maybe she’d like Lukas.”
Savy walks with me down the stairs before looking up at me. “No way. Do not set her up with Lukas, anyone but him.”
I snort. “Okay, matchmaker, I’ll send her your way then. Oh, I almost forgot. She’s a freelance photographer, and I’ve hired her to come take pics to update the website. So, you don’t have that added stress on your plate anymore.”
She eyes me curiously for a beat before nodding. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“Anything for you, sis. Anyway, you got time for a round with the rocks? I’ve got some minutes to burn and I feel like paying you back for your dirty little speed-dating stunt by kicking your ass on the wall.”
She spins, facing me while walking backward. “Your funeral, pal. First one to the wall has to scrub out Milkdud’s stall.”
“You’re on,” I say, watching as she takes off jogging the short distance from our offices to the rock-climbing wall. Little does she know there’s no way in hell I’m cleaning out Preston’s cows pen, that’s what Theo is for. Laughing to myself, I run after her, grateful to have friends who care enough about me to push me to do things out of my comfort zone, knowing they’ll still be there if I fall.
* * *
The construction siteis abuzz with busy worker bees when I arrive. Yellow vested, hardhat wearing men carry wood and metal beams back and forth to the frame of the building, the acrid taste of dry dust coating my tongue. Machinery blares, cutting through concrete, hammers thump, and drills whirl, all signs of a work in progress.
Scarlett got caught with a deadline and asked me to come out here to meet with Kellen, who said there was an issue that needed tending to.
Sucking it up, I force myself to pull up my big boy pants and help her out. I have no excuse not to except I don’t want to look at the guy longer than I have to. My fists itch to rearrange his perfect hair and chiseled jaw, rendering him useless for their date. I’m a self-serving bastard and I know it.
The round on the wall with Savy did nothing but amp me up. My body twitches with nervous energy, and the talk with Preston still swirls in my mind.
But some shred of relief floods my system. He essentially gave me his blessing to pursue Scarlett if I wanted to. It’s a big if. What we have right now is so important to me. Fucking it up because I want her in other ways seems selfish and immature.
Would a real man just leave it alone and let her live her life?
Or would a real man go for it?
Groaning, I stifle the urge to swipe off that bright but definitely fake smile on Kellen’s face when he welcomes me over to the table set up near the trailer for employees.
“Hey Greyson, glad you could meet me. I won’t lie. I was a little disappointed Scarlett couldn’t make it.”
“She gets busy at work sometimes.”I wish she was busy tonight and could cancel your date, Mr. Shiny Teeth. What do you do, gargle bleach? I hope they fall out mid-appetizer.
“It’s all right. I’m glad you’re here. We had an issue with a few of the underground water pipes. We have to clear some trees from the SoS property because the roots are too close. Wanted approval before I gave the okay to my men.”
“Plenty of trees left. Go ahead. I don’t want that standing in the way of her project.”
