Bad Boy Rebound(12)

My gaze shifted down over his chest and settled in the vicinity of his crotch.

I released the breath and to my horror, it sounded like a sigh, which I quickly coughed to cover.

“Could I get a cup of coffee?” he asked, causing me to rip my gaze back to his. “I could smell it from outside.”

God, I’d been checking out his package, and he’d caught me right in the act. How humiliating!

“Sure,” I said, grabbing a mug from the cabinet and filling it with the too-strong coffee. Seriously, I needed to pull it together.

“Hey, are you going to sit and talk all day, or am I gonna get some help here?” Toby shouted from the back porch, and for once I was grateful for the interruption.

Brax shook his head. “Listen to him. You’d think I was on his payroll.”

Laughing nervously, I handed him the coffee, hoping he didn’t notice my trembling hand. “He’s always been a bit impatient.”

“I’ll be right out,” Brax called over his shoulder. “I’m lucky to have him during the demolition stage. Two hands are better than one. Well, in this case, three sets of hands are better than one.”

I leaned back against the counter. He stared at me for a heart-stopping moment, saying nothing, just staring, and then he walked toward me slowly. My heart pounded with every step that brought him closer. His clean, manly scent permeated my senses and I actually took a step back before I realized I had nowhere else to go.

He reached out, his arm rubbing against mine as he leaned over me. Man, he smelled delicious, his scent and his masculine energy surrounding me. A second later he stepped back, an apple in his hand. “Do you mind? I didn’t get breakfast.”

My throat was so tight; all I could do was nod.

There was a light in his eyes that made me wonder if he knew exactly what he was doing. That he wanted to make me squirm. In the past few days, we’d gotten closer. Our conversations were easy and yet never too personal. It had been more about the different things we liked or didn’t like and nothing about our past relationships. Thank God for that.

“I better get to work,” he said, his gaze slipping to my chest for a split second. “Let’s make sure what few items you do have on the countertops are removed. There’s space on the workbench in the garage to put things.”

“Okay,” I said, my voice coming out in a high squeak. Had I just imagined him checking me out? “I’ll get to clearing the counter.” Putting on some upbeat music, I set to clearing out the kitchen and had it finished in minutes since almost everything was still in boxes.



Because the boys were still busy unloading items, I opened the sample cans of paint and took out a brush, painting a stripe on the wall.

I glanced up to find Toby beside me. “Looks pink to me.”

Brax stood in the doorway. “The granite you picked out is a touch yellow.”

Damn, it had been my favorite of the three. Plus, I had paid seven bucks for that sample, too.

“You could always use it in the bedroom if you really like it,” Brax suggested.

Day one of the actual renovation and already I was failing at home improvement. “I should have brought you with me, Brax.”

“Hey, no worries.” He gave my hand a squeeze. “You can use it in another room.”

As always, with even the slightest contact, I got excited.

He dropped my hand and I crossed my arms, focusing on the wall color. Now that the paint had started to dry, I could see what Toby meant about the pink.

“Try another,” Toby said, stepping back, waiting to shoot me down again, no doubt.

Under the steady eyes of both men, I painted two more stripes.

“Hmmm…” Toby clearly wasn’t liking any of the choices.

“The one on the right looks too gray to me. What do you think, Brax?”

Brax hesitated. It was obvious he didn’t want to hurt my feelings. “Do you remember the quartz countertop that had the pieces of mirror in it that you picked out for the guest bath?”

“The one that was mostly white?” I said, resting the paint brush on the can’s lid.

“Yeah. Maybe we could go with that color in the bathroom. That way we’re mixing it up a bit.”

Bless his heart, he was trying to make me feel better.

“Okay, so I’ll buy a gallon of that, but now I have nothing for the rest of the house and kitchen.” I felt deflated. Maybe I’d just buy white paint and call it good.

“We can head up to the store and take another look. Do you mind?” Brax asked Toby, who shook his head. “Hey, I’m on your dime. Just remember, I’m paid by the hour.”

“Make yourself useful then,” Brax said, grabbing a sledgehammer and handing it to him. “That is, unless Amanda wants to take the first swing.”