Bad Boy Rebound(14)

“I get it. You’re home and no doubt overwhelmed,” she remarked, flashing a tight smile. “Nice place, by the way.”

Kara had never been the kind to blow smoke up anyone’s ass, so I knew she was being sincere. “Thanks. It will be even better when we’re done.”

“Well, we’d better get back to work,” Toby said, snatching the apple crisp off the railing. “Nice to see you, Kara. Tell Marcus I said hello.”

“I will,” she replied, watching Brax and Toby walk into the house. The second the door shut behind them, she turned to me. “You lucky bitch.”

Oh my God, I had missed her. This was the Kara I remembered. The girl who said it like it was, who sugar-coated nothing. If you didn’t want to know the truth, then you didn’t ask her. “What?” I asked innocently.

“What do you mean, what?” She shook her head. “Brax Mitchell is your contractor. Talk about the ultimate eye-candy.”

I smiled. “He’s my brother’s best friend, Kara.”

“And?” Her brows lifted all the way to her hairline. “I’m happily married, and I would definitely use Brax as my hall pass any day.”

A hall pass was a person you could have a no-strings-attached overnighter with, and your significant other couldn’t get mad about it. “Don’t most people use celebrities for a hall pass?”

“Well, Brax is a local celebrity.”

I offered her a seat in one of the two resin chairs I had pulled out of my parents’ shed. “What do you mean?”

She sat down, and I hoped she’d stay on topic.

“First off, where do I start? The boy is drop-dead gorgeous, and rumor has it…” she leaned toward me. “He’s hung like a horse. Seriously, Jenna Cartright said he’s nine inches long and as thick as her wrist.”

I glanced at my wrist, and my thighs instantly tightened. “I’m sure she’s exaggerating.”

“If it’s bogus, then why is it that every girl he’s slept with says the same thing—that he’s well-hung and he knows how to use what God gave him?”

Great, as if I wasn’t already fantasizing about him in my dreams. Now I was toast.

I glanced over my shoulder at the large window. I could see the boys pulling up the flooring. I turned back to Kara. “So what do you know about his ex?”

“Which one? The bikini barista chick?”

“Is she the latest?” I asked, hoping Brax and Toby couldn’t hear us.

She nodded. “Pretty girl, but the second she got her hooks in Brax, she went all stalker on him. She followed him around town and would park outside his house at night. Just weird shit. Stuff you don’t want to do, especially in a new relationship.”

I could feel my cheeks growing warm. “Was he being unfaithful?”

“Not that I know of…but I’ll be honest—Brax isn’t known for commitment. About the time any girl gets serious, he puts the brakes on fast. My warning to anyone interested in him would be to just enjoy the ride and expect nothing. He’s a heartbreaker, that one. Always has been and always will be. That’s part of his appeal, I think. Girls can’t seem to hold onto him. He’s the quintessential bad boy who is impossible to tie down.” She breathed a sigh. “What’s not to love about that?”

I’d had my heart broken, so there was a lot I didn’t like about hearing that Brax had a track record when it came to women. “So basically he’s the one-night-stand kind of guy.”

She nodded. “Yep, and therefore—the perfect hall pass.”



I laughed at that.

“And you have him underfoot for how long?”

“Six weeks to two months.”

“Oh my God, if I were you, I would stretch out this motherfucking renovation for the entire summer. And hot days are coming, so he’ll most likely be shirtless the majority of the time.” She released a heavy sigh. “I can envision it now—sweat dripping down that chiseled six-pack of his. Be sure to snap some candids for me, will you?”

I heard Toby cuss loudly from inside.

Her eyes widened, and I stood up. “I’d better get back in there and help out. Part of the deal was I had to pitch in right alongside them.”

“I wish!” She stood and swung her purse over her shoulder. “Yeah, I suppose I better go get the brats.”

“Bring them by sometime. I’d love to see them.”

“I live over off of Horseshoe Lake. You know the little cul-de-sac?”

“Yeah, Jake Livingston lived on the corner.”

“I’m the brick house, dead center.” She leaned in and gave me a hug. “Oh, and give me your phone.”