“She won’t need to use her charms. I can get the materials—at no cost.”
“Then it’s a go?” Harold asked.
Through of veil of frustration, Reece nodded his acceptance.
“Great.” Harold dug into his pocket. “Devon, here’s a key to the vacant storefront I own down the street of the Seafarer. You’ll find the door and windows in the back room. Then you all can start with the cottage tomorrow.” Harold turned, hiding his pleasure as he strolled off.
Tomorrow would certainly be interesting.
Chapter Two
Morning came way too early. The sun barely peeked over the white-crested waves of the Atlantic, while fiery ribbons of orange and yellow stretched across the dusky horizon. A light fog circled her ankles like crawling snakes weaving in and out. Even the coach lights aligning the streets remained lit, casting a blue hue over the sleepy town.
Tabby yawned, wondering why the hell she had stayed at the Seaside Pub, Hauk’s bar, until after midnight. Of course, she knew the answer. One stubborn-assed man had suggested she call it a night after refusing to dance with her. Not that there weren’t plenty of men offering to partner her. With the influx of tourists and locals, Hauk’s place had been packed for a Tuesday night.
She was still stewing over Reece’s rejection when she missed a broken stone in the road. The pothole caught the heel of one of her knee-high boots and she stumbled.
A peel of laughter greeted her. “Too early for you, sis?”
Glancing over a steaming cup of coffee, Reece muttered, “Perhaps you shouldn’t have stayed out so late.”
Well, crap. If the day began like this, it was sure to get worse in a hurry.
“I’m here, aren’t I?” So she wasn’t at her best in the mornings. “Any coffee left?”
“No.” Devon smirked. “Should have gotten here sooner.”
Ohhhkay. She saw what was going on here. The fact that she wasn’t needed during this phase of building hadn’t escaped her. But if they thought she was falling for their scheme to make it rough on her so she’d quit, they’d better think twice.
She squared her shoulders and smiled, an action she didn’t quite feel up to at the butt-crack of dawn. “So what do you want me to do?”
“Well, since it was your idea to use scrap lumber from around here,” Devon’s shifty gaze darted toward Reece and then back at her, “we thought maybe you could pull the old nails out of that stack of plywood over there.”
Pulling nails—she could do that.
Turning toward the large pile of wood, she paused. Hmmm. The nails didn’t look all that old. Surely they wouldn’t have— Nah, even Reece and Devon wouldn’t go to all the trouble of hammering nails in just so she could extract them, especially since they were working against time. She pinched her lips together, wondering where to start.
“Here. You might need this.”
She pivoted, running right into Reece. Her startled gaze caressed up his broad chest, swept past his obstinate chin to settle on hazel eyes, more blue than green. A sharp inhale pulled the fresh scent of shaving lotion and cologne, a woodsy aromatic fragrance, deep into her lungs.
“Do you know how to use a hammer?”
“Hammer?” He smelled so good she couldn’t help moving closer. When his offensive remark finally struck home, she placed her palms on her hips and her eyes widened. “Uh. Yes.” But her irritation didn’t last long.
There had always been a magnetic attraction when it came to Reece, a need to be near him, even in childhood. When she had fallen in love with him, she couldn’t quite place a finger on. Yet as his voice and body changed, so had her sexual awareness. Now, all he had to do was look her way and desire sprang to life, raising havoc with her hormones and libido. Like now, with each shallow breath she inhaled, her nipples were sensitive peaks rasping against her T-shirt. But the icing on the cake was the incredible warmth spreading through her veins. Not to mention the moisture building between her thighs.
He grinned down at her as if he could read her mind as well as her heart, and she had the good sense to blush.
“Did you want to see the blueprints before we begin?”
She blinked, hoping her expression wasn’t one of a lovesick puppy. “Blueprints?”
“You know, those paper things containing technical drawings that document an architectural design.”
Fighting a grin that tugged at the corner of her lips, she hissed, “Smartass.” One of the things she loved the most about him was he could always make her laugh. “I know what blueprints are. I just didn’t know you had any for this project.”