Today he had wanted to try and ease her into a friendship. He had heard that she was going to be moving back to Ambrosia and she was just the kind of woman he was looking for. Well, at least from what he could remember. But she showed up looking awestruck by the house behind him and so damn sexy in jogging clothes that he had lost all train of thought. She definitely wasn’t the same girl any more but she was an even better woman.
She had slimmed down a lot since high school but wasn’t necessarily skinny. She had a lot of curves and that was more attractive to him than anything. He knew she was what they called a 'plus size' model, just from seeing her in the magazines, but he didn't care about any of that. Her blonde hair had a few extra colors and it had an elegant look to it. There were shades of lighter blonde, a light brown and almost a copper color when the sun hit. It was long and sleek and framed her face. Her blue eyes were the same but had a jaded look in them.
But it was her body that he couldn’t stop starring at. No matter what she remembered, he thought she was beautiful in high school. But now it was the way she carried herself that snagged his attention. She walked and held herself with confidence, which was sexy as hell.
And he wouldn’t be a man if he hadn’t noticed that her breasts weren’t real anymore. They were luscious and full, not too ridiculously huge like some women but definitely more than a handful and more than they had been back then.
She had been wearing a sports bra and a tank top and her breasts had barely been restrained. When she turned to jog away from him, he noticed her shorts were definitely short and he could see the rounded globes of the bottom of her ass cheeks. Damn he had it bad. Fifteen years later and she was still getting under his skin.
He took a couple of deep breaths before he grabbed his belt and tool box and headed up to the house. He had a lot to get done today and if he wanted to do any work on his own house, he needed to get started.
Chapter 3
Daphne pulled into the parking lot of the vacant building and slowed to get a first glance of the place. It was an old brick building near the outskirts of town that had been vacant for a while. She didn’t know how well this venture was going to turnout, but she had bought the building last week. Today she was meeting her contractor for the first time.
With the key in hand, she unlocked the front door and stepped inside. The air was stale, which was a pleasant way of saying it smelled rotten. The building had been built a long time ago and with the amount of time it had been vacant there was no telling what inhabited the building now. Daphne knew she wanted the whole place gutted and redone. This was the third store she was opening in the company, and she couldn’t wait to see what her old town thought of her new business venture.
She was taking a look around the building, trying to get accustomed to the space when she heard tires crunch on the pavement outside. She was expecting her contractor so she wasn’t surprised at the sound.
“Well, I’ll be damned.”
She froze at the sound of deep, husky, male voice and a sense of dread washed over her. It couldn’t be. How did this keep happening to her? Instantly her palms were sweaty and she felt her skin flush.
“Please tell me, that you are here following me and that you are not here because you are my contractor.” Daphne hadn’t turned around yet, because she didn’t want to see his face again. But when there was no response she turned around slowly and saw the look on his face.
“Did you not see my name on the contract that you signed?” He had a confused look on his face.
“I saw the company name when I signed but I didn’t pay that much attention. My assistant is the one who would have spoken with you on everything. I just signed the paperwork.” She ran a hand down her face. “And how about you? If you knew you were going to be working for me, why haven’t you said something by now?” This time her temper spiked. She hated being deceived or lied to.
“There wasn’t a name on any of the paperwork, just the company name. Same as you. Fate has a funny way about things doesn’t it? And what kind of company name is “Velvet and Lace”? Is this going to be a fabric store of sorts?” He backed up a couple of steps. Apparently, he was expecting some sort of anger. He looked around the store and, damn him, he had a slight smile on his face.
He was still wearing the broken–in jeans, but he had changed into a button–down, dark–blue long sleeve shirt. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, exposing his tanned forearms. His brown hair was a mess. But it looked like he had tried to at least finger comb it. Daphne noticed a small bundle tucked under his armpit.