Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 82747 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82747 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
"Why would you do that?"
I tilt my head and stare at him for a long moment, unsure of how he wants me to respond.
"So they don't think we're sleeping together," I mutter.
He steps in front of me, blocking my path before I can reach the front door. Mrs. Easter is one of the biggest gossips in town, and she prides herself on being the first one to start whispering. Her posts always get approved in the online town group.
"Are you embarrassed by me, Riley?"
My eyes dart across the room, trying to find a place to look that's anywhere but on his person. He pulls in a deep breath when I don't answer.
"I guess that's something I'll have to work on then," he says before stepping out of the way.
When we make it outside, I head straight for his truck rather than across the street to clear things up with Mrs. Easter, and I know she gets an eyeful when he opens the passenger side door for me and waits for me to settle inside before closing it. I can't figure out who he really is. Is he the gentleman that he just acted like or the man who asked me if I wanted to walk home after that first night we spent together?
Chapter 20
Mac
I have no idea how long it's going to take me before I stop hating her just a little when I step inside my house.
There's no point in trying to avoid looking at the mess in the kitchen because it's the entire reason we're here.
I knew the second that the words came out of my mouth that it was going to be a very bad idea to have her here. She's a distraction that I don't need, and that distraction is why my kitchen went up in fucking flames.
I'm not a narcissistic asshole. I know I played a large part in what happened. Hell, I'm man enough to admit that it was probably ninety-five percent my doing, but what angers me the most is that she has the ability to even make me lose my head in the first place.
Riley Wilson wasn't even on my radar several weeks ago, but now she's all I seem to think about. Thoughts of her take over my day, and they trail into my nights, my mind conjuring up all sorts of things we could do together.
I growl in annoyance as I walk past her toward the mess in the kitchen.
"Gosh," she says as if she wasn't here the night the damn thing caught on fire.
I've been back here a couple times, but I could never get past bringing my toolbox inside. I feel gutted when I think about the amount of work that went into making this kitchen perfect, and it's almost enough to make me not want to tackle those same jobs again, but the house deserves more from me than the level of energy I have for it right now.
"You'll need a mask," I say when she inches closer.
I point toward the open toolbox on the counter.
"I don't have asthma," she says.
"There's a ton of soot in here. Wear a mask, Riley."
She holds her hands up in mock surrender at the tone in my voice, but I don't bother explaining why it's such a big deal. Instead, I grab one for myself, wishing the thing she slips over her head that covers half her face did something to lessen just how sexy I find the woman.
This was a bad idea, in a series of bad ideas, but I'm here and since I have lined out what my crew needs to be doing, it's one of the few days I can spare to get some of this work done.
"Do you know how to work a drill?" I ask as I pull a new battery for the thing out of the case.
"I can figure it out," she says, her words slightly muffled by the mask.
"If you get started on pulling the hardware from the cabinets, and then the hinges, I can start pulling them from the walls," I explain. "It should go pretty quickly."
"Can I use that?" she asks, pointing to the sledgehammer.
I pull in a deep breath, pinching the bridge of my nose and taking a few beats before I respond, reminding myself that she said she knows nothing about constructions.
"We won't need that today. I'll be able to salvage nearly every cabinet in the kitchen. They just need to be pulled so I can clean, sand, and restain them all. The flames only ruined the hood vent and the wall behind it."
She chews the inside of her cheek, looking more than a little disappointed that she doesn't get to tear a bunch of shit up.
Eventually, she shrugs like it's no big deal and grabs the drill, starting on the far side of the kitchen on the bottom.