Page 22 of Never Finished

But it was difficult to do that when she was looking at me with so much need in her eyes. I noticed the way her face flushed when I got close—and that she didn’t pull away. My eyes drifted to her full lips, wondering if she still tasted the same—felt the same.

I was about to find out when Joey called out, “Hey boss, we’re all done here. Did you want to check it out before we go?”

I didn’t move a muscle, but Emma’s eyes widened and she adjusted herself, regrettably pulling back.

I bit back an irritated groan, wanting to throttle Joey for interrupting us, even though he was just doing his job. I was the one who was behaving inappropriately, mere seconds away from kissing Emma out in the open for everyone to see.

I cleared my throat before calling out, without breaking eye contact with Emma, “I’m sure it’s fine, go ahead and clock out.”

The corners of her mouth quirked up, and she said, “I don’t want to get in your way…”

“You’re never in the way. Besides, I hire good people. If they say it’s clean, then it is. I just need to shut down our POS system and then I’ll walk you to your room.”

There was the eternal politeness that I found both charming and exasperating. “You really don’t have to…”

This time, I did groan in frustration. “I know that, Emma, but I want to. I’m not done with you yet,” I said before I could think better of it, even though no truer words had been spoken. We had unfinished business, and I would not let this opportunity slip through my fingers. “Besides,” I continued, “you never know who’s lurking in the mean halls of Pine Crest Resort,” I teased.

“Okay,” she breathed. “If you insist, you may escort me to my room,” she relented, but I could hear the laughter in her voice.

I closed out the books and shut down the computers like a man whose ass was on fire and then rushed around the bar holding out my elbow like I was a country squire about to escort the lady of the manor to her palatial space, which ironically, I was.

If anyone would have told me the simple touch of someone’s arm could be erotic, I would have thought they were nuts and yet it felt like an electric current surging between us where our arms met.

“Do you remember touring the expansion of this place with me after all the drywall was up?” she asked as we shared a thankfully empty elevator.

I laughed, my heart racing even harder, realizing she was bringing up the memory of our first kiss.

“How could I forget? That’s when you lured me into a corner and took advantage of me,” I teased.

She swatted at my arm, biting her lip but smiling. The elevator came to a stop, and we stepped out onto the floor, looking at one another, our arms still intertwined at the elbow. “Oh, um, my room is at the end of the hall.”

We began the long walk, and I was grateful her room was on the opposite end of the expansive hallway, so I could delay the inevitable moment when we’d say goodnight.

“I remember,” I started, “you coming over to the new construction site I was working on with my dad since we’d finished framing the addition to the resort.”

My dad’s team built the bones of the structure and then another team hung and finished the drywall while my dad’s crew move on to the next job—a gas station out on Route 14.

I loved working with my dad and making some extra money, but once the job was done, I didn’t have an excuse to see my beautiful new friend Emma. My Dad teased me about not enjoying the scenery at the new job site—a dozen sweaty construction workers. He’d sighed and clapped me on the back. “I know we’re not nearly as nice to look at as that redhead, but you’ll see her again,” he’d encouraged.

It felt like I would never be lucky enough to see her again until later that afternoon, when a familiar BMW pulled up to the construction site.

I remembered how my heart thudded in my chest as I waited with bated breath to see who would emerge from that car. I couldn’t for the life of me fathom why Mrs. Carter would come all the out here but then that familiar redhead emerged from the car and the next thing I knew, a very determined Emma marched over to me, her ponytail bobbing from side to side with every step.

She beamed when our eyes met. “Jaime!” she said with excitement. “I have great news. They finished the drywall at the resort.” I supposed that was great news for her family, but I wasn’t sure why I should be excited about it until she was standing right in front of me—her sweet scent wafting around me and threatening to make my brain short circuit. “I thought if you could take a break, maybe I could give you a tour, you know, show you how all your hard work is shaping up,” she said with bright, hopeful eyes.

I hadn’t been able to hold back my smile, but it quickly melted away when I realized it would be at least a few more hours before I could take a break. But that’s when my dad called out, “Jaime! We’ve got it covered here—take the rest of the day.”

My father was never one for knocking off early. He believed every hour of pay was one more hour of security for our family. I was about to question him, but he threw me a stern look, so I kept my mouth shut. Emma watched our exchange with hope in her eyes and when I turned to her and said, “that sounds great. Maybe I can take you to Mabel’s for a burger afterward?”

Her smile tugged at my heart and made desire streak through me. “That would be nice,” she replied as I packed up my tools. My dad waved at us as we walked to the BMW and it warmed me from the inside out when Emma waved back and said, "thanks for letting me have him for a bit, Mr. Acosta."

I saw the amused smile on my dad’s face and Emma’s words caused a fresh stirring in me that was hard to control as a young man. But my arousal came to a screeching halt as we approached Mrs. Carter’s expensive car. I’d been on the site for hours. I was sweaty and dirty, so I hesitated.

Ever watchful, Emma said, “I’m sorry about the mess in the car. A couple of friends and I went hiking this morning and tracked in a bunch of mud.”

“Your mom won’t be upset?” I questioned, sensing Emma was trying to comfort me before the fact.

She shook her head. “My mom? She’s the one who hikes in the most dirt,” she laughed and I felt instantly at ease, even with my grimy jeans sitting in the passenger seat of Emma’s mother’s car. From there, she took me to the newly dry walled site and as we walked through the empty halls, she slipped her hand into mine. She went on and on about the plans for the expansion and everything that needed to happen before they unveiled it and finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. As soon as we reached an abandoned corner, I’d stopped her nervous chattering by leaning down and laying my lips across hers.

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