Page 61 of Daddies' Little Troublemaker

“Careful, Trouble,” he mutters close to my ear. “You don’t want to make me lose control.”

I kinda do. But I know that’s a dangerous game.

Once Lincoln is convinced I’m comfortable, and I have fresh-squeezed lemonade and pretzels and my ankle is elevated and surrounded by ice, he starts inside. Everyone watches as he walks away. Nico doesn’t like men, but even they seem to watch Lincoln go with hearts in their eyes.

“Damn,” Brenna says as he goes. “Chloe can have Troy. You have Doctor McScowl. Did you see the way he was looking at you?”

Her voice carries and Lincoln nearly misses a step before recovering his stride. My friends and I dissolve into giggles.

It’s very clear to me that my friends are now Team Lincoln.

But I want him all to myself—him and Caleb.

I grin to myself. Maybe Maya’s laughing accusation was right, and I am a selfish bitch.

* * *

Caleb

Sims, it seems, has hired another couple of duds. I like the man, but I don’t know if he’s cut out for managing a build of this scale. As we lean over the blueprints, troubleshooting an old water line that isn’t where the city’s plans said it was supposed to be, I say, “Sims, what do you think of Ericson?”

To his credit, he says, “Hiring him was a mistake.”

I nod. “And what are you going to do about it?”

“Let him go?” He hesitates. “His wife is pregnant. Twins. She’s on bed rest, can’t work.”

That changes things. “Don’t let him go yet. But if he doesn’t come around after you talk to him, he’s going to have to find other work. We’re managing a multi-million-dollar project, not running a charity. Let him know he’s on his last chance.”

“Gotcha.” Sims clears his throat. “You’re a good man, Swann.”

“Everyone deserves a chance to make things right.”

Two hours later, I’m walking into Mark’s house. There are a couple of cars I don’t recognize in the driveway, but the house is quiet. I peer through the kitchen window to the back yard. Evelyn is sitting in a lounge chair, surrounded by a few other people her age. One of them shifts to the side, and I see that Evelyn’s leg is elevated, her ankle wrapped up.

I yank open the sliding door and hurry toward her. “What the fuck happened?”

“I fell,” she says. “Relax, Caleb, it’s no big deal.”

“Did you take something to help with the swelling?”

“Yep,” she says.

The curly, blond-haired friend, Sawyer, speaks up. “Lincoln got her all set up with ice and ibuprofen and pretty much promised her the world if she’ll take it easy for the rest of the day.”

“Did he, now? Well, good. I guess you’re all set, then.”

“You could hang with us,” Evelyn says. “Lincoln didn’t seem to want to.”

“Well, he’s crazy like that,” I say. “I’ll be back in a few.”

“Love triangle,” someone whispers.

Shit, I didn’t mean to expose any of this to her friends. But Evelyn’s smiling, unbothered, so I won’t be bothered, either.

* * *

Lincoln

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