Page 14 of Nailing Studs

Finally, I replied.

Hey, Taylor. Thank you for your time in coming out and preparing the bid. Now comes the hard part…I really wish my finances would allow me to fix up the place. I’m gonna have to sell, and sell it as-is. Your bid is great information to have for when I talk to that real estate agent you recommended, though, so thanks for that. I wish things could be different.

It dawned on me that Taylor hadn’t told me how much I owed him for the kitchen sink. About to add another line, I stoppedwhen his reply came through.

Listen, I totally understand. It’s a big undertaking, and learning you’d inherited a run-down house couldn’t have been easy on you.

No, it wasn’t, I replied, wallowing in my self-pity. It hadn’t been easy at all.

At least Dom and I got to meet the great-niece of the Great Tabitha. He added a smiley face on the end of that text.

Well, yes, it was definitely nice meeting the two of you. Glad I could give you cake, too, I typed.

That cake!!!! SOOO GOOOOD. I licked my fingers the rest of the day.

Heat rushed to my core. God, Taylor couldn’t stop being sexy if he tried. If this was how he reacted to having a slice ofcake, how would he react in bed when things got even sweeter?

So glad you liked it, I typed. My ex never ate any of the goodies I was always whipping up. Nice to feed men willing to eat. I wanted so bad to add “I’ll whip up something new if you ever want to come by.” But God no, I couldn’t.

Well, your ex-boyfriend was an idiot. Good riddance, he wrote, adding another smiley face.

I stared at the screen, a deep sadness overcoming me. Somehow, I felt sadder at the prospect of never seeing Taylor or Dom again than I’d felt breaking up with Grant. How was that possible? I needed to nip this in the bud now. Thank him and move on.

Hey, you okay?

Yeah, just thinking how you and my ex are so different, lol.

Screw that guy if he couldn’t appreciate what he had. Me? I’d be eating your stuff all the time. More smiley faces.

I bit my lip and smiled so hard my cheeks hurt. He would eat my stuff all the time? Holy cow, the man was laying it on thick, and I didn’t exactly mind. It was nice to get this kind of attention again.

That’s an…interesting thought, I replied, hoping that wasn’t too flirty. Yeah, right. He was flirting and I was flirting right back. What was I doing? Not five seconds earlier I’d been convincing myself to back away, and here I was spurring the man on to talk about eating my pussy.

Before I saw bubbles to indicate he was typing again, I added, Too bad we can’t do business. Will you tell Dom that it was nice meeting him? Oh, and I still need to know what I owe you for the sink.

Moments passed before the typing bubbles popped up, then his text appeared.

Totally understand. Kayla, you’re an awesome woman and I’m glad I met you. So is Dom. Can we take you out to dinner before you leave town?

My breath caught and I wanted more than anything to respond, Yes, yes, yes!

I wanted to see Taylor again, and Dom, too. And it thrilled me that Taylor made the invitation even knowing that I wouldn’t be giving the Fix-It Guys any more work.

But then my excitement abruptly waned. What would be the point in going to dinner with them? It would just be prolonging my misery, wouldn’t it? Taunting me with what I couldn’t have?

Get the pain over with now, Kayla. Rip off the band-aid.

It actually hurt me when I typed my reply. Thank you, but I can’t.

It hurt even more when Taylor wrote back. Okay, you take care, Kayla. It was a pleasure meeting you. Goodnight.

Goodnight, I wrote hastily, pressing Send before I could second-guess myself. Then, with the phone still in my hand, I hesitated. Was I crazy to turn down another chance to see them? I thought about how Taylor had looked at me earlier today. The way he and Dom had looked at me, actually.

Taylor with his sweet, charming smile, and Dom with his brooding, dark eyes that seemed to see and understand everything about me with one single glance. Taylor with his laugh that sounded delicious, the way fresh baked chocolate chip cookies taste, and Dom, all mysterious and hurt and as dangerous as a wild animal.

Sweet and sour. Hot and cold. Naughty and nice. They wanted me, I know they—

No. No. Do not go there.

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