Page 14 of Hold Me Until Morning

“It’s good to see you,” I said, reaching out to shake his hand.

“You, too.”

Matthew leaned in to do the same.

Tyrek was the head of maintenance, and he’d be the one overseeing the entire project. He had long black hair that he wore in a ponytail and a short goatee on his chin.

“Got a call from the guys from Hartville Construction. They’re running late and will be here in about an hour,” Tyrek explained. “I thought we’d get started by walking through the property and plans one more time while we wait for them to show.”

We’d be collaborating with the construction company who’d be working on any actual building construction. Plans had already been drawn up and integrated on both sides so we’d be ready to break ground.

The owners wanted the project complete by the end of summer before the winter crowd flocked here to hit the ski slopes. It was bound to be grueling, hard work. Long fucking hours. The pressure set to high.

But I didn’t get here by taking the easy way out.

“Works for me,” I told him.

I resituated my cap on my head and followed Tyrek out. We treaded up a path toward a grouping of cabins where we were set to begin work first.

Each cabin was getting a new elevated porch with an outdoor fireplace, plus new sidewalks and lit paths that were going to be surrounded by abundant, extravagant flower beds.

Pride expanded my chest. This place might have already been a five-star resort, but my design was only going to elevate it.

“Like we discussed, no guests are booked in this area for the month of June…” Tyrek started to ramble over the details again, reiterating the plan.

I nodded along, following him up the path that weaved through the lush scenery, beneath the enormous trees that swelled above and provided the slightest reprieve from the intensity blazing from above.

We made a circle around the area we were set to begin work first, Tyrek pointing out anything of importance, before we headed back down the walkway toward the maintenance facility that wound around the stables.

My footsteps grew slower when my attention caught on a woman standing by a side door that opened to the rambling stalls.

Her back was to us, and a luxurious fall of blonde hair laced with streaks of maple and honey was twisted in a braid that rolled down her back, topped off with a cream-colored cowgirl hat.

Tight jeans clung to the ample shape of her hips and ass.

When she heard us coming, she shifted to look over her shoulder.

Piercing blue eyes stared back, crystalline, as clear as the river that rolled through the property. The striking contour of her face glinted beneath the rays of light that spiked through the leaves.

My chest tightened and the air suddenly seemed too heavy to draw into my lungs.

Fuck me.

It was Hailey Wagner.

FOUR

HAILEY

What the hell was he doing here?

I tried not to choke on my tongue as I stared at the man who’d stumbled to a stop ten feet away, standing there in all his muscled-up glory, though this time I thought he might be suffering the same kind of shock I’d felt when I’d first seen him last night.

He wore a trucker’s hat with brown curls peeking out at the bottom, a tight white tee, and jeans that hugged his massive thighs in the most indecent of ways.

Only this morning, there were no shadows on his face, and he was lit up like he was a magnet for the rays of sun.

Each accentuating the rugged angles of his face, his strong brow and severe cheekbones. A squared jaw that was covered in a short, trimmed beard.

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