Page 2 of Cementing Her Love

“I’ll leave you two to discuss permits and designs. I’ve already checked the online orders and today’s going to be busy, so I’ll just get—” Unfortunately, I didn’t get very far from the counter or Colton’s unnervingly observant stare.

“About that, I’d really like you to work with Colton on the floor design for the new shop. I trust your eye more than mine right now. I’ve been so sleep deprived because of this darn acid reflux, I might revert back to arguing with Colton like we did as teenagers. It’d really help me out if I could come in a couple hours later in the mornings.”

Darn it. She just had to pull the baby card on me. I knew what it was like with one baby interrupting your sleep and still having to work, but now she had a toddler and another on the way and refusing her request would simply be mean. Working with her brother wouldn’t take more than a few hours, tops, right?

We’d outgrown the current space and were working on a new shop in a more central location. Our plan was to have it completed by Thanksgiving. He’d be onto his next project soon enough and there was a good possibility I’d never see him again.

I just needed to tamp down my body’s crazy reaction to him and all his muscles and sexy grin for a handful of meetings, right? Maybe.

I’m not sure what made me look at Colton before I answered her, but I swear I saw a flash of excitement in those near black eyes.

No, that couldn’t be right. Must’ve been the fluorescent lighting. I didn’t know him well enough to read his expressions. It was probably polite acceptance or even sympathy for his perpetually exhausted sister, who’d insisted on working right up until the baby was born.

I tore my gaze from his before I forgot my resolve to appear unruffled and disinterested in him as anything but a guy we were doing business with. “Of course, Bren. Give me a couple minutes to start a pot of coffee and I’ll set us up in the back.” Nodding at Colton, I made a fast exit toward the room in the back of the shop we’d set up for lunch breaks.

I tried to control my racing heart rate as I counted out scoops of coffee grounds. Except I was soon comparing the color of his eyes to my favorite drink. Oh shit, how many was that? Four, five, or six scoops? I settled on five and if it turned out too strong, well we had creamer in the fridge or there was tap water.

Jeez, I couldn’t even make the coffee without daydreaming about him, how was I going to pull this project off without turning into a love-starved fool who hadn’t had sex in over a year because no one had tripped my alert system quite like the former Army Ranger turned cement contractor just did.

Dammit, why couldn’t my best friend's brother be average looking or have an annoying personality or an overbite and severe halitosis at the very least?

2

COLTON

“What? What’d I do now?” I tried to walk around my sister and follow Shayla, but she stopped me with a finger to my chest and a glare I hadn’t been on the receiving end of in years.

“Don’t even think about it.” Brenley poked me a second time and just when I thought she was going to lay into me even more, she broke into a huge yawn. I chuckled, and she rolled her eyes at me. Just like the good ‘ol days.

“How do you know what I’m thinking?” I’m sure she was thinking what I was thinking, but it was fun pulling her chain. I hadn’t been able to in such a long time and if I had to listen to a lecture, it’d be worth it. Being back home in Pineville, back with my sisters and their husbands, plus my nieces and nephew, was exactly what I wanted and needed.

“Do not look at Shay, do not charm her, do not ask her out. She’s my best friend and business partner. And she’s a single mom who doesn’t need good-time-Colton romancing her for a month, then disappearing.”

Well, she wasn’t wrong. But that was the old me. The man I was when I was in the military was someone who had no interest in settling down, having kids, and a mortgage. But retired ranger Colton had come back home for a reason. And I was just lucky enough that Shayla was still single.

Not that she’d ever given me a second glance when I first met her at Brenley and Hayden’s wedding last year. Her little girl hadn’t been feeling well, and they’d left early. But not before she’d made an impression on me.

With her blown pupils and sweetly flushed face after we’d been tangled up in each had nailed it for me. Oh, yeah, she’d felt our connection, and I wanted to prove to her and Brenley it could be so much more than that.

There was something about Shayla Morales and no amount of warning from my sister was going to keep me from my goal.

“Brenley, I’m not going to try to convince you I’ve changed. But I have. You’ll just have to trust me. But it’s not really up to you, is it? Would it surprise you if I told you I’m no longer just looking for short-term hook-ups? No, don’t answer that. I haven’t been around that much, but that’s changing now, right? I bought some property to build a house. I started my own business and heck, I might even get a dog, or maybe a cat. Cats do better on their own, right?”

My sister had crossed her arms during my mini-speech, but she didn’t look convinced.

“I’m home for good. Ready to be the fun uncle and not be alone anymore. I played soldier and now I’m ready to settle in, settle down and find someone to?—”

“Play house? Is that what you want, Colton? You think you can just get a mortgage, slap a decal on the side of a work truck and you’ll be satisfied with a hard day’s work that doesn’t involve carrying a weapon and defending democracy? You’re telling me you’re now a one-woman man?”

Wow, neither of his sisters had expressed their opinions about his personal life before, but he supposed from their perspective his constant deployment to places he couldn’t tell them about and his lack of long-term relationships if nothing else had been consistent. To convince Brenley he’d changed wasn’t going to happen overnight. He hadn’t seen much of Thea, their younger sister since he’s moved back, but I’m sure her reaction would be the same.

“That’s pretty harsh and completely understandable. So, I’ll just have to prove to you that despite the way I lived when I was in the service, I want a different life. I want what both you and Thea have found.”

Brenley’s face softened, but she didn’t say anything for so long I began to worry. “Why am I getting the vibe you’ve already found someone? And that someone has no idea how tenacious you are?”

I relaxed my clenched hands and shook my head at her backhanded blessing. “Well, at least that’s a step up from annoying.” I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and said, “I better not keep her waiting. Grab some coffee and I’ll see you, Hayden, and the kids at dinner tonight, okay?”

The bell over the door jingled and their cashier, followed by an early bird customer, entered. Perfect timing. Bren would be distracted, and I’d have time to impress, hopefully, Shayla with my ideas and maybe convince her to have dinner with me this weekend.

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