Page 15 of New Year's Renovations

I snagged the coffee he shoved across the bar, happy for the distraction.

“Hey, Logan, what’s up?” The barista handed Logan his drink, minus the shouty voice.

“Hey, man. How’s your sister?” Logan asked. They clearly knew each other; my gut swirled with anxiety, feeling like a total outsider.

“She’s good, man. I’ll tell her you say ‘hi.’”

“Cool.”

Logan turned back to me as I shifted awkwardly in my spot, not sure what else to say.

“Anyway, it was great seeing you again,” Logan said, dropping a tip into the tip jar.

“Yeah, you too.” I smiled, hoping it didn’t look strained.

“See you around.” He gave me a quick wave and walked out the door, a blast of cold air whooshing in and sending a chill down my spine.

After that little chat, the one thing I’d felt good about now left me with serious reservations. I didn’t want to hurt Jackson, so maybe it would be best if I just kept things professional and left Starlight Bay ASAP.

9

Jackson

Icouldn’t believe it, but the Bramblehill House reno was tracking on-time and on-budget. True, we were only two weeks in, but those two things rarely happened, especially at the same time. I swung into the library to give Harper the good news and found her staring at a thick book of wallpaper samples.

“Anything jumping out at you?” I asked. Her head popped up at my voice. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay.” She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, her cheeks blushing pink. “What’s up? And what do you know about wallpaper?”

Her nose scrunched in the cutest way as she pursed her rosy lips together. To be honest, the last thing on my mind right now was wallpaper.

“Not much. You order it, we hang it. There are different types; some you have to glue, others are self-stick. There are also different patterns. A drop pattern is more complicated to hang because you have to line up the design. Unless, of course, you want to drive people mad with unmatched patterns.”

Harper giggled. “No, definitely not. And I’d say you know quite a bit about wallpaper. Here, what about this one?”

I moved in closer, glancing at the sample over her shoulder. I tried not to think about what was under her tight navy leggings and gauzy shirt, my gut tightening as her light floral scent surrounded me.

“It’s nice.”

“Only nice?” Her eyes searched my face and she bit down on her bottom lip.

I shifted, my breath hitching in my throat. I wanted to pull her into me, crush her lips with mine, feel her warm breasts against my chest. I didn’t because it would be unprofessional.

Instead, I swallowed hard and gave my opinion on the wallpaper. “The stripes could be a bit much. Sometimes they ‘dance,’ which can be annoying.”

Harper licked her lip, eyebrows raised. “Dance?”

“Yeah, move around when you shift your eyes. I like lighter stripes, if you’re going to go with stripes at all.”

“Ah, I see.” She thumbed through the book and I worked on not staring at the soft swell of her breasts beneath her shirt. My mind flitted back to the weekend, Harper on my leather couch, wearing only her bra and panties.

“Jackson?” Her blue eyes met mine and I shifted in my now-tight jeans.

“Yeah?”

“What about this one?” She pointed to a light gold-and-white damask pattern.

“Nice, that would look good in here.”

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