Page 6 of A Very Grumpy Thanksgiving

“Good,” he says, nodding once. “I’ll come by tomorrow and take a look at the house.”

I nod, feeling a strange mix of anticipation and dread settle over me. “Okay.”

As Nolan turns to leave, I watch him go, my heart still racing. This isn’t a romance novel, I remind myself. This is just a deal—a simple arrangement.

Now, I just have to make sure I don’t fall in love with him even more.

FOUR

Nolan

She said yes.

Even now, I still can’t believe that she agreed to my crazy plan.

She must really need help with the house,I think as I head over to her place, my toolbox in one hand and water bottle in the other. I gingerly walk up the creaky front porch steps and knock on the door. Saffron’s car is still parked out front, so I know that she’s home.

She opens the door a minute later and I open my mouth, but no words come out.

I’ve been lying to myself all morning, telling myself that this arrangement is just mutually beneficial, that it’s just a business deal, a transaction, but that’s not true, and as I stare at Saffron, I can’t deny the truth any longer.

I want her. I want her more than anything and I’m hoping that maybe she’ll start to develop feelings for me too over the next few days. Maybe if I’m a good fake boyfriend, she’ll want to make this thing real.

“Morning, I was just about to head out to work, so perfect timing,” she says softly, opening the door wider and ushering me in.

I follow her into the old, rundown kitchen and set my things down on the counter as I look around. The house really does need a lot of work, and I start to make a mental list as I take it in. My eyebrows raise when I see the hammer sticking out of the wall in the kitchen, and she blushes.

“I, uh, I tried to do some repairs myself. It didn’t exactly go as planned,” she mumbles.

I bite back a smile and nod as I turn to survey the rest of the kitchen.

“Are you sure that you can handle all of this?” Saffron asks me quietly, looking skeptical, and I nod.

“Yeah.”

She doesn’t look convinced, so I elaborate.

“My dad owns a construction company, and I grew up working for him. I can handle all of this,” I promise her.

She nods, looking relieved, and then passes me a paper. I look at it and see that she’s made a list of things that need to be fixed.

“I don’t have a ton of supplies here right now, but if you give me a list of what you need, I can go to the hardware store or lumber yard and pick it up today.”

“Okay. I’ll do a walk-through and see what I can start on now and what we’ll need.”

She nods, and we stand there for a moment, staring at each other. Saffron’s face starts to turn pink and I would give everything that I have to know what she’s thinking about right now.

Before I can ask her, though, she blinks and turns away from me.

“I should get to work, but you have my number. Let me know if you need anything.”

I nod, and she nods back and then heads for the door. I watch her leave and then turn back to her place and take a deep breath. Her sweet strawberry scent lingers here. I breathe deeply, enjoying myself as I start to walk through the house room by room.

I make a list as I go, writing down tasks and supplies needed for it. I have enough materials to get started on some of the smaller tasks, so I spend my morning removing most of the small half-bath downstairs. The toilet and vanity are all outdated and need to be replaced, but we need to fix the floor boards first.

“Whoa, you got quite a bit done, huh?” Saffron asks as she comes up behind me in the bathroom.

She seems impressed as she studies the now demolished bathroom.

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