Page 6 of Secret Billionaire

A fine line appeared between her brows, “I have no idea. He came, gave me an estimate, told me when he could start, then he never showed. After I left a half dozen messages, he called back and said he was tied up in another project and couldn’t get to mine. Basically, I’m screwed. I can’t find anybody. I’m doing what I can do by myself and practicing patience.” She laughed and said, “YouTube has been a gift from the Almighty! I have dreams for this place.” She took a sip of beer gazing out over the water.

“This location is prime. I think you made a wise investment.”

She gripped the bottle tightly, “Thank you for saying that. You’re the only one. Most people think I’m nuts. I guess time will tell.”

“You’ve gotta start with a dream.”

She turned her gaze back to him and searched his eyes as if looking for something. She must have found it because that warm smile lit up her face again, wreaking havoc with his pulse.

She sighed leaning back into her chair, “I was born a dreamer. That’s the easy part for me.”

Jesse took a long look around, the rotted deck planks, the dilapidated railings, the roof that’s shelf life had expired twenty years ago...the sagging overhang, and God only knew what else was hidden from view. He gritted his teeth trying not to jump in and offer to help. He had stacks of work upon work that he wasn’t caught up with in his own company. He had no business offering his services…and yet…

“I can help,” slipped out before he could stop himself. You dumb ass! How the hell are you going to help!

Her eyes widened as her mouth opened in surprise. “You can? Really? Aren’t you swamped?”

“I can make it work. I’ll have to make a few arrangements, but yes, I’ll help.”

Shrieking, she jumped out of her chair and leaned down to give him a big hug. “Bless your little heart! I’ll pay you anything. I will give you free beers for the rest of your life. I will name my firstborn after you.”

Jesse laughed, a warm feeling spreading throughout his body. “After I take care of a couple of things, we’ll have a business meeting to hash out the details of what you’re hoping to get done this season. Then I’ll give you an estimate. How’s that sound?”

She clapped her hands together then twirled around in a circle. “Are you kidding me? It’s like a miracle. And I’m going to owe a beer to that piece of work from last night.”

“I should be able to stop in here first of next week.” He didn’t know who was doing the talking, because it couldn’t be the business owner, Jesse Carlisle; he knew that he couldn’t bite off one more thing. But dammit, it was worth every little bit of inconvenience he was about to experience, to see her face light up like that. What was it about this woman that made him go all knight-in-shining-armor? He’d never hear the end of it from his crew.

“Should we shake on it?” she asked.

He held out his hand and she slipped her palm into his. She gave him a lopsided grin. “You probably just saved me from financial ruin. Thank you, Jesse.”

He winked at her and said, “My pleasure.” You dumb ass, you’ve really fucked up royally this time. Too late now, not a whole helluvalot you can do about it. But truth be told, he didn’t want to take it back. His body hummed with excitement. He felt invigorated and realized it been too damn long since he’d felt this alive. He’d make this work and the bonus? He’d be able to personally make sure she was safe.

“I’d best be getting back to work. I’ve got to tie up a few loose ends before I can start here.”

Faye clapped her hands together again and let out a squeal, almost a squeak, which made his heart skip a beat. Adorable. Dammit, keeping his hands to himself was going to be a challenge. She lit some kind of fire inside of him. She must have seen it on his face because suddenly she became still. Their eyes locked and the only thing that felt real was the electrified air between them. She blinked and the moment was gone.

Clearing her throat, she said, “I’ll wait to hear from you. I’m here every day from about eight in the morning until closing time. I’m not open for business until four during the off season. Gives me time to work on things.”

“Good to know. I’ll see you around.”

She beamed at him. “I’m so excited I could burst! You’re making my dreams come true Jesse Carlisle.”

He had a spring in his step that wasn’t there a day before and he found himself whistling as he climbed onto his motorcycle.

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