Page 124 of Sweet Wicked Vows

A line formed between his eyebrows. “Hand me a paintbrush.”

He shrugged off his suit jacket and started rolling up his creaseless, white shirt sleeves. I opened my mouth and closed it again at the sight of his tattooed forearms. My stomach flipped at the memories of those arms, those hands exploring every inch of me.

Over the table. In a cloakroom. At my very own work desk.

No, not helpful. Very un-fucking-helpful.

Those memories no longer served any good in my life. They were the past.

I needed to stay focused on the future.

“I don’t need your help.” I tore my eyes from him, ignoring the flush warming my cheeks. “You can go.”

“You open in a week, right?” He refused to stop smiling. It was so unlike him. “You can’t paint this entire place, unpack everything, and then clean it all in a week by yourself. Let me help you.”

Let me show you how sorry I am. Let me show you that everything between us was real.

“Don’t you have more pressing things to be doing?” I said bitterly. “Like running your own business? Or scheming with your brother to try and ruin someone else’s life?”

I regretted my choice of words instantly.

His smile faltered. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than right here with you.”

The words were a sucker punch to the stomach.

I exhaled unsteadily. “You being here, it’s not a good idea. I understand you want to earn my forgiveness, that you think the lie we had is worth fighting for, but I don’t have the energy in me to keep telling you otherwise. I’m too tired, Jaxon.”

“Then let me help you,” he said. “I’ll paint. I’ll clean. I’ll build furniture. I’ll supply you with endless sugary caffeine, whatever you need to get this place ready for opening.”

“I don’t know…”

“You don’t even have to talk to me or look at me if you don’t want to.”

“And what do you get in return?”

“Aside from getting to spend time near you?” The boyish grin took hold once again. “One date is all I ask.”

“A date?” I shook my head. “What part of us spending time together isn’t a good idea, don’t you understand?”

A flash of defeat crossed his eyes before he blinked it away. “Don’t think of it as a date then. Just two people having dinner to celebrate getting this place ready for business. One dinner, that’s all I ask.”

It was a bad idea.

The worst idea.

Spending alone one-on-one time with Jaxon was as beneficial as sucking poison from a deadly snakebite.

I should have sent him away, demanded that he sign the papers, and get on the next flight out of New York.

I should have told him to leave me alone for good.

Instead, I lifted a paintbrush and handed it to him. “You can start with the walls at the front.”

Jaxon was true to his word.

He showed up every morning with two cups of coffee, a fresh bunch of flowers, and cinnamon buns.

On the second day he even brought a coffee cup filled with cream for Bell.

---