Page 19 of The Naughty Elf

Sucking in a slow breath, I temper my reaction now, vowing to corner her on my own later.

Ginger lets me be naughty with her. She plays pranks with me. She jumps a foot and squeals every time I surprise her. As crazy as it seems, she’s become my favorite part of the job, myfavorite person to see. If only I could have her when we were off the clock.

Sawyer steps around the counter, cleaning up his lunch. He looks like I just saved him from drowning.

I totally get it. Still, the burning in my chest and the way it spreads through my guts has the green monster clawing at me.

She doesn’t flirt the same way with him. It’s quiet. With lots of looks.

But she lights up when she flirts with me and is brazen. I need to stop comparing us. It’s doing me no favors.

“Have fun, boys,” Ginger calls as I escort Sawyer back to the almost-finished home.

He wipes a hand down his face as we walk.

“Spitfire, isn’t she?” I offer.

Sawyer frowns at me, hands clenched beside him as we make our way inside. The sunken living room has a rock facade spread out on the ground so that it can be applied. We’ve got the functional parts in place already.

Kenny looks up as we walk in. “There you are. You got the plans for this thing, or is it all in your head?”

Sawyer taps his temple with a grimace. He does keep a lot of his ideas up there. Expressing himself outside of working with his hands is not really his thing.

Kenny mixes the light mortar, and Sawyer hands me a trowel. I nod at him, leaning against the wall as he puts the stone pieces in a pattern. He picked every damn one of them out. Most of the time, when we put in a fireplace, it’s standard. The stone overlays fit together easily, and we put it up similarly to how we lay down tile or hardwood.

It doesn’t take Sawyer long to plot out his design, though.

I have to give him props. It’s going to look nice with the mixture of light and dark stone. It’s going to be all warm stone with crystals spread through the more neutral colors. Some ofthe stone has a red tint that matches the colors of the sunken living room.

When we’re given the nod, Kenny and I spread a layer of cement on the drywall and place the bottom stones. We’re slow and precise. And soon, Sawyer is spreading the mortar and placing stones, too. He’s quicker than we are, already knowing what he wants.

I have to give him credit. He’s damn good at what he does. Plus, as a boss, he listens. Helps. Makes my job a hell of a lot easier overall without letting it get boring.

Sawyer always wants to try new things. To create something special for each house, so that it’s not just the surfaces that are different in the few floor plans we build. A house should speak to the person it’s meant for.

After we put up the first third, we all pause to stretch. Kenny groans. “We need another bag.”

Sawyer whips out his company credit card to hand over. “Get two.”

“And one of those energy drinks,” I add, and Kenny nods, heading off to grab the supplies.

When we’re alone, I lean against the bare wall with a palm.

“So,” I say. I clear my throat. “Ginger.”

He straightens, frowning harder.

“The flirting. What do you think about it?”

His hands are on his hips, and he closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. “She never stops.”

I watch as he braces every muscle, clenching his hands and jaw as he rolls his neck.

“No, she doesn’t. But she’s different with us. You can see that, right?” Jackson, too, but he’s not here, so I leave him out of the conversation.

Sawyer nods.

“And it’s obvious we both want her.” I lower my voice, but the admission drenches me in guilt. Mostly.

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