Page 29 of A Little More

She took a breath to tell him exactly that, to force the words from her lips, but he continued, his warm breath fanning across her neck as he leaned a little closer.

“Tell me you haven’t imagined what giving intothiswould feel like.”

Her throat tightened, breath stalled in her lungs. The seduction in his voice overpowered her denial. The line moved forward, and she did automatically.

Once she got back to Atlanta and put almost two hundred miles between them, she’d call and tell him to back off. For the first time in her life, she’d take the cowardly way out. She straightened her shoulders and joined John at the front of the line. She’d ride back to Ms. Peggy’s house with him, meet Julien at the worksite, and remember why she had come to Statem. Her job. She had a job to do.

7

The thought of trying to make friends with Lexi’s boss flew away the moment he stepped out of his pristine white Jaguar. Julien Charneau gave every appearance of an aristocrat that would kick someone’s ass in a cage fight. His French accent didn’t do anything to soften the hard look in his eyes or the tattoos that covered the man’s forearms. Or the lack of smile under the tightly trimmed beard.

Although Nash knew he was the client, the conversation moved at the same pace as an interrogation. Lexi’s extreme hesitation in going against company policy made perfect sense.

“And the flood plain? Have you assessed that, John?” Julien laid out the plans on the tailgate of Nash’s truck. Thankfully, he’d driven his nice truck and not the dirty one. “There’s a creek that runs behind the property.”

“Yes, I have.” John rambled on, covering the technical logistics for the property’s drainage.

Lexi stood to the side, her curls pulled back into a sexy, twisty thing she’d done with her hair before. A few curls escaping in the late afternoon wind. Her eyes stayed glued to the blueprints. Not once, other than directly talking to Nash, had she even risked a glimpse in his direction. She had better control than he did.

“This property?” Julien tapped the page.

John motioned toward Nash. “He owns that.”

“I live there.”

Julien pointed to the large plots of land surrounding them. “And this?”

“I own that as well.”

Julien’s eyebrow shot up, seeming impressed but not voicing it. How did Lexi stand working for the man? At any point, Nash expected him to challenge him to a duel. He probably would if he knew all the indecent thoughts he’d held about his employee.

Julien looked back down at the prints.

Lexi’s gaze caught Nash’s. A quick flash of heat from them made him grip the side of his truck tighter before she looked away.

Somehow, he’d convince her to go on a date. One date. It couldn’t hurt anything. She had to come down a few more times at least, right?

“Nash?”

Crap. He snapped his eyes away from Lexi and to Julien’s unreadable expression. “Yes?”

“I was asking if you had any investors?”

“No. It’s 100% my investment.” Sink or swim.

Julien nodded a moment, tapped his finger on the paper, and held out his hand. “I wish you luck. I like what Lexi and John have drafted here.”

As Julien squeezed Nash’s hand tighter than necessary in a handshake, Nash tilted his head, wondering why the man felt the need to act this protective over Lexi. Did he have a thing for her?

“I’ll come down again if Lexi thinks it’s necessary. Otherwise, I appreciate you choosing our firm to make your vision come to life.” Julien released his hand. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to have a word with Lexi and John.” He placed his hands in his pockets, his face was devoid of any emotion.

After one quick look at Lexi, and John to make it even, he turned and walked to the edge of the property to wait. The creek bed was nearly dry this time of year. Unless they had a major storm come rolling through or tons of rain dropped north of them, it remained a small trickle. But he’d seen it full, almost to the edge of this property. But it’d take something powerful to crest the creek bank. That had never happened in his lifetime.

He remembered the look on Lexi’s face when she first saw his house. He could invite her over. Not for a meal. The kitchen in that old house had been gutted to the studs and not rebuilt. The main reason he took almost all his meals with either his mom or at the diner.

Julien’s Jag came to life behind him. He didn’t turn. That guy could leave Statem and never return as far as Nash was concerned. Especially until Nash figured out if he refused to let Lexi date because he had some ulterior motive for himself.

“Nash?” Lexi’s smooth voice called from behind him as she approached. He glanced at her as John’s small car pulled away. She stopped near him but not touching, looking across the valley at the house. “What are you doing?”

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