Page 13 of Summoning my Grumpy Demon Boss

I’m about to put my phone away and redirect my attention to my task, when it buzzes in my hand. The screen shows an incoming call from Wilson Construction.

“Hi.” I catch myself smiling as I answer.

“Hey, Mia, I was calling to check how you’re going. I’m done on the floor and they need to set anyway. Do you need me to come collect the new feature tiles?”

“Ahh, about that... I haven’t exactly found the right ones yet.”

A soft chuckle from the other end of the line. “It’s hard committing to something when you know you’re gonna live with it for the next ten or twenty years, huh?”

I shift uncomfortably. I can’t help feeling like his words have a deeper meaning. I’m sure it’s only in my head. “Yeah. Oliver had this vision, but I can’t find anything that fits.”

“Hmm. Maybe you gotta rethink the vision. Or wait and we can order some online and have them delivered.”

I shake my head though he can’t see me, of course. “No. I hate to be such a hassle. I’m sure I can find something. Just give me another half an hour.”

“Listen, I’m going to take a break. Why don’t I come up there and let’s see if we can find something together. Sometimes it helps to have another set of eyes.”

He’s absolutely right. I really wanted Oliver to call so I could send him some photos and he could be that extra set of eyes. It isourplace after all. Or it will be after we’re married. But seeing as he won’t even read my messages, I’ll take what eyes I can get. “As long as it’s not too much trouble. If you have another job you could work on—”

“It’s no trouble at all. I’ll see you soon.”

I hang up, feeling strangely giddy at the thought of Luke Wilson coming to pick out tiles with me. It’s innocent enough, but it still feels somehow intimate. As if I should be feeling guilty about it.

I don’t, though. I just feel excited.

I’m wandering the aisles aimlessly, thinking about this and the fact Oliver still hasn’t called or replied, when somethingcatches my eye. A display of feather shaped tiles in a variety of soft greens calls to me. Gathering a bunch of different ones in my arms, I begin laying them out in different patterns until I find just the right one.

So that’s why Luke finds me squatting on the floor of the tile shop, lifting one tile, replacing it, tipping my head to the side, and muttering to myself like some sort of crazed parrot. I stand, intending to grab another dark green tile. Turning suddenly, I run straight into a wall of warm, solid muscle. A wall of warm solid muscle that smells absolutely amazing. “Oh!”

Two firm hands around my upper arms steady me and my own hands tighten reflexively in his shirt as I catch myself.

“Hey.” His tone is warm and slightly amused.

I flush. “Hey. Sorry. I didn’t know you were here.”

He releases me, stepping back. “Yeah, uh, sorry. Didn’t like to disturb you. You looked like you were concentrating.”

He must have been standing there watching me hunch over the tiles on the floor like a gremlin. Oh, my god. Scratching the back of my neck, I flush even harder. I’m sure my cheeks are bright red by now. “Yeah. I get kinda focused when I get inspired, I guess. I suppose that’s why I love art so much.”

“Oh, you still draw? You didn’t give it up?”

I shake my head. “No. I mean I did sort of. It’s just that I don’t have much time these days. But I still draw and paint. When I get a chance.”

Luke smiles. “I’m glad. You’re so talented. Shouldn’t waste it.”

I flush. He’s being kind, of course. Like he always is. Has he even seen my painting? He’s seen my drawing, but I don’t thinkhe ever saw anything I painted. “Thank you. Never talented enough to make it my day job, though.”

“We’ll have to agree to disagree there. But you enjoy law? You like all that courtroom stuff?”

“Oh, not me! I’m not a barrister. That’s the kind who talk in court. I just hide in my cave and prepare case notes. I always hated public speaking.”

He laughs. “Well I’m with you on that. I remember back in school my English teacher told me I had to give some speech. I was ‘sick’”—he pauses to make inverted commas around his face as he says the last word—“for a whole week until Mum made me go see the doctor and I was finally forced to confess I just didn’t want to talk in front of the class.”

I nod. “Yep. Totally sounds like something I would have done. Except, my parents would never have let me stay home for a whole week. Not unless I was actually hospitalized!”

“See that’s why you went to uni and I ended up here. Dropped out of school just as soon as I could get my first apprenticeship.” Luke spreads his hands. “Well, that, and the fact that you’re a hell of a lot smarter than me.”

“No.” I smile up at him. It’s funny how standing so close makes me far more aware of how much taller he is. “That’s not true. You’re running your own business and creating beautiful renovations. I’ve seen the work you did on the clifftop place last year. Oliver showed me on your website when he first wanted to hire you. It looks amazing. I don’t think you could have done that if you weren’t smart.”

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