Page 2 of Texting the Handyman

She waves me goodbye from the door, and as I climb into my truck, there’s only one thought in my head: I need to see this girl again.

I fish my phone out of my pocket to send an apology text to the next client, only to find they’ve canceled their appointment. Not only that but there’s a text from Hailey.

Slightly confused, given the fact I’m still outside her house, I open the message and nearly crash my still-parked car.

Clearly, this text was not meant for me, but fuck am I glad I got it.

Hailey Blake:Can’t stop staring at his arms. It’s like real life porn. The veins?! I bet he’s handy with more than just washing machines…

I’m only stunnedfor a brief second before I’m moving. The truck door slams behind me as I race back up the garden path to her front door.

Now that I know she feels even half of what I feel for her? There’s no way I’m leaving here without my girl.

2

HAILEY

This isn’t the first time I’ve hired someone to help me around the house, but it is the first time I’ve hovered around them the entire time they’re trying to work because they’re so damn hot I can’t tear myself away.

Harvey Neil really should include his sheer attractiveness as a warning on his website because,holy shit.

Annoyingly, it’s not just his looks that have me reeling. No, the man has the personality to back it up. He’s taken all my comments in stride and fired back with just as much boldness and teasing.

I’m fully aware that I should leave him alone to work and give him space, but it’s like there’s an invisible tether between us I can’t walk away from. I’ve never, in my twenty-four years on this earth, felt even an ounce of the attraction I feel for this man who I’ve only just met. How am I supposed to just go about my day like normal now? Maybe I can film a ‘day in the life’ video and subtly feature the hottest handyman I’ve ever seen.

I shake my head at myself, pushing the insane thoughts away. I need to get a grip. I’ve never been one to be boy-crazy. Hell, I haven’t had a boyfriend in … well, forever. It just hasn’t seemed worth it until now, and seeing all the drama my friends go through with men has been more than enough to confirm I made the correct decisions. More than that, I’ve just never met a man who made me want to share a life with him.

Well, until now.

My to-do list for the day is still whirring around the back of my mind, taunting me. I really need to go and finish the vlog that’s supposed to be posted tomorrow, the one that’s only half edited that I promised myself I’d finish this morning, but every time I try to make my feet take me out of the laundry room, my body refuses to comply.

Driving myself insane, I pull my phone out, needing to get these thoughts out of my brain. There’s a text on my screen from my manager, Lucas, and I pull a face as I decide to completely ignore him for a minute. I’m not in the mood to deal with him right now.I’ll answer him later, I tell myself, as I pull up Steph’s contact and text her, screaming in all caps about the fact the handyman I hired could be a damn model. She texts me back immediately, laughing and demanding I take a photo for her.

I immediately decline that request but happily type out another text, explaining in detail how muscular his arms are and how confidently he handles his tools, knowing that my best friend will never judge me for what I’m saying.

“Satisfactory enough?” Harvey asks, jolting me out of my thoughts and making me realize I’ve just been staring at him like a total creep.

“Oh, yup! Looks good,” I stammer out, feeling my face go pink as I make a total fool of myself. Hastily, I tap my phone screen without looking, sending the text, and shoving my phone away before he can ask what I’m doing.

The sound of a phone buzzing breaks the tension, and Harvey’s face changes as though his phone going off has brought him back to the real world, too. The washer’s fitted, and though I know exactly nothing about any of this stuff, it looks like he’s done a damn good job.

I’m almost disappointed. If he’d made a mess of this job, I’d have a reason to ask him to stay longer. I’m racking my brain, thinking about what else I can get him out to fix. Maybe if Iaccidentally on purposebreak my sink?

God, what’s gotten into me?!

I see Harvey out with a smile, despite my inner scheming, and the second I close the front door, I collapse against it, my heartbeat thudding heavily against my chest. We did nothing but banter and yet my body feels like it’s primed for so much more.

I force myself up, heading for the kitchen to grab a drink of water. Halfway through gulping it down, though, there’s a loud knock on my door. My heart jumps again, hopeful anticipation filling me. What if it’s Harvey? I shake my head, trying to calm myself down. It’s probably just Lucas coming to see why I haven’t answered his messages yet.

Setting the glass down, I smooth down my dress and take a deep breath before answering the door.

“Harvey,” I say, a little stunned but trying not to show it. “Did you leave something behind?” I step aside to let him in, assuming he’s left a tool or something.

Harvey steps inside but doesn’t step past me, instead stopping directly in front of me, staring down at me with sea-blue eyes. I let go of the door, and it slams closed, but neither of us jump at the loud noise, too caught up in the cloud of heated tension surrounding us.

“Yeah, as a matter of fact, I did. You,” Harvey answers, his voice low and gruff.

My mind whirs as heat skitters over every inch of my skin. “W-what?” I stutter, sure I must have heard him wrong. Am I daydreaming or something?

---