Page 46 of Hard Hat Hottie

Reaching over, I turn his face to meet mine, my fingertips stroking the sexy scruff on his chin. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

His face, while anguished, seems to possess a more hopeful glow about it. “I never bring anyone here, Harlow. Well, there’s never been anyone I’d want to. Until now.”

Leaning in, I give him a chaste kiss, trying to comfort him in any way I can.

“I should’ve explained before I brought you here. I don’t share much of my personal life. It’s… well, it’s a lot.”

My gut feeling is that he’s afraid it’d only scare someone away. But in my experience, that only means they weren’t meant to be in the picture. “Is it dementia?” I ask tentatively.

“Yeah, how’d you… Oh, duh.”

“I see it a lot. She lives with you then?”

“Yes.” His voice is so soft. Fragile, even.

“Harrison?”

He closes his eyes, his chin dropping to his chest upon hearing his name. That defeated look has returned, replacing the hopeful one from moments ago.

“I’m not sure it’s possible.” I stop, licking my lips. The last few moments have caused my mouth to dry up like the Sahara. “But I think I might like you even more than I did when you rocked my world a few minutes ago.”

His head springs up, eyes wide, just before the most dazzling smile crosses his face. His green eyes glistening as he looks at me with such reverence it makes me tremble. Reaching up to cup my cheek, he strokes it with the pad of his thumb before lowering his mouth to mine for another kiss. It’s tender and sweet, and my knees nearly buckle beneath me as he nibbles on my lower lip.

“Come back to bed,” I whisper.

“Harlow,” he breathes against my lips. “Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything.”

Rubbing my eyes at the sun pouring through the sliding glass doors, I’m momentarily muddled. Then I find a hard, unforgiving slab of white fiberglass draped over my belly. Glancing down, I have to squint to make out the drawing on the top. It looks like a heart. Is that Mom written within it? It’sa mess. Maybe Harrison has a small nephew. It reminds me of Alec’s writing.

“Good morning.” The gravel in his voice causes my lower belly to tighten. But after last night, I’m not sure I want to repeat anything that might give the other residents of this house a wake-up call.

“Morning,” I reply.

“You sleep okay?” Gah, that voice. Lifting my head to take him in, I find his gorgeous face smiling back at me, his hair rumpled to perfection. I’m not eager to leave this. His chest was the perfect pillow. I swear, this man is sex personified. “Harlow, you all right? I know last night was?—”

“It was perfect.” And it was. I’m not giving this man any doubts. The introduction to his mother and Joyce may have been terrifying, but the moments leading up to it were so delectable. I wouldn’t change a thing. I readjust his arm so I can curl into his side. “Who knew all of those weeks of saucy hello’s as I came to work could turn into this?” I giggle.

Harrison’s arm wraps a little tighter around me, and I snuggle into his embrace. I can’t imagine he’s hiding a wife and kids from me, but I’ve been burned enough to know I can’t assume anything anymore.

“Harry?”

“Yeah?” I feel a kiss to the top of my head.

“I should’ve asked before we got here. And I wish meeting your mother was enough.”

His arm stiffens, and I can almost feel him retreating.

Rolling back, I glance up into his sexy face to find little worry lines crinkling at the edges of his eyes. Heck, even those are hot. “I’ve had a really bad run of luck with men. Like, really bad. I told myself I was done. But… well, I can’t fight this. You aren’t married or involved with anyone, are you?”

His body visibly relaxes as a wide grin crosses his face. “No.” He chuckles. “I told you I don’t bring anyone here. I have the same luck with women.” He shakes his head. “Okay, maybe just one. But my life has been hard enough to juggle with work and the one you met last night.” He turns away from me, looking toward the rays of sun breaking through the glass. “This situation isn’t easy. And it’d take a special person to want to become a part of this chaos.”

I’ve only just met this man. While I want to comfort Harrison and reassure him I’m all in, I’ve been there, done that. I can’t keep living my life this way. As much as I feel more comfortable here than I have anywhere with a man. Demented mother wanting to join us after sex or not. “You’re right. I’m sorry if you’ve had women in your life who couldn’t understand and be there for the both of you.”

His head rotates back to me, an expression I can’t quite identify peering at me. This man looks as if he’s lived a thousand lives in this moment. There’s an odd sense of pride building in my chest for someone I barely know. But again, I tend to jump into things with both feet without allowing someone’s true character to have a chance to bloom. I need to be more cautious this time. I have children who could get hurt, and as much as I’d like to tell him about them, he has a lot on his plate. I’m not sure this is the time for that conversation.

“Thank you.”

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