Page 29 of Summer Love

I waved a hand at her. "You heard my brothers last night; they want to help. Think of it as our way of giving back to the community."

Elena tipped her head slightly. "The rumors are that you're so busy; you have a wait list of six months or more."

I winked at her. "It's a good thing you have an in with one of the owners, then, huh?"

Elena's lips curved into a smile.

When we were finished eating, I helped Elena clean up while Grams said she was going to her room to read.

"I think she wants to give us time alone. She seems to think that we'd make a good match."

My brow furrowed. "A good match for?—"

"You know, to date, marry, whatever." Elena broke off, her cheeks pink.

"She thinks that we should date?" I asked her, amused that her grams had said that to her.

Elena wiped the counter with a dishtowel. "She's encouraging me to get out more and date in general. I think she feels guilty that I left everything in Boston and moved here for her. But I don't mind. And you're here and convenient, so she thinks I should date you."

"Is that the only reason?" I asked her, amused by the way she was rambling and clearly uncomfortable talking about this.

"She thinks you're handsome and, as she puts it, a good man." She added air quotes toa good man.

I couldn't help but smile at her obvious discomfort. "I am a good man. But I'm not looking for anything right now."

Elena sighed. "I was just warning you that she's going to try and matchmake us."

I leaned on her counter and crossed my arms. "Maybe we should placate her and pretend to date? Make an old lady happy." Now, why was I suggesting that? That was the opposite of what I should be doing, which was creating space between us. Not giving us a reason to spend more time together.

Elena touched my arm. "Trust me, leading her on is never a good idea. She'll just get more ideas, like marriage and kids."

My eyes widened. "Wow. You weren't kidding."

Elena hung the dishtowel to dry over the faucet. "Let's focus on the porch today and forget about Grams's scheming."

"Yeah, okay." But I couldn't quite shake the idea of doing something more to make Grams's day.

Outside, the porch had been cleared. "Today's demolition day. Do you think you're up for it?"

Her eyes widened. "I get to break stuff?"

"You'll want to go change first, so you're more covered." As gorgeous as all that tan skin was on display, I needed it protected for demolition. I didn't want her to get hurt.

Elena nodded. "I'll be right back."

While she was gone, I got out the tools we'd need and tarps for the ground, so that when my brothers arrived to remove the debris, it would be an easy job. Plus, I didn't want a lot of nails and screws laying in the sand to cut someone.

When Elena returned, she wore tight jeans, boots, a long sleeve shirt, and a blue-and-red Boston baseball cap. "I don't have my hard hat, so I thought I'd wear this hat."

The brim of the hat perfectly framed her face, making her look adorable. "You're a Boston fan?"

"When I lived there, I was. I enjoyed the games."

"I learn something interesting about you every time we meet." I handed her goggles, gloves, and then the sledgehammer. "This is great therapy if you're mad at anyone."

Elena's expression turned serious. "I think I can conjure up some anger."

"That will make this more fun. You'll want to swing it like this." I demonstrated, hitting the first support with my hammer. "Now you try."

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