Page 19 of A Labor of Hate
“Need some help?”an unfamiliar voice called from behind me.
I whipped around to locate the source only to find a rugged specimen of a man holding open the front door of the brick rambler next to ours.He wore a flannel over a black t-shirt with jeans, and had his sandy brown hair cut short, complete with a neatly trimmed beard.As he neared, he flashed a white smile that shone almost as brightly as his blue eyes.
“Holy hot lumberjack,” I mumbled, my brain backfiring like a Model T until I regained my composure.I straightened my shoulders and thrust the butterflies that fluttered as a result of his attention to the backburner.
Leave it to me and my rotten luck to run into the man who could be my soulmate while I was feigning pregnancyanda relationship with someone I couldn’t even stand being within ten feet of.What were the odds that I’d run into this guy after the assignment was done?And if I explained that it was all a lie for the greater good, what were the odds that he’d give me the time of day?
Probably zero.Negative, even.
In my mind’s eye, I saw my future love life crumple up and die like a PopTart wrapper under the lumberjack neighbor’s boot.Not an unfamiliar sight, but it still hurt.
“Yeah, that’d be great.”I passed my box off to him, which he hefted with ease.
“Is your, uh” —he cleared his throat, his voice a little too nonchalant— “husband not here to help you?”
Curse my undercover status.Curse it all to heck.I itched to answer his unasked question about my relationship status, to hint that things weren’t as they seemed so the two of us could possibly have a chance together some day.But I didn’t.Hot as this guy was, no man was worth blowing something this important.
“He’s on his way, I’m sure.I’m just too impatient to wait for him.”And I really,reallywanted that master bedroom.“How long have you lived in the neighborhood?”
I grabbed my pillow from the passenger seat so I could at least pretend to be useful while I led him inside.The bulk of my boxes were already there, stacked in a nonsensical blob in the living room, and I motioned for him to leave the current box with them.
“Oh, I’m just visiting my parents for a few weeks.”He flashed another charming smile and held the door open for me while I waddled through.“Doesn’t mean I can’t get to know you, though.I’m Liam.”
I returned the smile, forcing myself to think about hair dye and pebbles to keep myself from blushing too obviously from his attention.It wasn’t easy.Between the hot lumberjack and aquarium gravel, it was an obvious choice which one I’d rather think about.
“My friends call me Lex.”I pulled another box out from the depths of my trunk, giving it a few solid tugs to move it since my belly decreased my range of motion so drastically.Pregnant people hadallmy respect, because how did anyone ever live like this for real?
He readily accepted the box just as an SUV hybrid pulled into the driveway beside us.“Does that mean we’re friends?”
I shrugged, already pulling one of the few remaining boxes out.“I don’t see why not, if we’re going to be living next to your parents.We’ll probably be seeing more of each other.”
If only.
“I certainly wouldn’t mind that.”
I fiddled with my box a little longer to keep my blushing face turned away from him.Obviously he hadn’t meant it in a flirtatious way, because who in their right mind would flirt with an obviously pregnant and married woman?I was simply projecting my forbidden desires onto the conversation.Bad Lex.
A car door closing followed by the crunch of gravel announced Colt’s arrival.Steady and measured steps, quieter than any normal person would walk under the circumstances.Always controlled.
Freaking always.
“You must be the husband,” Liam greeted.
“That I am.”
Colt’s voice was a tad cooler than normal.Not noticeable to anyone who didn’t know him, but I didn’t miss it.Most likely he didn’t appreciate the reminder of our new “relationship status.”
Yeah, yeah.Join the club, buddy.
When I was confident that I’d wiped all traces of emotion—be it attraction to Liam or disdain toward Colt’s arrival—I turned to face the two men.Liam was retrieving his outstretched hand, which apparently had gone unreciprocated in its offer of a shake.Colt had his hands in his pockets and his “polite smile” on his face.The one he pasted on whenever he had to deal with a difficult lawyer, or if I was being especially annoying.
The awkward silence between the two stretched until the hairs on the back of my neck raised.I cleared my throat and shoved my box into Colt’s arms until a smalloofescaped his lips.
“I’m so glad you could make it, honey.”I smiled my “suck it” smile, the one solely reserved for Colt, in the hopes of conveying just how much I enjoyed having beaten him here.Even if it was only by ten minutes.“This is Liam.”
“Your temporary neighbor,” Liam supplied, shuffling the box self-consciously in his hands.
Colt raised a brow, his dark eyes flicking to me.“Temporary, huh?”
