Page 49 of Honeymoon Phase
Man of the Mountain competition
Man of the Mountain medical emergency
Clenching my entire body while I waited for the six-foot-tall local lumberyard owner to run me off his property with a shotgun
Clenching my entire body while I waited for my mom to grab me by the ear and kick my ass
Moving my new fake/not fake wife into my cabin only shortly after said mountain activities
Fighting off a raging boner I had pretty much the entire night as I dreamed of a dark-haired beauty sleeping only ten feet away from me
But the honeymoon is already over so I clomp my ass into my bathroom for a cold shower and to prepare myself for another fun-filled day at Fletcher Brothers Construction.
It’ll be good to lose myself in work for a bit. I need to not let thoughts of Addison living with me and the fact that we’remarried and planning a traditional wedding completely consume my thoughts.
Although, it meant a lot to me when she opened up about her brother last night. That’s the side to Roe I love the most. The soft side. Normally, she’s this tough, ballsy, outspoken person... which I also like. But when she’s sensitive and lets her guard down—that’s when I really feel like I see her. A perfect dichotomy of sweet and savage unlike anyone I’ve ever met.
But I have to have an identity outside of her in the next several months or I will drive myself crazy. So work will be good for me.
Plus, I like my job. There’s a deep satisfaction I feel bidding out jobs. I enjoy reviewing blueprints from architects and researching the materials and costs to compile a detailed proposal. Wyatt might be the big ideas guy but I’m the one who figures out how to turn those ideas into a reality. The success we’ve found in our recent smart housing development is due in large part to my work behind the desk. It’s good I remember that.
I lace up my work boots and slip my Carhartt coat over my flannel before quietly making my way out of my bedroom, careful not to wake Addison. My thoughts are all in vain though because as soon as I step into the hallway, I nearly barrel right into Roe as she pads barefoot out of the bathroom at the exact same time.
“Shit, sorry,” I say, backing up and holding my hands up to try to get out of her way, feeling much too close to her in this tight proximity.
“Good morning,” she says around a yawn as she rubs her eyes, her hair in a messy ball on top of her head.
“Good morning,” I answer, trying really hard not to check her out in the T-shirt she’s in.
“You headed out already?” She squints up at me as her eyes adjust to the sunlight beginning to peek through the windows.
“Yeah. Sorry if I woke you.”
She shakes her head and yawns. “You didn’t. It was—”
“Rufus,” I finish her sentence with a knowing tone. “He’s a pain in the ass.”
She shrugs. “You warned me.”
The corner of my mouth lifts at that. “Did you, um... sleep okay otherwise?”
She wrinkles her nose. “Yeah, I slept fine. Oh... can you drop these off for me?” She grabs me by the jacket and drags me down the hall into the kitchen where I see two loaves of bread wrapped in clear plastic baggies. “One for Calder and Dakota and one for Trista and Wyatt.”
“When did you make these?” I ask, admiring the golden crust.
“Last night.”
I blink back at her before reaching out to force her to look up at me in the daylight. “Did you sleep at all?”
“I slept,” she exclaims, looking up at me with sleepy eyes, her face bare of her normal makeup. I like seeing her out of her makeup. It feels intimate. “I just wanted to thank them for helping me move and for the food last night. Mildred was super active yesterday, so I started some loaves before we moved and sitting in the heat all day, they rose so well, I got them all out.” She smiles softly as her eyes move over my body. “So this is what you wear to work every day, huh?”
I chuckle and shrug. “You’ve seen me in my work clothes before.” I lean in close and waggle my brows. “Spoiler alert. They’re not any different from my everyday clothes.”
She licks her lips and looks up at my hair. “Never seen your hair wet like this before though.” She reaches up and ruffles my damp locks with her fingers, causing my eyes to close as the sensation flows through my entire body.
When I open my eyes, they lower down to her chest. She’s wearing a baggy orange Monroe Lumber T-shirt with slouchy socks and I’m guessing a whole lotta nothing underneath. “And this is what you wear to bed every night?”
“Pretty much.” She shrugs and crosses her arms over her chest, pushing her breasts upward.
