Page 9 of Just Breathe

“Well, I’ll do all I can.” I turned to walk away.

“Oh Jane, remind me to give you another customer’s samples before you leave, he said he needed them last week.” He walked back into an office to leave me alone.

It didn’t take long before I was in home decor heaven. Aisle after aisle of flooring were whispering sweet nothings to me. It was like nothing I’d ever seen and before I knew it, a whole hour had passed. I slipped one more tile sample into my bag and headed to the front of the store.

“I thought I might have to send search and rescue,” Dale joked while organizing something behind the counter.

“I figure I should familiarize myself with the store and I thought ahead for some future projects that are in the works.” I laid down the notepad and pen on the counter.

“Ah, I love a woman who thinks ahead. Let me get those other samples for you.” He disappeared into the office, his cheery whistling making me smile.

“Ok, here are the samples for the Montgomery project. I really hope she likes this because, if not, I honestly don’t know what else to recommend.” He laid out some cabinet samples. “This is also for another client that came in early. This one I believe is for the Jensen’s.” He arranged a beautiful marble piece next to the cabinet sample.

“Great!” I looked at the two pieces together and thought black matte hardware would go great with the combo. “Do you have any hardware color samples?”

“I believe Aiden has the rings of samples but let me see if I can give you another. That man probably won’t find it with how unorganized he is.” I laughed, picturing an unorganized Aiden wasn’t very hard.

“I have one left. If you could bring back at least one, I won’t have to charge you, but if not, then this sample is one hundred dollars.” He laid out another ring on the desk with different finishes on metal squares.

“This is perfect. Now, do you have a catalogue of the hardware?” I smiled nervously because I felt like I was asking for too much.

“Of course!” He didn’t sound like I was bothering him. He reached under the counter and fished out several catalogues. “Might as well get you all of them, just in case.” He chuckled.

“Thank you so much, Dale. This will make things so much easier for me.” I grabbed the catalogues and samples. “You have yourself a good day.” I waved at him.

“Oh, any time! Tell Aiden he made a good decision hiring you.” He waved back at me as I exited.

Aiden must really be behind on some stuff or was a hot mess of an organizer, though he didn’t seem so yesterday. I walked over to my car, debating on getting food here or back in Mountain View. The time was nine thirty in the morning and I noticed a Target on the way here. Even though I didn’t need anything, Starbucks and a trip to Target sounded just about right.

* * *

I made it back to Mountain View just after two o’clock with way more Target bags than I intended. Sipping on my Mango Dragon Fruit Refresher with the windows down, I soaked up the mountain air, enjoying Cardi B’s WAP blasting out of the speakers. It was amazing how my generation was going crazy about how inappropriate this song was when we used to sing My Neck, My Back in the 90s. I took the dirt road leading to the house, admiring what a great piece of land we’d bought. The house came into view, as did three shirtless men unloading a trailer of wood.

Sweet baby Jesus, they were fine specimens. All of them were so different, but equally delicious. Aiden and Callum had the dark brooding thing going on for them, more so Callum than Aiden. Aiden also had that rugged look to him with the facial hair and that man bun. Nathan looked like a surfer with that dirty blond hair, different colored eyes and slightly less muscule than the other guys. He was a little shorter, but he still felt like a giant of a man, and did I mention those amazing eyes of his? One green and one blue definitely made him stand out.

Aiden laughed, bringing me out of my stupor. God, I hope they hadn’t caught me staring again. I mean, what would they think of me, a widow ogling her contractors not too long after her husband had died? There was just something about these guys that I swear brought out a wonton woman in me. You would think I hadn’t seen a man before or ever had sex.

I climbed out of the car and grabbed the small cooler I got at the gas station.

Callum glanced at me with a scowl, but it softened slightly when he recognized me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man so guarded or someone who looked so angry all the time.

“Hey guys, I brought some cold drinks and some snacks.” I set the cooler down and went back to get the bag of chips and other snacks from the back seat of my car. When I turned around, Callum was dumping cold water over his face. A blush rose to my face as the water ran the length of his torso. Was this man trying to kill me?

“I didn’t know what you guys might like, but I tried to get a variety from the gas station.” I was grateful my voice sounded even and not the hot and bothered I was feeling.

“Thanks. You didn’t have to do that.” Aiden wiped his mouth with his arm, giving me a smirk like he knew where my mind was at.

“We definitely need the cold water. Thank you, Jane.” Nathan gave me a small smile, opening a water bottle and chugging it.

I noticed Callum quietly raiding the snack bag. I think this guy was always hungry, or he was just a bottomless pit.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s the least I can do. Y’all working hard out here building a home for me.” I tried not to stare at them, diverting my gaze at the pile of wood instead. “Dale sent some samples with me to give to you for a client named Montgomery.”

“Fuck, I forgot about her samples.” Aiden looked up at the sky, irritated.

“I’m surprised that woman hasn’t called you a hundred times asking about them,” Nathan stated. “She just needs to decide and get this project rolling. Sadly, I predict she won’t end up doing the project.”

Aiden looked at his watch and then at the trailer with wood. You could tell he was debating what to do.

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