Page 31 of Hammered (Dad Bod Contracting 1)
I shake my head. “Your gamble paid off, Jesse.” I smile at him. “I love it. Thank you.”
He jerks his head toward the master bedroom. “Check out your room.”
I enter my room, blinking at the staggering amount of light coming in. It feels like a whole new room.
More tears.
I can’t breathe, can’t speak. Who knew a person could get so emotional over some windows? But they just make me so happy.
“How—how did you and Franco get all this done in an afternoon?” I ask. “I mean, I know you probably work fast, but this seems like a lot even for the two of you.”
He just shrugs. “Eh…I called in some favors with the guys. And I actually got my start in construction installing windows back in high school, so it’s something I happen to be able to do pretty fast.”
“You called in favors? For…me?” My voice breaks.
He just smiles at me. “Sure did. But it’s how we work. It’s not a big deal.”
“It is to me, Jesse.” I look around at my room, and fight to get myself under control. “Good thing I didn’t have time to let my room get messy again, huh?”
Jesse laughs. “Yeah, no bras or panties left out this time…sadly.”
I chuckle. “It’s literally just underwear, Jesse. It doesn’t actually turn you on, does it? Seeing my bra or underwear?”
He shrugs. “The garment itself, no. The mental image of you in it? Yeah, it sure as hell does.”
“You’ve never seen me in my underwear.”
He is silent a moment, chewing on his lower lip. “Yeah, well, I have a really good imagination.” His gaze is rife with promise. “And a whole lot of hope.”
“Hope?”
“That I’ll get to see you in your underwear.”
“I am broke,” I whisper. “That could be your payment.”
“Don’t tempt me,” he growls.
“Too late?” I breathe. “Why shouldn’t I tempt you? What if I want to? What if I want—”
“Imogen,” he rumbles, interrupting me. “You want to start something with me, you won’t have to try very hard.”
I do want to start something with him.
Don’t I?
A worm of doubt wiggles through my skull, though. Do I want to start something with him? So soon after my divorce?
I push the thought away and gaze up at him. “What if I’m not really even trying, yet?”
“What if I’m not either?”
“You’re not?” I ask, my voice in a squeak. “You said you were hitting on me.”
“I am,” Jesse murmurs, not breaking our gazes. “But I’m not seducing you yet.”
“You won’t have to try very hard to do that.”
At that moment his phone blares, a deafening foghorn sound that makes me just about jump out of my skin.
“Sorry, that’s my ringer for James. He typically only calls me when it’s important or an emergency.” He answers the call. “What’s up, James?” He listens for a moment, responds with a growled, “Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute.” And then he hangs up without another word.
“Duty calls, huh?” I ask, more disappointed than I should be that he’s leaving.
“Yeah. Dr. Waverley and her husband—both of them—are at the project, and they have…concerns.”
“Oh dear.”
“Yeah. They weren’t happy about the flooded basement, understandably. So when we got it cleaned up and fixed, they decided to expand on their original plan, and because it was our guy that screwed up, we’re basically eating the cost difference.”
“Sounds like this job is a pain in the butt,” I say.
He shrugs. “They all are in one way or another. Good thing about the Waverleys is that they agree on everything, so it’s not a fight for every little detail. Those jobs are the worst. We’ve seen custom builds like this wreck marriages.”
“I can imagine,” I say. “So, what do I owe you and Franco for all this?”
He rubs the back of his neck. “James will kill me and then fire me if I don’t charge you for my time at least.”
“I wouldn’t let you do all this for free, Jesse. Your time and skill are valuable.”
He grins. “I think so too, for the most part. But I like you a lot, and I don’t want you to think I’m saying or doing anything just for the money or the work.”
“I don’t think that.”
“Then you’re not suspicious enough,” he growls.
“Probably true,” I say, thinking about the way Nicholas played me for months.
He steps close to me. “Look, I gotta go. But I’ll drop by with an invoice once I figure out how little I can get away with charging you without pissing off my boss, best friend, and brother-in-law.” He grins. “The bastard is a stickler for little details like financial solvency and orderly accounting.”
I laugh. “Silly James, getting caught up in such petty minutiae.”
“I’ll see you later?” he says, making it a question.
“I hope so,” I say, as he waves and heads down the stairs. “Jesse?” I call after him, and he stops halfway down, glancing up at me. “Thank you. From the bottom of my heart…thank you.”
