Page 24 of Beauty and the Bruiser

I kill the engine, throw open the door, and step out. “What’s going on?”

She dusts off her palms. “I’m putting together a basketball hoop.” She motions to the side yard where Tabby plays on the swing set. “Tab told me she would help, but she abandoned me.”

“I see that.” I put my hands on my hips. “How’s it going?”

“Well, I was good until the lettering on the pieces didn’t align with the picture of the pieces. And I found a wrench, but it’s not the right size. So, I was about to go back into the garage to find another one.” She glares at the tool in her hand, as if the wrench purposely changed sizes to be difficult.

“Why didn’t you wait for me?”

She glares at me. “Because it didn’t say this was a two-person job. I put lots of stuff together for Lily. There was no reason to believe I couldn’t handle it.”

“You don’t always need to handle everything on your own, you know.”

She snorts and squats back down next to the net.

Her non-agreement bothers me, so I stoop down next to her. Her skin flushes from the heat and being this close fills me with the need to touch her. “I’m serious.”

“You like to ask for help?” She tilts her head, lifting an eyebrow at me. Her hazel eyes narrow. “Because you weren’t exactly excited to have me here to help you, even though you are the one who hired me.”

“I already apologized for that.” I pick up the instructions.

“Yes, you did. I’m pointing out that maybe both of us could use some help asking for help.” She puts the wrench down and pushes her hair out of her face.

“Fair.” I hand her the instructions. They make no sense to me. “Well, I might suck at asking for help, but I can get you the right wrench.”

She grins at me, taking the instructions from my hand. “I’d appreciate that.”

I stand up, heading toward the garage. I’m not really sure what kind of wrench she needs, but I figure I can grab a few different sizes and let her choose. As I walk, my mind drifts back to our conversation. She’s right. I don’t always ask for help when I need it. I’ve always prided myself on being independent, but maybe that’s not always a good thing. Maybe it’s time to lean on others a little more.

I find a set of wrenches and head back to the driveway. June stretches, rubbing her neck, her eyes on Tabby. My daughter is swinging, and she appears to be singing to herself. I chuckle.

“Harry Styles?” I ask, coming up behind June. Her brow creases in question. I point to Tabby. “She’s singing. I was wondering if the song is by your friend Harry.”

She offers me another of her sexy grins. “On the way home from school, she belted out every word of Taylor Swift’s new song. She’s pretty good.”

I chuckle, taking in the sight. Something about seeing June and Tabby together warms my heart. Maybe it’s the fact they bring out a different side of me, a side I never knew existed. I hand June the wrenches and watch as she expertly picks out the right size.

“Thanks.” She motions to the net. “Would you like to help me? Put it together, I mean? I could use the help.”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

She grins at me, and I can’t help smiling back.

We work together, June reading the instructions and doing the complex work, while I mostly add the muscle. It’s not long before the hoop is complete, and we hang the net.

“I think we did a good job,” she says, wiping the sweat from her forehead. “Now I need to order a basketball.”

“You haven’t already?” I’ve been watching the charges go by on my credit card and checking the receipts she’s sent me. There are a few school workbooks, some toys, lots of groceries, and this hoop. This morning, she sent me a bill for a soccer ball. I can’t believe we didn’t already have one, but if she bought it, I assume we didn’t.

“I needed to figure out what size to get her. I never played basketball, so I need to look it up.”

“I can do it,” I offer. “I played when I was younger.”

“You played basketball and hockey?”

I shrug. “I played basketball until I got serious about hockey in middle school. Same with soccer, baseball. I even ran track for a while.”

She shakes her head, laughing. “I didn’t play any of those things.”

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