“That could be a while.”
“I’m in no hurry.”
Popping a piece of cheddar in his mouth, he handed Ava a bottle of water. “You need to hydrate.”
“Aye, aye, Captain,” she mimicked from earlier.
“So tell me.” He moved behind her and began kneading the knots forming at the base of her neck. “How did little Ava decide to be an architect?”
“You already know I’m a doodler. Always have been. Designing houses seemed an easier way to make a living than a caricature artist at the beach.” Her chin dropped and some of the tension left her shoulders. “Tell me about you. How did you wind up in construction?”
John sucked in a deep breath. Here was the open door. Time to walk through it.
* * *
Forrest’s fingers were pure magic. Ava was pretty sure, any second now, her head was going to roll off her shoulders. Had she ever been this relaxed in her life? It had taken a tremendous amount of effort to get her mouth to move for that last question.
“My father was…in the business.” His slow, hesitant words had Ava lifting her head, paying more attention. “I learned some, watching him.”
“Working side by side?”
“Not exactly. When I graduated high school, I enlisted in the navy.”
Her head whipped around. “You’re navy?”
“Only six years. Nothing as extreme as your brother.”
Even now, years after Billy was no longer in the service, no longer defusing bombs, no longer in harm’s way, the slightest mention of what he did for Uncle Sam still sent chills down her spine.
“Easy there.” The ball of his thumbs pressed a steady line up the base of her neck, and another wave of calm washed over her. “I was an engineering aide. Worked with Seabees. Helped construction engineers in developing final construction plans. Large variety of things from conducting land surveys, preparing maps, sketches, drawings and blueprints to cost estimates and quality assurance tests.”
“Ever think about becoming an engineer?” Strong yet gentle fingers stretched along her neck, barely grazing the oh-so-sensitive spot behind her ear, sending a different kind of shiver through her system.
“Briefly, but I was impatient.”
Spread wide, his hands slid across her shoulders. Gentle pressure mixed with a soft caress had her swallowing a soft moan. “How…so?”
“I discovered I didn’t like taking orders and wanted to do things my way.”
“So you did…” His fingertips alternated hard and soft pressure, up and down strokes. What was she saying? “Did construction work?”
“More like I started—”
“Knock, knock.” The screen door squeaked slowly open.
Ava stiffened.
Not that there was anything wrong with having a neck massage, but every measured stroke of his strong fingers had her craving more. Another touch. Another squeeze. The casual grazing along her neck, her shoulder, even her jaw, had felt more sensuous, more…intimate.
Kara pushed open the screen door fully. “Thought I’d find you here.”
Ava hopped up out of the seat, as if she’d been caught doing, well, something more intimate. “Thought I’d get started…uh…cleaning the place…up,” she stammered. “Who has Catherine?”
“She’s with my neighbor, so you’ve only got me for two hours. Where do you want me to start?”
“How are you with Shop-Vacs?”
“Don’t tell my husband, but I wield a mean vacuum cleaner. Where is it?”
“Front room.”
“On my way.” Kara spun about and marched down the hall.
Forrest sucked in a deep breath. “We’d better get back to work too. I’ll fill the buckets. You go give Kara directions.”
“Thank you.” Inching up on her tippy toes, she’d intended to give him a simple kiss on the cheek, the way she would for any friend or relative who had come by to help. What she hadn’t expected was for him to turn and face her, just as her lips reached him.
Within seconds his arms looped around her waist, drawing her closer. Pressed tightly against him, the strength of his lips toying with hers, those same fingers that had worked their magic on her shoulders were now searing her lower back. There was no way she would, or could, pull away.
Heat flared, and the tug of arousal had her moaning into him. Had she ever fit this perfectly against anyone else?
“You didn’t say where… Oops.”
The sound of Kara’s voice barely penetrated the heady fog that had her aching to share more than a kiss. Drawing her good hand down to her side, Ava eased back, her gaze on the lips she’d just tasted. Leveling her eyes with his, she didn’t bother to look away when she addressed Kara. “What did you need?”
“Sorry, but you didn’t mention where you wanted me to vacuum. You also might want to know that your brother and Nick are coming here after the morning dive to help.”
“Thanks.” Though everything in her wanted to wrap her arms around one Forrest Maplewood, she forced her legs to move away. To retreat to a safer distance. One where she wouldn’t be tempted to tear off all his clothes. “Front room will be fine.”
“Got it.” Clearing her throat, Kara turned and, this time, almost ran down the hall.
“I think we scared her off,” Forrest said, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“I’ll have a talk with her.”
“She’s a big girl. I think she’ll figure it out for herself.”
Ava nodded, reached for the small bucket filled with fresh water and slowly made her way back to her new office—her mind scrambling at high speeds in a futile effort to process what had just happened. Heat and temptation grew stronger every time she found herself in this man’s arms. What the hell was going on? And, more importantly, what the hell was she going to do about it?
Chapter Twenty-Eight
For two hours John did his best to concentrate on cleaning, washing and polishing instead of how much he wanted to get Ava alone—and naked. Even though Kara had left hours ago, Billy, Doug and Sara were all underfoot in the house. The only release for John, other than locking himself and Ava in the bedroom upstairs, relatives be damned, was to burn off his pent-up energy playing outside with the pressure washer.
“Inside’s looking pretty good.” Billy stood, staring at the dangling paint chips above. “Guess we’ll need to add paint to the shopping list.”
“Already done.”
“You making a list?”
Tension and a healthy dose of frustration had John merely grunting.
“Does this mean you’re planning on staying longer?” Billy continued to look at the high-pressure stream of water and not John.
Did it? He had a business to run. There were lots of other people on this island perfectly capable of fixing Ava’s new house. And he had a business to run. “Maybe.”
Still watching the water spray whisk away years of dirt and flaking paint, Billy rolled back on his heels. “Disarming bombs for a living makes a man more in tune with his surroundings. If the wind is blowing in the wrong direction, I tend to notice. There was no missing you and Ava walking on eggshells. If there was a long way to walk around to avoid each other, you both seemed eager to do so.”
There was no way John wanted to spell out to Ava’s overprotective brother that he was afraid, if he came within inches of her, he’d either take her right here on the floor or self-combust.
“The way I see it,” Billy continued to focus on the building, “there’s either been a minor feud—in which case it makes no sense you’re still here working—or you two are hitting the sheets.”
Shock almost had him dropping the wand. “No.”
A small smile tugged at one side of Billy’s face. “But you’re thinking about it.”
John turned the machine off, before he blasted a hole in the wrong place. “Hitting the sheets? No.” Making slow, deliberate love? Absolutely. But again no way in hell he was sharing that with Ava
’s brother.
“She’s my sister. I love her. She’s all grown-up, but she’s here, and you belong in L.A.”
Something about the way Billy said belong had John on high alert. “You know.”
This time Billy looked at him. “Know who you are? Yes. Magnolia has too much natural grace to have a construction worker for a brother. And, when I first noticed the sparks between you and my sister that day on the boat, well,… I know how to use Google.”
No sense in playing games. “So what do you want from me?”
“Me? Nothing. But for Ava, secrets can be as lethal as an IED.” Billy turned back to the house and paused at the door. “Oh, my sister’s making sandwiches. She thought you might be hungry.”
Wasn’t that the damn understatement of the century. No matter what, he would have to talk alone with Ava, before his secrets destroyed any chance they had. And, at the same time, keep his hands off her.
* * *
Knots twisted in places where Ava didn’t realize she had any muscles. “Old age is setting in way younger than I expected.”
“It’s been a long day. We’ve accomplished a lot. Time for a little refreshment.” Billy pulled a beer from the fridge, then, turning on his heel, proceeded to the front of the house.
“I could use food. What’s left?” The kitchen table looked like a smorgasbord. Or a funeral. Ava wasn’t sure which. Just about everyone she knew had stopped by at one point in the day. How the hell the word had spread so fast, with her mother touring the other side of the island, was beyond her. But word was out nonetheless.
“Sara brought ribs.” Forrest pointed to a pan on the counter. “Your sister Emily sent Doug with potato salad and honey baked ham. The heavy lady with the big laugh—”
“Sara’s mother.”
“She brought pulled pork and something sort of pasty-looking.”
Ava laughed, as the deep crevice formed between Forrest’s brows. “That would be poi.”
“Does it taste as bad as it looks?”
“Matter of opinion.” She smiled. “I can’t believe the whole place is almost clean.”
“Certainly the first floor.”
“At this rate we’ll be able to start painting tomorrow.”
“Are you sure you want to do that, before the place is legally yours?”
She kept forgetting about that small detail. But it already felt like her own place. “Yeah, I’m sure. I really want this part ready as soon as possible.”
On the counter, her phone began warbling. “I bet Mom’s looking for me. Hello?”
“Hello, Ava.”
“Hello, Howard.”
“Everything on this end is ready to go, but the chief engineer has a slight delay on another project. He won’t be able to meet until Monday.”
“Monday?”
“Yes, you’ll be meeting all the key personnel except for John.”
“I see.”
“The meeting is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. to give Evelyn time to fly in from L.A.”
“Ten o’clock. Got it. I’ll be there.” Call over, Ava tossed the phone back on the counter and spun around into Forrest’s arms. “I’m going to San Francisco.”
He stiffened. “When?”
“I need to be there Monday, so I think Sunday will be early enough. I’ll have to call my sister Kathleen and let her know I’m coming in.”
“How long will you be gone?” He set down his beer and shifted, leaning against the counter.
“I don’t know. I guess a few days. You never know with these meetings.”
Forrest’s gaze shifted to the floorboards. She doubted he was evaluating the linoleum. And then it hit her. If she was gone more than a week they might miss each other. He might be back in Los Angeles. Like a lead anchor, her heart dropped. All the enthusiasm and joy that had been effervescing, ready to explode, evaporated as quickly as a puff of smoke. Damn she didn’t want this—whatever this was—to end before it had a chance to really get started.
“Tell me something.” He raised his gaze to meet hers. “What would you think if I were to stay longer? Help you fix up this place?”
Disappointment stepped aside, as her heart did a little kick. Then reality tamped it back down again. That wouldn’t be fair. Practical. “You can’t possibly have that nice a boss or that much money saved up. I can’t ask you to—”
“Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that I have an extremely nice boss and plenty of savings. Would you like me to stay?”
How did she answer this? Hell, yes, she’d like him to stay. Except for one small problem. How much harder would saying good-bye be after an extra few days or weeks?
“I could be a big help. Here,” he said, his voice laced with what almost sounded like desperation.
“It’s not fair to ask you” were the only words she mumbled.
“Do you want me to stay?” he repeated, pushing off the counter and leaning closer.
All she could do was nod.
A hint of a smile teased his lips. “In that case, what would you say if I mentioned I’m my own boss?”
She knew her eyes had momentarily flashed surprise. That hadn’t occurred to her. Should have. How else does a person, who doesn’t work for the government, get four weeks’ vacation? Sometimes, for a smart woman, she was a little slow on the uptake. “I should have guessed.”
Doug came walking in and either didn’t notice the tension heavy in the air or chose to ignore it. “Grabbing a beer for me and a pop for Sara.” Without so much as a glance in their direction, he spun about and left them a hair’s width apart.
“It could be fun restoring this old place—together.”
Together? Her heartbeat kicked up another notch, and her mouth struggled to form words. “It’s going to take a while.”
“That can be arranged.” He stood so close she could feel the rise and fall of his chest with every breath.
She hadn’t allowed herself to think ahead to when he’d be gone. And now she might not have to. None of this made any sense. There was no wrapping her mind around what he was telling her. “Can you really afford the time off?”
“Absolutely.” His lips captured hers in a hungry kiss that made her feel worth all the riches in the world.
A fire burned low in her belly, and, at this moment, she didn’t give a rat’s ass what the man could or couldn’t afford, or what did or didn’t make sense. Right now there wasn’t anything she wanted more than to be with Forrest Maplewood. Not even San Francisco.
* * *
Doug pulled out his phone and called his fiancée. Emily was due to arrive any minute to help with the house. The sexual tension in the kitchen was so thick he would need a fire extinguisher to keep the house from burning down.
“Hey, I’m on my way. Need me to bring something?”
“No, but you’d better make sure your mother doesn’t show up.”
“Mom? Why?”
“Let’s just say, she won’t like what she sees.”
“This is no time for cryptic. What’s going on?”
“If Forrest and your sister get any closer, they’ll need to be surgically separated.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yep. Maile Everrett is going to be one unhappy mama.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
A kernel of popcorn flew past John’s shoulder and, based on Emily’s high-pitched squeal, he would guess landed—as intended—down her blouse. Until now, doodling on a piece of paper, Ava hadn’t noticed Doug shooting target practice at her sister.
“Hey.” Ava slapped her hand at her future brother-in-law. “We just cleaned in here. You planning on swabbing the deck again?”
“Sorry, ma’am.” He winked at Emily and shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth.
Sara put the lid on the container of potato salad. “Shall we get started cleaning upstairs?”
“Heavens, no.” Ava glanced out the window to the darkened skies. “We’ve put in a long day. It’s after seven. I’ll just cle
an up and head to Home Depot for some paint before they close. This way I can get started early tomorrow on my office.”
“We can get started,” John added, pleased to see her cheeks flush slightly at his offer of help. Though that hadn’t been his plan. All he’d wanted was to tell her the truth about who he was, before she arrived in San Francisco and someone let the cat out of the bag. The words Do you want me to stay had been almost as much of a surprise to him as they’d been to her. But even more of a surprise was how comfortable those words felt. She felt. “Do you know what color you want?”
“Mmm-hmm. Butter yellow.”
“Butter?” Doug asked.
“Yes, not bright yellow, not a beige yellow, but a sunny and still professional yellow.”
“Sounds good.” Empty plate in hand, John pushed to his feet. So much had to be rearranged, if he was going to stay in Kona longer. Visions of Evelyn’s reaction almost had him laughing out loud. Not even she could have anticipated he’d find the one woman who held more power over him than his business. Who mattered more. And damned if he didn’t find the prospect of time with Ava more exhilarating than rebuilding the world. “We should head out now, if you want to get those supplies tonight.”
Chairs scraped against the floor, as the others stood and maneuvered around the table. After an entire afternoon and evening working together, the group moved with an almost choreographed precision. Plates were rinsed and placed in the dishwasher. Leftovers stowed in the fridge. Any surviving cleaning supplies were stored in the nearby pantry.
Doug pulled his keys from his pocket. “I’ve got the morning dive but will come by as soon as I can.”
“You don’t have to do that.” Ava tossed some used paper towels into the trash.
“Are you kidding?” Emily slung her purse over her shoulder. “Doug is Mr. Stagebuilder Extraordinaire.”
Ava smiled at her baby sister. “Yeah, but this is different.”
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