by Barbara Gee
“So you started building houses and never looked back?”
“I never looked back, but it took a few twists and turns to get where I am now. I started with houses, then moved into the commercial side. That’s where I wanted to stay, but Chase’s dad, Howard, had a cancer scare about three-and-a-half years ago and took a six-month leave of absence. Because of my degree, Chase and his dad asked me to fill in for him on the management side of the business. I rented a house here in town and worked at the headquarters while he was off. It was good for me to see that side of the business, but I couldn’t wait to get back out in the field. When Howard came back to work, they finally released me from the desk and let me create again.”
I loved knowing that about him, and there was no doubt in my mind he was very good at what he did.
“What kind of building are you working on now?” I asked.
He laced his fingers through mine again and we started walking back the way we’d come.
“I have two projects going at the moment. One is a medical office complex, and one is an elementary school.”
He told me about them as we went, and it was clear he’d indeed found his passion. Being a supervisor, he did have more office time and paperwork than he’d like, and running crews and dealing with bad weather could be frustrating, but it was all part of turning a bare lot into a beautiful building. Each one was a thrill for him, especially since he’d gotten more involved in the design process over the past couple of years.
We’d walked all the way back to the Owens’ fence before he stopped talking about it. That was mostly because I’d asked a ton of questions, but he still gave me an apologetic look when we stopped at the gate.
“Sorry, Ava. I ended up making this walk mostly about me.”
“No, please don’t apologize,” I said quickly. “I was the one making you talk about it. I love hearing how much you enjoy what you do.”
He let go of my hand to open the gate, and I immediately missed the contact. I wondered if he’d walk me over to my house, and then of course I wondered if he’d kiss me—which was totally ridiculous because we weren’t even on a date, and I didn’t kiss on the first date anyway. But…..we’d held hands for a good half hour……so maybe that changed things.
“You know what this means, don’t you?” he asked, breaking my train of thought—the one that was steaming straight toward a good night kiss.
“What what means?” I asked, trying to make the switch to his train.
“The fact that we wasted too much of our walk talking about me. It means we’re going to have to spend more time together so we can focus on you.”
I gave an exaggerated wince. “Oh man, I have to hang out with you again? I shouldn’t have asked all those questions.”
He looked stunned for a split second, then he laughed, his white teeth flashing in the dusky twilight that had settled in. “You’re quite a girl, Ava,” he said softly. “Hannah says you’re adorable, and she’s right. That word came to my mind about a dozen times tonight.”
This time my wince was real. “Adorable? Ouch. That makes me feel like a little girl.”
He laughed again. “You’re also beautiful, sexy, smart, intriguing, and you make me laugh, which is a good thing.” He raised his brows, his smile making me tingle all over. “Is that better?”
“It’ll do,” I said, my voice sounding a little husky. “And I guess I can make a little more time for you one of these days.”
He grinned and stood back to let me go through the gate first. As we walked toward the deck, which was empty, he took out his phone and unlocked it. “Will you put your number in for me?” he asked, handing it to me.
“Of course.” I turned slightly, holding the phone so he couldn’t see what I was typing. I entered "Not Adorable" in the name field and then my number. I even entered my email address for good measure. I closed the contact list before handing it back to him, and he slid it into his pocket.
“Thanks. I’ll send a text soon, so you’ll have my number too.”
“Good, then I’ll be able to text you when Lulu shows up again,” I teased.
“You be sure to do that,” he said, a smile in his voice. He put his hand on the small of my back as we went up the steps onto the deck, making me wish I’d set a slower pace so it could stay there longer.
“I’ll get my salad dish and thank Chase and Hannah, then I should head home,” I said, sliding open the patio door screen and stepping into the kitchen.
Hannah and Chase were standing at the sink locked in a tight embrace and what looked to be a very steamy kiss.
I looked over my shoulder at Jude. “I think they’re celebrating getting all the dishes done,” I said dryly.
He gave a little snort of surprise at my comment, then we both started chuckling. Chase and Hannah slowly pulled apart, giving us bemused looks. They weren’t the least bit embarrassed about being caught in the act.
“I just came in for my salad bowl,” I told them with a grin.
Hannah pointed to the table where the clean bowl was waiting.
“How was the trail?” Chase asked, his arm still slung comfortably around his wife’s shoulders.
“Great,” I said. “It’s pretty cool to have that right in our backyards. I guess I’ll need to put a gate in my back fence for easier access.”
“You’re welcome to use ours whenever you like,” Hannah said. “The code is 4481, if Jude didn’t already tell you.”
“But if you do decide to put in your own, be sure to get one with a keypad lock like ours,” Chase advised. “You don’t want random people wandering in off the trail, and you don’t want to have to worry about a key.”
“Good points.” I smiled at him and Hannah. “Thanks again for a great evening. I promise to return the favor and host you guys once I get settled in.”
“Sounds great.” Hannah looked up at Jude. “You’re going to be a gentleman and walk her home, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Mother,” he said, earning a glare from her. “Not that I need to be told.”
Yes! My insides did a happy dance. That would give me at least three to five more minutes with him. Was it pitiful to be so excited about that?
Unless….wait….would he expect me to invite him in? That would give us a lot more than just a few minutes. I could offer to make coffee—we hadn’t had any with dinner, so that would be kind of a natural thing to do, right? Or would it be best to just say good night to him at the door and hope I left him wanting more?
Ugh. I had no idea what to do and not very long to decide.
I picked up my salad bowl and said good night to the Owens, and Jude followed me back out to the deck. I tried not to show my nervousness. It had been such a great night so far, and I didn’t want to do anything to make it end on a bum note. But that’s exactly what would happen if I invited him in and he turned me down. Even if he had a reasonable-sounding excuse, I’d feel rejected.
Still, I was tempted to risk it. I wasn’t ready to say good night to him yet, I just wasn’t.
I continued to stew about it as we walked to the gate between our yards. By now it was pretty much all the way dark outside. The Owens’ house was lit up, and even their yard had some strategically placed solar lights, but my yard and house were completely dark. The outside light was still burned out, and I’d forgotten to turn on any lights inside before I left.
Jude opened the gate for me and we walked the length of my yard in silence, except for me commenting that I should have left the kitchen light on.
When we were about five feet from the bottom step of my deck, we were suddenly flooded with light. I gave a little gasp and stopped in my tracks, staring at my outside light, which was shining brightly.
Jude’s low voice was close to my ear. “I didn’t mean for it to scare you,” he said.
With a jolt I realized he was the one responsible for the warm, welcoming glow at my door. It wasn’t just a new bulb, either. The whole fixture was new.
�
��Oh my word, you did this? You put up a whole new light for me?” I whirled and went in for the hug without even thinking about it. I just wrapped my arms around him, salad bowl and all. Then I was afraid my response was too exuberant, so I stepped back quickly before he could do more than put his hands on my back.
I hoped the light wasn’t bright enough to reveal my acute embarrassment—or my reaction to touching him like that.
Wow. Wow….wow…. wow. That had felt really good.
I cleared my throat nervously. “Thank you so much,” I said, hugging the bowl to my chest while I tried to recover my equilibrium. “When did you do it?”
“Right after I got home from work. I wanted to ask you first, to make sure the light I picked out was okay, but I knocked and you didn’t answer. So I figured I’d just surprise you with it. If you don’t like it, I can change it out.”
“I was probably upstairs,” I said. “I love it, Jude. It’s perfect, and I love that it’s motion-activated. But you have to let me pay you for it.”
“Nah, consider it a housewarming gift.”
I admired the light for a little bit longer, then went to the door and looked back at him, making up my mind. “At least let me make you some coffee.”
His blue eyes took on an interested gleam. “Any of those brownies left?” he wondered.
“Yes, although I made a dent in them today. Painting makes me hungry.”
Now that the invitation had been made and accepted, my nerves faded away. However, I refused to let my mind go anywhere near a good night kiss. I didn’t want to become a tongue-tied mess again.
We sat at the table and chatted easily over the coffee and brownies. He asked what I’d been painting, and I told him about my formerly pink office, and that got me started thinking about the security door.
Should I ask him?
If I did, it would be only fair to tell him why I needed it. Not the job specifics, necessarily, but about the value of my equipment. Which would in turn reveal more about my work than I was normally comfortable with.
I pondered the decision. Would it be crazy to trust him already? Maybe. Probably. But my options were limited if I wanted to have a solution before Ian got back to me. It was either Jude or complete strangers.
I preferred Jude.
“You’re thinking pretty hard over there.”
His voice roused me from my roiling thoughts. I looked across the table at him, right into his eyes, searching for anything that made me feel any sense of unease. Any waving red flags.
There was nothing. Aside from my unusually strong physical reaction to the man—which I hadn’t yet figured out how to handle—I felt totally comfortable with him. Safe. He’d installed a brand new outside light for me, for Pete’s sake. That had to be some indication of the kind of man he was.
I bit a corner of my lip, taking a few more seconds to decide. I really did need the door as soon as possible. Also, if I decided to trust Jude, with both the door and the reason I needed it, I could go ahead and put my equipment in the office right when it came. Whereas if I hired unknown contractors, I’d have to set up my stuff in Grandma’s bedroom temporarily, because I wouldn’t want strangers to see what the door would be protecting. That would require setting it all up twice, which would be a lot of extra work.
But then again, Jude might not even want to mess with such a small job, which would make all of my internal arguments moot.
I licked my lips then rolled them together, still stalling. He raised a brow but didn’t speak, as if he knew I was working through something and didn’t want to push me.
“I want to ask you something, but I’m not sure I should,” I finally said, which was as good as committing, in spite of the disclaimer.
He cocked his head to the side. “Why aren’t you sure?”
“Multiple reasons,” I said, stalling again.
“Name one.”
“I don’t know you very well.”
“You can ask me anything you want,” he countered. “I don’t have any deep, dark secrets.”
“This isn’t a ‘what’s your favorite color’ kind of question,” I warned him.
He smiled. “Well, if it was that kind of question, the answer would be blue.”
“What shade?” I wondered, momentarily distracted.
He gave a one-shouldered shrug and took a sip of coffee, his eyes not leaving mine. “I’d have to say the shade of your eyes. What would you call it? Navy? Sapphire?”
I felt warm all over. Really warm.
“Hmm,” I said softly, trying not to smile too wide. “I think sapphire sounds nice. No one’s ever told me I have sapphire eyes.”
“Well you do,” he said. “Now, give me another reason why you don’t think you should ask me your question.”
“Because it’s kind of complicated. It’s not just asking you something I’m curious about, it’s asking for something, and I’m not sure what you’ll think.” I scrunched up my nose. “I guess I kind of have to ask, now that I’ve gone this far, huh?”
“If you want me to be able to sleep tonight,” he teased.
I propped an elbow on the table and rested my chin in my palm. “I need someone to install a door for me.”
His brows rose. “A door? Like a front door?”
“No. A special kind of door.” I looked down at my coffee mug, then back up at him. “I need a security door installed in a room upstairs,” I said in a rush.
He processed that and nodded slowly. “Okay. Are we talking a full-sized door, or some kind of safe?”
“A full-sized bedroom door.”
“Got it. So I’m guessing your hesitation is because you aren’t sure you know me well enough to trust me with whatever it is you need to protect?”
I grimaced. “It’s partly that, and partly because even though I’d pay you well to do it, it feels like I’m asking for a favor. It’s such a small job, and I know it’s way beneath you.”
“Helping out a friend isn’t beneath me, Ava, no matter what the job.” His low voice and warm eyes made my breath hitch. “If you decide you can trust me, I’d be happy to put your door in.”
“It’s not what you’re probably thinking. I mean, I don’t have expensive jewels or a fine art collection or anything,” I clarified.
“It’s not something illegal, is it?” he asked, his denim-blue eyes twinkling.
“You mean like a meth lab? Or storing stolen property for a street gang?” I grinned. “No, it’s not illegal.”
“Good,” he said, with a perfectly straight face. “The neighborhood would probably frown on those activities.”
That made me laugh. “Ya think?”
He sat back and folded his arms across his chest, waiting patiently for me to work through my final hesitations. He was a good guy, I felt that clear to my core, and I decided to trust my instincts.
“Do you have time to come upstairs with me so I can show you the room?”
He immediately pushed back his chair and stood. “Of course.”
We left the kitchen and I paused at the foot of the stairs, looking back at him uncertainly.
“You can trust me, Ava,” he said quietly. “Whatever it is, you can trust me.”
“Do you happen to know anyone else I can trust? Security doors are really heavy. You’re going to need help.”
He squinted at me. “Are you talking the really high-end ones? With a steel frame and multiple bolts?”
I nodded. “Like a panic room door.”
“No problem. I’ll get Chase.” He gave me a confident smile. “He’s almost as trustworthy as me.”
Maybe it was that irresistible smile, or maybe I’d known all along where this was going to go. At any rate, my mind was made up.
“Okay. I need to get this door in as soon as possible, and if you agree to do it, I’ll be up and running a lot sooner than if I hire strangers and have to hide everything from them. But promise me you’ll say no if you don’t want to take the job once I show you what I
need.”
He walked up to me, put his hands on my shoulders, and gently turned me toward the stairs. “Up, Ava. Show me the room and I’ll tell you what we need to do to get you set up. There’s no chance I’m going to say no.”
Halfway up the stairs I had a crazy thought and couldn’t help but giggle. “My Grandma would be so disappointed in me for bringing a man upstairs on only my third day here.”
He grunted. “If this is all a ruse to get me to your bedroom, you’re going to be disappointed. I’m holding out for my wedding night.”
I was at the top of the stairs by then, and I turned to watch him as he joined me, trying to figure out if he was serious. His gaze was steady, but I caught a brief glimpse of uncertainty.
Oh wow. He was serious, and he wasn’t sure how I would feel about his declaration.
I was thrilled, as it turned out, but it raised so many questions. Had he always abstained? A guy like him would be propositioned every other day—so why had he made the choice not to sleep around? Was he a Christian who actually lived out his faith? Or was there a bad experience in his past that had put him off relationships?
I didn’t ask any of those things—not yet. Maybe one day I could.
“Good. Same for me,” I said simply, before starting down the hall. “You didn’t really think I had nefarious intentions, did you?”
“Nope, but I’ve been taken off guard before. Just thought I should mention it, since the opportunity arose.”
I smiled. “Grandma would’ve liked you,” I told him as we stopped in front of the doorway to my new office. “This is the room.”
The door was open so he walked in, turning in a slow circle to take it in.
“This is the room you painted. Your office, right?”
“Yep. I need to get another coat of paint on the trim, then it’ll be ready to move stuff in.”
His eyes stopped roaming the room and fastened on mine. “Most offices don’t require an impenetrable security door.”