“Let’s take a break.” I pull my shirt up and run it along my forehead.
They all head towards the canopy I’ve set up, getting water out of the iced coolers I keep there. I found out early on with my business, if I take care of my crew, they take care of me. I hang back until the end, letting them go first.
When it’s my turn, I grab a bottle of water, twist the cap off, and tip my head back. I let the cold water run down my parched throat, trying not to gulp so much it’ll cause me to be sick. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot a large truck rolling up to our construction site and notice Straight Edge’s logo on the side. The door opens, and a long, tan leg reaches down from inside, putting a sneaker-covered foot on the running board.
“Hot damn,” one of my guys says. “I’d like to get a piece of that.”
I smack him in the head, jealousy roaring up unexpectedly in my stomach. “That’s Justin’s sister, dude, and she and I are kind of dating at the moment. Keep your mouth shut.”
“My bad.” He puts his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t know.”
“It’s new.” My voice is agitated as she finishes getting out of the truck and pulls her sunglasses up over her head. “Get back to work,” I bark out the order as I walk over to meet her.
“Hey.” She smiles at me, reaching up to give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
She’s always done this when she greets me; I don’t know why it feels different this time. “Hey, yourself. Not that I don’t like seeing you, but your brother should be here today, not you.”
“I know.” She walks back to the truck, hopping up onto the running board, and reaching in to grab an iPad mini. The way she bows her body and stretches makes her cut-offs pull tight against her ass, rising so far I can see the beginning swell of a cheek. Holy fucking shit. She’s still talking and I do my best to pay attention. “One of the crews got too close to a pond and got stuck. He’s helping them get situated and sent me out on this and the next project so we could keep things moving. He’s pissed as all hell.”
“He’s an ass, considering how hot it is out here,” I said, nodding at the worn cut-offs and her tank top.
“I’m wearing as little as I can while still being decent. I hope it’s enough.” She laughs.
“My crew definitely noticed.” I hope she takes that into account if she ever wants to come see me again. Hopefully she’ll wear more clothing.
She wrinkles her nose in a cute way, tilting her head up towards me. “The question I want to ask Reed Shamrock is, did you notice?”
I can’t even lie, and maybe it makes me a bastard, because I’m not supposed to be noticing. She’s not really mine to notice, but I can’t make her think I don’t appreciate how good she looks either. “I did. Couldn’t help but notice.”
The twinkle in her eye tells me I’m in big trouble, but at this point, I’m not sure I care.
CHAPTER FOUR
Sass
Reed is right, it is hot out here, too hot to be legal. I hold up the hair at the back of my neckline, hoping to give the skin some breathing room. Even though I have it in a ponytail, it’s still sticking, piece by piece, to the sweat that’s gathered on my skin. We’re measuring for the sod Reed’s customer wants to lay in the backyard, and I’m having a hard time concentrating. Some of it is the heat, but the other part of it is him.
I’ve seen Reed on construction sites a lot over the past few years, especially as I’ve started to help Justin out more, finally becoming full-time for him earlier this year. It’s never hit me quite like this before. Pulling up in the company truck, I saw him, and it was almost as if I’d never seen him before—at least not like this. Reed’s always been a good looking guy, but today he is a hot-as-fuck man.
I shiver, even though I’m burning up, as I remember the first glance I had of him. Faded, dirty jeans, a rip in his right knee. Boots covering his feet; although they’ve seen better days, there’s something about them being so lived-in that makes my mouth water. His shirt, oh my God, his shirt. It’s white, and the sweat has caused it to stick against his abs; I can see them every time he moves. His abs—I could write poetry about, and possibly sacrifice body parts for. There’s also this little streak of dirt across his cheek, and even the streak of dirt makes my lady parts quiver. He looks like a man, and I don’t think in all of my twenty-four years have I ever really had a man. I pray to every God I know I’ll find out what this particular man is like.
“Alright, that’s it.” He pulls up the measuring device we’re using. “You mind if we do the front yard real fast? The owners were here yesterday and mentioned if sod prices came down, they would be willing to do the front yard too. I wanna get ’em an estimate no matter what. It might be cheaper than what they think. It’d be good for all of us involved.”
I push my sunglasses further up onto my head so I can see the iPad, inputting the data and uploading it to the cloud so Justin can see in real-time what’s going on. Reed is always thinking of how he can benefit us and how we can benefit him. Cross promotion has been key to all of our businesses’ growth, and he was the mastermind behind all that. “Sure.”
“I want to thank you for what you did last night.” He gives me a sweet smile as we walk along the grass line towards the front yard.
Dear Jesus, that smile. It breaks apart his tan face, and I know if he wasn’t sporting a semi-beard I’d see a dimple in the right cheek. “It wasn’t a big deal, Reed. I’ll do whatever it takes to help out a friend. You know that, but I do have to warn you…I had a talk with Justin this morning, and he isn’t happy with either of us.” Little does he know that’s putting it mildly.
He laughs, setting his hands on his hips, inadvertently showcasing how trim they are. I want to wrap my legs around them at some point. I almost guarantee they’re strong enough to hold me up on their own. I scold myself to stop this line of thinking; it’s going to get me nowhere.
“I know, I got a text from him. First thing he said was he reserves the right to kick my ass. Which is fine. Had I thought it through last night, I probably would have warned you this isn’t worth it, but we’ve started now, and since Lacey knows, there’s no reason for us to stop. He also advised me to be careful with you, because you worm your way into people’s lives, and before you know it, they want you around all the time.”
I fucking wish for that to happen more than I’ve ever wished anything in my life. “Either that, or I annoy the shit outta you.” I flash him my own smile. I wonder for a minute if he’s flirting, but no, Reed has never flirted with me, and if he’s doing it now, it’s so other people will see or hear it.
That’s what I have to keep telling myself. Right now none of this is real, no matter how much I wish it was. Reality versus fiction is the name of this game, and I have to keep my heart locked tight. He could shatter it into a thousand tiny pieces.
Reed
Am I really flirting with her? The honest answer to myself? Yes. Fuck yes. I haven’t been able to take my eyes off her ass since she started squatting down to check her measurements. Then she went on her knees like she would straddle some lucky dude at his hips, and I just about combusted. I have to keep telling myself she’s not really mine, but I’m a monogamous guy, and maybe this was a bad fucking idea. I’ve never been the kind of guy who can flit from woman to woman. Even when I was a kid, I needed that long-term relationship. I want to put my ring on a woman’s finger. I want to give her my last name. It’s ingrained in me.
We come around the house, and I tuck her into my side, putting my arm around her neck. The guys were already watching her, and I’ll be damned, if it’s fake or not, I’m staking a claim on her. I turn my face into the bend of her shoulder and place a kiss on her cheek.
“Reed.” She giggles, but it’s breathless, and I wonder if she feels what I do. When she stepped down from the truck and I saw her, my stomach flipped, my heart pounded. I haven’t felt the reaction in a long time, and I’m trying to figure out why I do now. Why her, what’s
changed? It’s never been like that with her before.
Is it me? Have I started to move on, in my own way? Lacey and I haven’t been together for a year, and I’ve stopped looking for her in the house, I’ve stopped laying out enough dinner for two people, I’ve quit almost calling her when I’m going to be late at night. But Sass, I shake my head to myself. Where the fuck did she come from?
“What?” I ask, laughing softly with her.
“You don’t have to do things you don’t want to do in order to make people think we’re together. We could call it a fling.”
I know right now Sass will never be a fling kind of woman, and in our small town, there are rumors that go along with flings. She’s about as into a fling as I am—there are warning signs here, but I’m choosing to ignore them. I won’t acknowledge how long we’ve known each other, or how much she’s grown up, or how she looks at me like I hang her whole world sometimes. “Would it be crazy if I said I wanna have fun with you? There’s no expectation with you Sass. You know most of what I’ve done in my life. I don’t have to worry about being somebody I’m not with you. Would it be so bad?”
She’s breathing heavily, like she’s run a marathon. “No.” She shakes her head. “It wouldn’t be bad. We’re friends, right?”
And at this point, I’m thinking I might like to be more than that with her. “Yeah, we are.”
“Then let’s be friends,” she grins, “and see where it goes.”
It’s been a long time since I let fate decide my path, but I think back. The last time I did it was when I took out a loan for my own construction company I knew I’d never be able to pay back, and I haven’t looked back since. Maybe this isn’t such a bad thing, and maybe I should stop overthinking everything in my life. It got me nowhere with Lacey.
“Alright,” I agree, wondering if this is a good idea or not.
“Good.” She smiles up at me. “Now help me finish these measurements so I can move on to the next jobsite. I think in celebration of us being friends, you should totally cook me dinner in your outdoor kitchen. With the heat the way it is, my apartment will melt.”
“You’re somethin’ else.” I shake my head. “But you’re on. Be there at seven.”
This was either the best decision of my life, or the worst mistake. Unfortunately, we never know until the situation we’re in ends. Sooner or later, I’ll find out.
CHAPTER FIVE
Reed
This isn’t a date, I keep telling myself. I don’t have to try and impress Sass. We’re friends, not lovers. But something pulls at the edges of my subconscious. It tells me I want to impress her; I want to be the person who shows her a good time. I don’t know her past experiences—she’s kept quiet from both me and Justin—probably because she knew we’d do nothing more than tease and make fun. That’s what brothers and brothers’ best friends do. Now, I find myself wanting to know. Who has she had? What has she done? Have they treated her well? Has she had someone like me? Has she ever been serious with anyone the way I was with Lacey?
Fuck, I even looked over my clothes, deciding on a blue T-shirt in the style of the white one I wore this afternoon. I’d have to be blind not to see the way she had been staring at me. She’d licked her lips every time my shirt had stuck to my abs. I’d be lying if I said that hadn’t given me a little thrill. I’m not ashamed to say after Lacey cheated on me, I did have a few months where I wondered if I wasn’t a good-looking guy, if I wasn’t enough to keep a woman satisfied. I’m not entirely over that yet, so knowing she’d enjoyed the way I looked this afternoon meant a hell of a lot to me. It doesn’t escape me that I’m dressed completely different than I used to dress when I’d go out on a date with Lacey. Even though I’m steaks and beer, Lacey never saw me that way. She always wanted me to look like the businessman I am.
“Oh for goodness sakes, Reed. Look like you own your own company when we go out.” Lacey rolls her eyes as she gets a look at me.
It’s been a long day. Nothing has gone right, and all I want to do is go out with my woman, our friends, and throw back a couple of longnecks. “What’s wrong with this?” I look down at my University of Alabama T-shirt and jeans. Yeah, the jeans have a hole or two in them, but they’re comfortable, and right now I’m all about comfort.
“Look at me, Reed. How do you think we’ll look together?” She purses her lips at me. It’s a look I’ve seen more than once and will probably see many more times. She wears my ring now, and next year she’ll take my last name. I take a deep breath. Do I really want to argue about this tonight?
Doing as she asks, I take a good look at her. Her hair is perfectly curled, her makeup is caked on, and the sundress she wears shows off tan legs she’s gotten by lounging around her parents’ pool. She looks impeccable.
“I’ve had a long day, Lace, and to be honest I could give two flyin’ fucks what anyone says about what I’m wearing. If it’s that big a deal, they don’t have to look at me.”
Immediately I know I’ve said the wrong thing, but this is one time she’s not going to make me go change. I’ve done it too many times in this relationship to make her happy. Tonight I’m going to be happy.
“Reed, really?”
“Yeah, really. I don’t talk about the way you can’t leave the house without makeup on. I’m gonna be comfortable tonight; you can suck it up, sweetheart, or stay here.”
She mumbles as she pushes past me, opting to get into her car instead of my truck. It’s a rebellious act and we both know it. She’s been on me for months to stop working on my job sites and to get rid of my truck. It’s an argument we’ve been having, but I refuse to give up everything that makes me, me.
The doorbell rings, breaking me from my memories. I grab my phone out of my pocket, checking the time. Just like Sass, right on the dot. I appreciate that about her. Lacey was usually at least ten minutes late—at the end of our relationship, I’d taken to giving her the wrong times. Otherwise, I’d be waiting, and if there’s one thing I hate, it’s to wait. I take the stairs two at a time, and within seconds, I’m at the front door. Opening it, my mouth falls open as I take in the woman standing in front of me.
There’s a resistance from me, I have to explain about Sass. She’s always been Justin’s sister. Before the other day, I never saw her as anything more than that. Well, that’s kind of a lie. There was the day I realized she wasn’t a little kid anymore, but I took those thoughts and locked them in a vault. One that I never knew the code to unlock. I wouldn’t allow myself, because I didn’t want to mess up the friendships I have. “Off limits” is a good way to describe her, and I never went there with her, but fuck me, now I’ve kind of given myself permission to go there, I know one truth. I’m in deep shit. I’m not sure I can close the vault again or give back that code.
“You look…” I trail off, because there aren’t enough words for me to describe how she looks. My high school education isn’t helping me either, so I open the door further and let her in. Sass has always been a cute girl, good-looking chick, and now she’s grown into a gorgeous woman. Not too tall, not too short, but legs that go on for miles—her head hits me at my collar bone. I like her that way. Her hair is bleached by the sun, making her blue eyes stand out in stark contrast. For the first time I notice how plump her lips are, looking like they’ve been stung by a bee all the time. I wonder why I’ve never noticed that before. But what she’s wearing, God above.
A baby blue sundress shows off the tan she’s gotten over the summer, making her skin glow. I’ve never seen her look this way before. When we go out to the bar, it’s tank tops and ripped jeans, or a long sweater and leggings. Of course I’ve seen her in a swimsuit, but there’s something about seeing her in this sundress, giving me little glimpses of skin as she moves. She’s left her hair curly tonight, pulling it back at the nape of her neck.
That neck, holy shit. I never noticed how long and graceful it was before, and I’m totally a neck man. It’s begging for my lips, and it takes everything I h
ave not to forego this meal I’m cooking for us and make her my dessert. Flip flops cover her feet, and that is traditional Sass. If she’s able to wear flip flops, that’s what she’s gonna wear.
“Thanks.” She grins up at me. “You don’t look so bad yourself. Too bad I didn’t have a dark blue sundress, then we could have matched.”
I don’t miss the way her eyes roam my body. The same way they did earlier today. Score one for my self-esteem, as much as I pretend I don’t need it. I do. Don’t we all?
“Next time,” I offer. “I need to check on the grill. I turned it on a few minutes ago. It should be warm enough by now.”
I motion for her to walk in front of me; not because I’m being a gentleman, but because I want to watch her ass shake. I’m not disappointed in that either. Another difference between her and Lacey. Lacey didn’t like showing herself off to me, and now I know why. She was showing herself off to other men. I know Sass, though, probably better than she knows herself. She shows only what she wants to, and to know she wants to show herself off to me, when no one else is around—means everything. It takes my breath, to be honest.
“What are you cooking?” she asks over her shoulder, grinning as she catches me watching her. Her eyes sparkle, and right now I’ll do whatever it takes to put that sparkle in them whenever I can.
“Steak, baked potatoes, I might have a salad in here somewhere if you require some leafy green vegetables.”
She throws her head back, laughing. “It all depends on what kind of dressing you got, because if it’s that honey mustard shit you like, I’ll enjoy eatin’ only meat and potatoes.”
The words “eatin’ meat” go straight to my groin, and I know that’s not what she meant at all. “Have a seat.”
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