Suddenly, there was a loud wolf whistle above them, and Dawn looked up to see Hunter peering down through a hole in the ceiling at them. He flashed a grin, then disappeared from sight as she heard Grayson swear unintelligibly and shove him out of view.
All at once, their extreme closeness became very apparent, and Garrett backed away awkwardly. The second his hands left hers, she could feel a rush of disappointment in her core, and the nail gun felt heavy in her hands once more.
Keeping it pointed at the ground, she turned to face Garrett, who was nervously scratching the back of his head and looking at the ground.
“So, yeah. Great job,” he muttered, not making eye contact.
“Thanks. I’ll probably let you guys handle the heavy stuff for now. But I really appreciate the lesson.”
She looked up at him, and finally his amber eyes met hers, sending a frisson of lingering attraction down her spine again. She almost forgot what she was doing, then remembered and handed the nail gun back to him, which he gingerly took from her like it was a present before holstering it in his tool belt.
“Of course, whatever you’d like.” He mustered a tense smile.
“How about I go get lunch for the crew instead?”
She needed a little space before she started getting ideas about grabbing him by his tool belt and repeating what she’d done last night.
Of course, nobody could do something to like that to Garrett if he didn’t want it, which only made it sound crazier in her own head that she wanted him so badly, not knowing if he felt the same toward her.
“That would be nice,” he said, perking up, but not before his gaze locked with hers once more, making her knees feel weak.
“Nothing with tuna!” Grayson demanded from somewhere unknown on the roof.
As she turned to walk toward her car, feeling wobbly, she could feel amber eyes watching her closely. But by the time she turned to get into her vehicle, starting it up, he was moving quickly, arranging things and nailing boards in with incredible speed.
It wasn’t just her, right? They both felt something. She wasn’t just imagining things.
At least she hoped so, because she was pretty sure that wasn’t the last time something awkward would happen between her and Garrett.
Chapter 8
The next few days held so much work that Garrett managed to keep busy enough to not worry so much about how things were progressing with his mate.
She’d been around the job site almost every day, usually just bringing supplies to save them trips to town or bringing in lunch or chatting with them on breaks.
He understood her wanting to be a part of the project since this was going to be her home.
She hadn’t asked for any lessons with nail guns since that first day, so he wasn’t sure if he had made her uncomfortable.
He certainly hoped not.
It was hard to watch her around the work site, looking beautiful in a camp chair with a book or laughing at something with Hunter.
Even Grayson seemed to be won over sometimes, and he would occasionally hover with his lunch nearby when someone else was talking to her so he could chime in.
And she seemed to be happy about it, so Garrett forced himself not to get more jealous than necessary.
He trusted Grayson and Hunter. They were his friends. And he should be glad that the men he considered his family were getting along with his mate.
At the same time, there was an ache inside him that needed to be answered, growing stronger every day, to let her know more of his feelings. To be honest with himself and her about who he really was.
But how to go about it?
She was currently fixing lunch for them outside the trailer, probably putting together tacos or something she’d brought in from town, and Garrett couldn’t help looking at her somewhat wistfully.
“You should just ask her out, you know. Put us all out of our misery,” Hunter said, coming out of nowhere to put his hand on Garrett’s shoulder.
“Don’t sneak up on me like that,” Garrett snapped. “And what do you mean put us all out of our misery?”
Hunter raised a dark-blond eyebrow. “Exactly that. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but taking it slow with your mate is making you one grumpy bear.”
“I’m just trying to get work done.”
“You’re stalling,” Grayson chimed in, coming up from behind him.
Garrett’s heart began hammering hard. “Weren’t you the one who was telling me to slow down just a few days ago?”
Grayson shrugged. “Things change. Now I think you should snap her up before one of the other guys in town gets ideas about her.”
“Primitive, as always, but Grayson’s correct. We’ve seen the way you look at each other when you each think the other isn’t watching. Just get it over with already.”
“But what if she… doesn’t want me?”
“You don’t know ‘til you ask,” Grayson said, planting a boot in Garrett’s back and shoving him forward in Dawn’s direction. “So get to it.”
Garrett sent a scowl at his friends but knew they were just thinking the best of him. Still, they couldn’t understand how he felt, how anyone felt when they knew someone meant so much to them and yet were terrified to scare them off.
This wasn’t one date or one relationship. This was the woman he was meant to be with for life. That meant screwing up was out of the question.
Yet Grayson was right. Garrett was taking too long, waiting for the right moment. He’d never thought himself a coward in his life, but he was being one now.
He took a deep breath and walked over to her, squaring his shoulders and hoping his beard and hair looked presentable today.
When he got to her, she was breathtakingly beautiful as always. Her hair in that loose braid, red strands glistening in the sun. She was humming to herself as she put the last touches on some tacos she’d pulled from takeout containers.
She had a white zip-up jacket on, along with jeans, and he took a moment to appreciate the sheer femininity of her body. So soft, so touchable.
He could still remember their kiss the other night. Hell, remember? It was seared into his mind as if she’d branded it there.
“Um. Dawn?”
She looked up at him and flushed slightly, having to tilt her head all the way up to look into his eyes. “What is it? Is something wrong?” She smiled at her work on the table. “Lunch is almost ready, if that’s what you’re wondering about.”
He cleared his throat. “No, it’s not that. I was wondering… if maybe you… wanted to come out with me sometime.”
Her expression slackened as her face went slowly blank. Oh damn, that couldn’t be good.
“Um, come out with you?”
“On a… date.”
Her reddish-brown eyebrows shot up and her lips parted in shock, but then she composed herself pretty well, smoothing her hands over her jacket. “I… Why?”
Now that he hadn’t expected. “Because I would like to get to know you better. After our night at the bar—”
“Oh geez, that was awful.” She let out a laugh as she touched her hand to her forehead. “I got so drunk and told you so many things I didn’t mean to…”
He took a step forward, placing a tentative hand on her elbow. “I liked it. I want to know even more about you.”
“You aren’t just saying this because I kissed you? Because you think you have some duty to me as a… as a client?”
He frowned, wondering how this little human could have gotten such a wrong idea of him. “Of course not.”
“Because I know I practically attacked you, and—”
He didn’t know why he did it, if it was the sunshine beating down on them, warming the air, or the insecurity in her beautiful gray eyes… but he pulled her into a kiss, softly placing his lips over hers for only a moment before pulling back to see her reaction.
“Oh, I… Wow,” she said.
“Yeah. You didn’t attack me.”
&
nbsp; “But you had to push me away.” She looked genuinely confused.
“Because you were drunk,” he retorted. “It wouldn’t have been right to go further with you.” He took a step forward, backing her into the picnic table, liking the way she looked up at him with so much awareness of him as a male in her eyes. “But trust me, Dawn. If you hadn’t been affected by alcohol, that night would have gone very different.”
She swallowed, and he watched her throat bob nervously. “I see. How would it have gone?”
He cocked his head as he looked down at her. “I guess we’ll have to go out again if we want to see.”
“Oh.” She still looked like she wasn’t certain of his intentions, so he decided to be even more plain.
What could it hurt at this point?
“Dawn, I’ve been interested from the moment I saw you. But if you don’t want anything to do with me in that way, tell me now.”
“I… I’m interested. It’s just—”
“A little awkward.” He agreed. “I know. But you can’t choose how you meet someone.”
She bit her lip, and a smile spread over her face. “Okay. We’ll give it a try, then. I mean, what else is there to do around here?”
He decided not to take her implication that she would go out because she was bored, because he knew both of them were nervous about this new thing starting between them. “So tonight, then? Pick you up around five?”
“Oh, leaving work early?” She teased.
“Yeah, I have a date. I just gotta check with my client, make sure it’s okay since we’re ahead of schedule.” He folded his arms, looking expectantly at her as she shuffled her feet.
“I think the client’s okay with it,” she replied with a smile. “Just don’t be late.”
Then she turned with a slight sashay of her hips to go get Grayson and Hunter for lunch, and Garrett had to remind himself to breathe just thinking about how lucky he was.
Dawn was nervous as she paced in her hotel living room, waiting for Garrett to show up.
Though she’d been caught off guard, it’d been easy to banter with him when he’d asked her out.
Thinking about spending a whole evening alone with him was more nerve-wracking.
Hunter had occasionally asked her about Garrett, and she’d thought he might have been hinting that Garrett had a thing for her, but her own insecurities had stopped her from thinking much of it.
She was just grateful that Garrett seemed to have kept their kiss between themselves so the others couldn’t tease her about it.
Given how isolated she’d been growing up, it was kind of surprising how fast she was bonding with all the men on the work site. Almost as if she finally had big brothers.
Except for Garrett. There was no way she’d ever been able to see anything brotherly about him.
It was hard not to daydream about him when she went on the work site, even when she was supposed to be paying attention to other things.
She hadn’t really realized how much of a workaholic she had been until she was forced to take a break from it all.
Now she was realizing that life had been passing her by. That she’d gone too many days without taking a walk in the sunshine or going out of her way to spend time with other people out in the world.
It made her want to show up at the job site every day, even as a part of her couldn’t believe how fast everything was moving along.
And she needed to remember. These men might be her friends, but when the job was done, they’d be moving along.
So she and Garrett could have fun together while he was staying here, but she should be careful with her heart as time went on.
Still, for now, he was just what she needed.
She heard the rumble of an engine outside and peeked through the peephole to see Garrett stepping out of his truck.
There was something about seeing a big, muscly man stepping out of a big, muscly truck…
Today he had on a dark-blue flannel and nicer jeans than usual. His hair was somewhat tamed, and his beard nicely trimmed.
And oh God, that body.
She fanned her face as she watched him through the peephole, knowing she was being a creep.
Soon she would have to open the door and face him, perverted smile on her face and blush crawling up her cheeks.
She jumped as he reached the door and knocked, and she took a few deep breaths to calm down. When she was done, she opened the door for him and enjoyed the long, appreciative look he gave her from head to toe.
So he liked the floral maxi dress she was wearing that hung off the shoulders a little and hugged her waist before flaring out. It was the most comfortable but sexy thing she had, so she was glad he seemed to approve of it.
“You look beautiful,” he said, putting out an arm for her.
It was old-fashioned, but it suited him, and she wanted to cry at the firm, burly feel of his forearm under her hand. So good. Once she allowed herself to taste him, how was she going to live without this?
At least he would be a blueprint for what she should look for in her life, and with a shortage of women in the town, her prospects for finding a man to spend her life with were fairly good.
Even if the only one she wanted was right here next to her, walking her over to the road.
If she was honest, she had to admit she’d had fantasies, both sexual ones and daydreams about how their life would be together if he were to somehow stay there with her in her house.
She knew it was just her imagination going crazy, rank fantasies that had no chance of becoming true… but that didn’t stop her from reliving them.
“So I know this might seem boring, so turn me down if you want, but there’s this little museum and—”
“Oh! The dollhouse museum! I know. I wanted to go there, too, and—”
“Phew,” he said, wiping his brow dramatically. “Was worried for a minute there that I might be the only one interested in tiny things.” He flushed slightly for some reason and paused.
She laughed. “Isn’t everyone tiny to you?”
He nodded. “I guess so, but I like it that way.” His smile on her was warm and appreciative, and though she got the feeling he was kind to everyone, she was finally starting to see how the kindness he showed her was somehow different.
Perhaps he really was interested in her, for more than just killing some time.
Her hand gripped his arm tighter as they walked down the road, cheekily scooting up to his bicep.
Oh damn, it felt as good as it looked, and she couldn’t remotely get her hand around it.
She looked up to see him cocking his head in confusion, his smile plain even through his dark beard.
“Oh, there was a rock and…” She searched the ground for the imaginary culprit. “I didn’t want to trip.” She moved her hand back down to his forearm reluctantly.
He threw back his head in a laugh and then put his hand over hers, moving it back to his bicep. “You can feel any part of me you want to, darlin’. Feel free.”
She bit her lip in embarrassment but took him up on the offer, keeping her hand on his arm all the way to the museum.
When they got there, he insisted on paying for both of them and held the door for her to go inside.
The nosy old man running the museum glared at her over foggy specs, and she just waved awkwardly as she walked into the dim, dusty museum in front of them.
It wasn’t exactly what she had expected from the posters.
Garrett seemed unfazed, and his hand actually grabbed hers tightly as he walked forward, pulling her toward a house in a case in the center of the room. “Oh! Look how tiny!”
He let go of her hand to bend down and look inside the house, pressing his hands against the glass to get a better look. “Little lights, even a little toilet paper roll!”
“What? Let me see.” She crouched next to him. “Oh my gosh, so cute!”
“Look, little plates. Little cans on the shelf!” He pointed at the kitchen.
“Oh man, who makes these things?” She shared a flushed smile with him and realized he was closer than she expected, so close they could almost touch.
She stood awkwardly, and he followed suit, both of them looking slightly abashed at their own excitement.
“I told you I wanted to see this place,” she said nervously, wrapping her hands around herself.
He grabbed her hand again, this time more gently, and intertwined their fingers, locking eyes with her to make sure it was all right.
She nodded.
His amber eyes twinkled. “I think it’s cute. Then again, I think a lot of things are cute about you.”
“Oh?” She led the way to the next house in a glass case. This one was handmade, right down to the shingles. “Like what?”
“For one, you can’t hold alcohol at all,” he said.
“I thought that was a reason for rejecting me.”
“It was, but not because you were any less desirable. I think you’re just so tiny you can’t drink very much, and that’s cute.”
She snorted, wrinkling her nose. “I haven’t been called that a lot before. You know, I’m not that far below average.”
“You are compared to me.”
She smiled, letting her eyes roam all the way up him. “I like that, though.”
Pride welled in his expression. “Good.” He led the way to the next house, and they chatted as they went.
“Do you wish one of your sisters had something like this?” she asked quietly, wanting to know about his childhood.
He stopped and his hand tightened on hers slightly. “Well… I don’t have sisters.”
“What toys did you have to play with? Legos? Boy stuff?”
He bit his lip, and it was so full she had to distract herself from staring at it so she could actually listen to him and meet his eyes. “Well… not exactly. I guess I spent a lot of time outdoors.”
“That’s right. You grew up where it was beautiful. The Rocky Mountains?”
“Colorado,” he said. “Not exactly the Rocky Mountains, but in that area.”
“So your parents are big outdoors people?”
Love at Furst Sight (Built Fur Love Book 1) Page 6