can’t beat that kind of deal.” She took another sip of her wine, letting the sweet, cool liquid run down her throat, and noticed a slight light-headedness. Wow, some seriously potent stuff.
“Trust me, there are times when the landlord definitely gets the better end of the deal.” He shrugged his shoulders while glancing over at the grape vines. “We like the neighborhood and hate moving, so here we are.”
She got the feeling there was more to it than laziness. His tone held a trace of fondness both for the place and for the slave-driving building owner. “Will your arrangement with him be a problem when you start on the rec center? I mean, you aren’t going to be working on his jobs when you should be working on the center, are you? It’s very important that we finish before school lets out.”
Holding her breath, she said a little prayer, hoping she hadn’t made a mistake that would cause her good buddy Stan to gloat.
He swallowed pizza and took a sip of wine and shook his head. “No worries, he knows the paying jobs come first. Who’s the project manager?”
“Tawny and I are the co-chairs. If you have questions, you can contact either one of us. We’ll need weekly updates. Also, the board would prefer an on-site inspection.”
He slid another slice of pizza onto each of their plates before he sat back in his chair, taking a hard look at her. Thankfully, she’d had lots of practice at being a freak on display. Heck, millions tuned in each Monday to watch her dating escapades. “Do any of the committee members have actual construction experience?”
“Hmm, does building a recipe box in grade school count?”
“Not really, but I’m sure the recipient thought it was lovely.”
“I’ll have you know it’s held up for the past twenty years, and my gram still uses it. I’d say that’s some quality craftsmanship.”
“My apologies. I stand corrected.” He toasted her with his glass, a playful grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. She caught herself staring at his mouth, remembering the feel of his lips as he trailed kisses along her jaw the night before. Remembered how hard it had been to pull away. She glanced up, looked into his eyes. The pupils were dilated and his breathing was hard and fast. Looked like maybe she wasn’t the only one who remembered their kiss.
“Why don’t we set up Fridays at three for the on-site? That will give me more time to answer all of your questions.” His voice sounded like a man who’d spent a lifetime sipping on whiskey and smoking.
“That should work. There is one other thing, Mr. Valentine—”
“Jason, please.”
That should be her line, and she so needed to get her mind back on business. “Jason, no more lies, because no one gets a third chance.”
He held two fingers up and crossed his heart with his other hand. “Scout’s honor.”
Ha. Luke Skywalker was a Boy Scout, Jason was more like Han Solo, and everyone knew he was a scoundrel. Of course, he also got the girl. “Were you ever a Scout?”
“For about a day.” Now, that she could believe.
Chapter Seven
C herry rolled over in bed, blinking at the alarm clock on her mahogany night table and the incessant ringing of the phone. “This better be an emergency or I’m killing someone,” she said to no one. It figured she’d be woken up early on her day off, especially as she’d come home from Jason’s too keyed up to sleep, even with the wine in her. Her mind had refused to rest. Instead it kept going back over Jason’s explanation again and again. Okay, she got his reasoning, even if she didn’t agree with him. Yes, she kept circling back to the elephant left in the room—he’d never apologized for kissing her.
As she stayed up half the night and watched back episodes of Castle while visiting with her old friends Ben and Jerry, she tried to figure out why. Did that mean he didn’t regret the kiss? Or that he’d already forgotten it?
“Morning, Mija . Did I wake
“Trust me, there are times when the landlord definitely gets the better end of the deal.” He shrugged his shoulders while glancing over at the grape vines. “We like the neighborhood and hate moving, so here we are.”
She got the feeling there was more to it than laziness. His tone held a trace of fondness both for the place and for the slave-driving building owner. “Will your arrangement with him be a problem when you start on the rec center? I mean, you aren’t going to be working on his jobs when you should be working on the center, are you? It’s very important that we finish before school lets out.”
Holding her breath, she said a little prayer, hoping she hadn’t made a mistake that would cause her good buddy Stan to gloat.
He swallowed pizza and took a sip of wine and shook his head. “No worries, he knows the paying jobs come first. Who’s the project manager?”
“Tawny and I are the co-chairs. If you have questions, you can contact either one of us. We’ll need weekly updates. Also, the board would prefer an on-site inspection.”
He slid another slice of pizza onto each of their plates before he sat back in his chair, taking a hard look at her. Thankfully, she’d had lots of practice at being a freak on display. Heck, millions tuned in each Monday to watch her dating escapades. “Do any of the committee members have actual construction experience?”
“Hmm, does building a recipe box in grade school count?”
“Not really, but I’m sure the recipient thought it was lovely.”
“I’ll have you know it’s held up for the past twenty years, and my gram still uses it. I’d say that’s some quality craftsmanship.”
“My apologies. I stand corrected.” He toasted her with his glass, a playful grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. She caught herself staring at his mouth, remembering the feel of his lips as he trailed kisses along her jaw the night before. Remembered how hard it had been to pull away. She glanced up, looked into his eyes. The pupils were dilated and his breathing was hard and fast. Looked like maybe she wasn’t the only one who remembered their kiss.
“Why don’t we set up Fridays at three for the on-site? That will give me more time to answer all of your questions.” His voice sounded like a man who’d spent a lifetime sipping on whiskey and smoking.
“That should work. There is one other thing, Mr. Valentine—”
“Jason, please.”
That should be her line, and she so needed to get her mind back on business. “Jason, no more lies, because no one gets a third chance.”
He held two fingers up and crossed his heart with his other hand. “Scout’s honor.”
Ha. Luke Skywalker was a Boy Scout, Jason was more like Han Solo, and everyone knew he was a scoundrel. Of course, he also got the girl. “Were you ever a Scout?”
“For about a day.” Now, that she could believe.
Chapter Seven
C herry rolled over in bed, blinking at the alarm clock on her mahogany night table and the incessant ringing of the phone. “This better be an emergency or I’m killing someone,” she said to no one. It figured she’d be woken up early on her day off, especially as she’d come home from Jason’s too keyed up to sleep, even with the wine in her. Her mind had refused to rest. Instead it kept going back over Jason’s explanation again and again. Okay, she got his reasoning, even if she didn’t agree with him. Yes, she kept circling back to the elephant left in the room—he’d never apologized for kissing her.
As she stayed up half the night and watched back episodes of Castle while visiting with her old friends Ben and Jerry, she tried to figure out why. Did that mean he didn’t regret the kiss? Or that he’d already forgotten it?
“Morning, Mija . Did I wake
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