When he said “go at it like—” I groaned, finishing that sentence in my head. “She was wearing silk pajamas when she got soaked.”
There was a pause when Sam’s eyes widened, then he shook his head and chuckled. “Now I get it. Were you too busy helping her dry off?”
“Something like that.” I waved a hand at him, very uncomfortable with how easy he was taking my confession. I’d expected him to lecture me on not getting involved with a client.
“Was it see-through?” Sam asked carefully.
“Possibly.”
Sam laughed again, shaking his head. “Something similar happened between Alice and me one night. She dropped a glass, and she was wet. I could see everything. That’s when it all started for us.”
I dropped my head into my hands. “That’s what I’m worried about.”
“You like her.” It wasn’t a question.
I ran a hand through my hair. I wanted to fuck her. Was that the same thing? “I don’t know about that.”
“Does she feel the same?”
I picked at the label on the bottle. “I mean, you can’t just ask a woman that. Maybe some, but not her.”
“What did you do?”
My skin heated all over again when I thought about Natalie in my arms. “I helped her dry off, and she went to her apartment. It sounded like she took a bath.”
Sam’s lips twitched. “Okay, creeper.”
He was enjoying this entirely too much. “It wasn’t like that. I was still in the kitchen, trying to sort things out in my head, when the water started running.”
Sam smirked. “And you imagined her naked in the tub?”
“Trust me, she didn’t leave much to the imagination in that wet lingerie.”
Sam chuckled, and when he sobered, he said, “I’m a little confused. Why are you here? You don’t need my permission to fuck her. Just don’t let it get messy or interfere with the business.”
I sighed. “That’s the thing… I don’t think it’s fair to her. She’s a single mom—”
He nodded as understanding passed over his face. “You’re here to get my advice as a single parent.”
“Yeah.” I wanted him to tell me not to pursue it. I was a little worried this was something more than just physical. When I held her, something akin to tenderness flowed through me.
“I’ll be honest. It’s a tricky situation. None of us know her past. But if you’re up-front with her, I think it will be okay. Just don’t mess with her if you think she wants more.”
“I have no idea what she wants.” Sam was right. I didn’t know Natalie, what she was thinking, or what she wanted.
“Sounds like you two need to have a conversation. But don’t let whatever happens between you two mess up the business side of things.”
That was a good reminder that I should keep my dick in my pants. Women weren’t worth sacrificing my livelihood or the company’s. “I think I’ll take a step back. Keep it professional.”
Sam considered me carefully before he finally asked, “Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”
“It’s the right thing.” I didn’t let women lead me around anymore. I had to be practical in this situation. Standing, I stretched my back, then threw out the empty beer bottle in the garbage. “Maybe when the B&B is done.”
Sam stood to join me, patting my shoulder. “Just don’t let something good pass you by.”
Bitterness flooded my mouth. I’d never experienced anything good from a relationship. I’d been prepared to propose to my college girlfriend when she told me she was moving across the country for a job. She didn’t ask me to join her. A few years later, I dated Ivy, a single mom, thinking she was perfect for me. I fell hard and fast. When she went back to her ex, I was crushed. Relationships weren’t for me.
I’d wanted what everyone did, someone to love and a family, but it just wasn’t in the cards for me. Ever since, I kept relationships casual so I wouldn’t get hurt. Everything with Natalie already felt too intense. I didn’t want to get more tangled up in her.
“Thanks for the talk,” I said to Sam as I made my way through his house to the front door.
“I don’t feel like I helped you.” There was regret in his tone.
“It was good advice. Otherwise, I would have taken what I wanted without a thought to the consequences.”
“But that’s not you,” Sam said solemnly as he opened the front door.
I knew what Sam was trying to say. Underneath everything, I was still the same hopeless romantic. But he was wrong. I had to resist Natalie. I didn’t have a choice.
I thanked him again as I got into my truck and headed to my house. I’d built it recently when I concluded a wife wasn’t in my future. I didn’t need to wait to build the perfect house with someone else. I didn’t have anyone to build that future with. I was alone.
Unfortunately, the large house on three acres near my parents’ place was cold and empty. I unlocked the door, but no one greeted me. And no one ever had. Maybe I needed to get a dog.
I’d resisted before because I worked long hours, but maybe it was time. It would give me an excuse to cut out of work early and get home. No more late nights at the B&B. I didn’t need any more temptation.
CHAPTER 3
NATALIE
I wondered if Mac heard me take a bath with my vibrator the other night because he’d avoided me ever since. He was polite, even ma’am-ing me, which had me gritting my teeth. I wasn’t that old. Sure, I was a mom, but it made me feel ancient. Was that how he thought of me after he saw me in wet lingerie?
Maybe our encounter freaked him out. Either he wasn’t interested in me, and I’d imagined the heat in his eyes, or he wanted nothing to do with a single mother. When Carter broke things off, I figured that might be the case with some guys.
Not that I was interested in anything serious. I was supposed to be focused on my daughter and the B&B, not on its hot contractor.
Instead, I worked at the front counter, pretending not to notice how his ass looked when he bent over, or the way his biceps bulged when he lifted something over his head. He was sexy. I noticed he worked alongside his crew, not afraid to do the heavy lifting or get his hands dirty. It was admirable. Since he was the foreman, I was sure he could have gone about things differently and taken a more hands-off approach.
I was lost in thought while watching him hang drywall in the foyer when someone said, “Good afternoon.”
I blinked at Sam, Mac’s youngest brother and single dad of an adorable four-year-old named Maggie. He smiled wide, his gaze going from me to Mac.
“What are you doing here?” Mac asked, setting the board on the ground and wiping his hands on a cloth that hung out of his back pocket before he joined us.
“Just wanted to check on your progress,” Sam said, his lips tipped up.
“Since when are you the foreman?” Mac asked.
Earlier on, these two worked together. But I rarely saw Sam around anymore. He was busy with the new branch of his business. But I remembered how they bantered like brothers, teasing each other and joking around. As an only child, I’d found it amusing and heartwarming. I knew they had a third brother, and I wondered how his mother had managed to raise them without losing her mind.