Liv knew what she was doing, and she didn’t need some jerk telling her the best process for treating a wall or picking the right lighting. She could run circles around him any day, and I enjoyed listening to her tell him off by showing off her knowledge and outwitting him.
His crew arrived, and I met them all personally. I liked knowing the people who would be working on a project with me. After only a couple of days, I saw two things very clearly. The crew was hard-working, knew their stuff, and gave one hundred percent.
Second, Nolan was a terrible boss and treated the all-male crew as if they were beneath him. Whereas I worked alongside my men and women, he was the kind of foreman I despised. He sat in the trailer, barked out orders, never said thank you, and worked his men hard. The only time I saw him act decently was when John showed up on site, which I found interesting.
I had questioned the fact that Nolan had no women in his crew, and his reply said everything about him.
“Thank God I’ve avoided that so far,” he snorted. “In my opinion, no women should be in construction. They aren’t built for it.”
“My female crew are outstanding,” I replied. “I’ve never had an issue with gender. As long as their work is good, I’m all for it.”
He regarded me with a slight sneer. “Better you than me.” He walked away.
“Asshole,” I muttered under my breath.
Beside me, one of his crew snickered, and I looked over, embarrassed at being heard.
“Sorry, that was uncalled for.”
“Nope.” Simon shook his head, putting his hard hat in place. “Spot-on,” he replied, clapping me on the back as he walked past me. “Spot-on.”
I stared at his retreating form. I liked Simon. He worked hard, never complained, and was a great leader for the other crew. I had already thought of poaching him once this project was done. I could certainly offer him a much better working environment.
I planned on looking into it as soon as this was complete.
Elly arrived home midweek, and I drove Liv to pick her up at the airport with Mouse in the back seat, excited to see her Grammie.
“What did she say—about Nolan’s appearance?” I asked Liv, keeping my voice low, even though I knew Sammy was engrossed in the Disney DVD I had put in for her. She was singing along, her feet bouncing in time with the music.
“I haven’t told her.”
“Liv,” I replied, shocked. “She should know. She would want to know.”
She glanced behind her, smiling at Sammy and handing her a bag of goldfish to snack on.
“I will, Van,” she assured me. “But I didn’t want to do it over the phone and upset her.”
“Okay. I’ll take Mouse for a drive, and you can talk.”
“No, it’s fine. We’re having girls’ night on Friday, and once Sammy goes to bed, I’ll fill her in.”
“Friday?” I frowned. “I wanted you girls on Friday.”
She patted my arm. “You have to share us again, Van. You’ve had us all to yourself for almost two weeks.”
“Not true,” I disagreed. “My mom has been around a lot. She hogs both of you. Now Dad is getting in on the action too.”
I had taken them to lunch at my parents’. Dad adored Liv, and Sammy had charmed him in about two minutes flat. He had taken her to his workshop, insisted she call him Poppa Joe, and later during lunch informed me we had to design a headboard to go with Sammy’s bookshelf.
“She had a perfectly good headboard,” Liv protested.
“It doesn’t really match,” I pointed out, noticing Mouse was about to fall off her chair in excitement.
“Yeah, Mommy. There’s no glitter.”
“God forbid,” Liv muttered.
“Yeah,” I repeated. “We need to fix that.”
My dad agreed. “I’m on it.”
Mouse’s squeal was loud.
Liv laughed quietly, bringing me back to the moment. “Not that much, Van. It’s only one night. I need the time with my mom.”
“I know,” I admitted grudgingly. “I’m teasing. Sort of,” I added under my breath.
Liv shook her head in amusement.
“Are you sure you want to wait until then to tell her?”
“It’s tomorrow. Nothing is going to change between tonight and tomorrow. I’ll let her get settled, and I’ll talk to her. Promise.”
“Okay.” I slid my hand over hers. “But only the one night, right?”
She faced the window, but I saw her smile. “Yes. I’ll make it up with dinner on Saturday.”
“Lunch,” I insisted. “I’ll take you all to lunch. Mouse and I can have some time at the park.”
Sammy clapped her hands and I chuckled.
“See? Win-win.”
We arrived at the airport, and Elly was waiting outside.
“Wait until Grammie hears we’re going to the park!” Sammy crowed.
“Yeah.” I grinned. “It’ll be the highlight of her day.”
All Liv could do was laugh.
Elly looked happy and rested. I was all the happier to see her when she informed us she was taking Mouse home with her.
“I’ve missed my girl too much—I need some Grammie time.”
“We’re having a girls’ night tomorrow,” Liv reminded her.
“That’s at your place. Tonight, I get Sammy. She has clothes at my place. I’ll keep her tomorrow, and we’ll meet at your apartment when you get off work. I’m sure Van would keep you company for a while tonight, won’t you, Van?”
I met her eyes in the mirror and winked.
“For a while,” I agreed.
“Good, it’s settled.”
We dropped her off, and I waited in the truck while Liv went upstairs and made sure they were okay. She slid back into the cab and turned to me.
“Well, it appears we have a free evening.”
I grinned, sliding my hand up her arm and wrapping it around her neck, tugging her close.
“Whatever will we do with ourselves?”
Her breath washed over my face as she pressed her lips to the edge of mine. “I’m sure we’ll come up with something.”
“Something is up, all right,” I chuckled against her mouth.
“Take me home, Van.”
I kissed her hard. “You got it.”
I was tired the next morning—in the very best of ways. Knowing I wouldn’t have much time with Liv this weekend, I had kept her up most of the night. I had her on the sofa, in the hall, and the kitchen, then again in her too-small-for-me bed, the frame creaking in protest.
I left her early, going home to shower and change. Her kiss goodbye had been sweet and lingering. She was on my mind all day.
I was on site most of the day, dealing with some issues and overseeing that we were on schedule.
I went to grab coffee and overheard a conversation between Simon and Nolan.
“I said no. We’re behind, and I need it made up today.”
“I only need a couple of hours later, Nolan. My kid is sick, and my wife needs me to pick up the younger one. I’ll be back fast.”
“Make other arrangements. I said no.”