I pop a pea into my mouth, letting my thigh brush against Paisley’s for a millisecond. It’s so brief, it doesn’t count.
“That’s great news.”
While Brian and Spencer launch into a discussion about the construction business, I look over at Paisley and her light blue eyes meet mine.
“I’m sorry we didn’t ask if you were busy.”
“It’s ok.” She scoots peas around on her plate and gives me the innocent smile that attracted boys like bees to honey in high school. On more than one occasion, Spencer and I had to keep guys at bay. She’s probably got a million guys after her now. That thought irritates me.
“No hot date you need to cancel?” I’m selfish and want to know if she’s dating anyone.
“No, no hot date.”
It’s hard to look away from her. She’s so fucking pretty. Long blonde hair flows past her shoulders like silk. And it’s not the typical golden blonde either. No, her hair is angel blonde, with wisps that flutter around her flawless face. And I’m the devil who shouldn’t be alone with her.
“If you want to go another time, I get it,” I say, offering her a way out.
“No, don’t be silly. It’s fine.”
“I can drive, and then bring you back to your car so you can go home?”
Her cheeks turn pink when she explains she’s staying with her parents until the house is liveable.
I lean closer, a glutton for punishment and breathe her in. “Well, let’s get it done quickly, so you can get your privacy back.”
“Privacy would be great,” she says.
My wicked mind races to what naughty things she probably does in the privacy of her own home.
Pull it together, before you sport wood at the dinner table.
“When are you looking to move in, Paisley?” Spencer asks.
She shrugs, and the motion brings her slender arm dangerously close to mine. “Whenever it’s all ready to be lived in, I guess.” She laughs a little. “Believe me, it needs a lot of work.”
“There’s never been a house we can’t fix. Isn’t that right, V?” Spencer directs his question at me.
I nod. “Yeah, we’ll get that place liveable in no time.”
Mrs. Watts makes a noise from the other side of the table. “I can’t believe my baby will be living so far away all by herself.”
“Mom, I’m not a baby. I’ll be fine.”
Her mother gets teary-eyed. “I just hate it. Will you be safe out there all alone?”
She brings up a good point, and suddenly I want to see this house and location even more.
“I’ll be fine. I’ve lived alone before,” Paisley reassures her mother.
“But never so far out in the middle of nowhere.”
Paisley sighs. “Maybe I’ll get a guard dog.”
This appeases her mother, and everyone continues talking around the table as I sit back and observe. It’s been so long since I’ve been at the Watts’ house. And I don’t want to tell anyone the main reason I stay away is for fear of falling for their only daughter. A girl I can never have.
Three
Paisley
* * *
Things are not going well. My thigh is on fire from the brief contact with Vaughn’s. It’s like he branded me. One good thing—I guess—is that there was no reaction to the dress. After dinner is cleared away, I grab a sweater and my purse, and stifle the urge to bow out of Vaughn going to my house.
“Ready?” Vaughn asks, twirling his keyring around his finger.
Of course, I’m not ready. I haven’t seen this man in many years, and let me just say...the years have been oh so kind.
“Yes.” I give a wave to the family throwing me to the wolf and follow Vaughn out to his truck. “Thank you for driving.”
“Sure.” He swings my door open and I hesitate, staring a bit too long inside his truck, wondering if I can just do the work on the house myself. “Everything ok?”
I slide into the passenger seat. “Yes, fine.”
“You just seem nervous.”
“Should I be?”
He laughs, shutting my door and making his way to the driver's side. “Women aren’t usually nervous around me.”
I snap my eyes to his as he turns over the ignition. “So I’ve heard.”
Spencer always says Vaughn is a player of the worst kind. So, I guess it’s safe to assume the man gets around. Now, I wish I had gotten around. Maybe I wouldn’t be sitting here like a loon in this dress because...who cares. He’s going to help with my house, and I am going to focus on my objective, and we’ll go our separate ways.
He pulls out of my parents’ driveway and the silence is oppressive. But it’s better not to speak, because the alternative is having to listen to his sexy voice.
We ride in silence for a few miles, and then he breaks the quiet, “So, why buy a house in the middle of nowhere?”
I shrug. “I fell in love with it.” The location didn’t phase me.
“You couldn’t find something of your own in the city?”
“No, I couldn’t. I actually didn’t want to. I want a change.”
He merges onto the interstate, and I stare out the window. “A change? From what?”
“Well, I don’t know. The hustle and bustle of it all. I’m so busy with work during the day, at night I just want a place to calm me.”
He half-smiles. “I get that. Spencer mentioned you work in real estate, right?”
His question makes me realize we’re strangers who only know each other through Spencer. “Yeah.”
“What made you go that route?”
I don’t know how to answer that. Or if I want to. The answer would make me look like the child he thinks I am—my parents thought it was a good choice, considering the family history with construction. But I’m not a child, because I did refuse to work for Spencer. I remove the metaphorical pacifier from my mouth and answer, “Seemed like a smart choice.”
He glances over at me with a furrowed brow. “But do you love it?”
“I don’t know if you’d say I love it. I do love helping people find their new home, though.” And then I let the truth out, “But, sometimes I feel like there’s more for me out there.”
“Like what?”
I shrug. “Just something. Like my skills are being wasted.”
He smiles. “I kind of get that too.”
“Please, you love building things.”
He glances over at me, and his smile widens. “Yeah, you’ve got me there. I do love it.”
“I just wish I loved my job as much as you love building things.”
“You’re young. You have plenty of time.”
I hate that he still views me as this little sister—a child. But, maybe that’s all I’ll ever be to Vaughn, and I need to be ok with that. And I am. Sort of.
There’s not much I know about Vaughn James. I only know a few things I get from stalking... ahem, looking at his Instagram page on occasion.
He’s an avid golfer.
He loves Star Wars—eww, I know—but it has to be a guy thing. I don’t think I’ve ever met a guy who didn’t love Star Wars.