Page 3 of Cherishing Happily Ever After

Except…

The slam of a car door yanked him from his thoughts. Before he could call her back, Tinker Bell barked and took off running in the direction of the new arrival. With a sigh, he dropped the hammer and set after the dog. “Tink! Come!”

Shit. He really was going to have to start working on some basic training with the puppy before she—

He stopped at the edge of the trees before stepping out into the clearing, frozen by the sight of the familiar red hair. Stephanie sat in the dirt next to her car, the puppy between her legs trying desperately to climb all over her and lick her face.

Travis couldn’t keep himself from smiling when he heard her sweet laughter.

Okay. Maybe he didn’t need to work ontoomuch training.

“Hey there.”

The sweet sound of Stephanie’s laughter died abruptly when she heard his voice. She pulled herself up from the dirt, brushed off her clothes, and crossed her arms over her chest. “I didn’t expect you to be here.”

What was Travis doing there?She’d come to Lynx Creek because it was her safe place. Her place where she could just turn off the rest of the world and just…be.

At least, it had been that place.

After the incident with Charlotte’s ex and the shooting and the blood…the blood… Never mind what could have gone wrong that night.Could have.But it didn’t go wrong. Charlotte was okay. The baby was okay. Everyone was okay.

Everybody but her.

Stephanie didn’t want to admit it, especially to herself, but that night had affected her more than she’d thought it would. Lynx Creek didn’t seem like her peaceful, safe sanctuary anymore. And she hated it.

“Long time no see.”

She took a step back from him. It was a defense mechanism. She couldn’t be close to him. Not without wanting to touch him. Or worse, kiss him. And really, would itkillhim to put a shirt on?

“I’ve been busy.” Stephanie shrugged. “Spending a lot of time in the city getting ready for the new movie. There hasn’t been a lot of time to get out here and…check on things.”

He arched an eyebrow and his lips quirked up into a cocky grin that sparked a heat low in her belly. Steph had to bite back a sharp retort and the groan of frustration that bubbled up inside her. Travis always had this effect on her. This love-hate thing that made her both want to scream and laugh. Run away or throw herself into his arms. And… “Do you notownany shirts?”

His grin got wider, and she was instantly annoyed with herself for saying anything at all. Fornoticing.

“I do.”

She took another step back. “And why is it you don’t actually wear any?” She needed to stop talking about his half-nakedness. It shouldn’t bother her. It shouldn’t even affect her. After all, who cared if he didn’t wear clothes at all? She didn’t.

Not true.

She cared.

A lot.

Travis had muscles that she didn’t even know existed on a man. There was literally no part of him that wasn’t lean and ripped. But not in a muscle-bound, bulky, and hard way. No. Travis was built like a man who’d spent his life working hard for what he had. His body was not built in the gym. It was one hundred percent built from his life and the hard work he’d done to have that life. Steph had stared across Hollywood’s hottest and sexiest stars. She’d seen many of them almost completely naked and had her share of love scenes with some of the world’s most desirable and eligible bachelors. She was no stranger to being surrounded by beautiful people. But Travis…

She swallowed hard.

“Does it bother you?”

He was so cocky it made her want to scream. He knew damn well it bothered her.Hebothered her. The hot-and-cold, cat-and-mouse game he’d been playing with her almost from the moment they met bothered her.

Stephanie shook her head and crouched down to pet the dog, who was biting at her shoes. “Do what you need to do.” She scratched behind Tink’s ears. “Whatareyou doing here anyway?” She looked up without standing. “I thought your work here was done.”

In fact, sheknewit was done. He’d sent her a final invoice less than two weeks ago. After the incident, when she’d gone back to the city, he’d put the final push on finishing up the cabins and cleaning up any traces of what had happened. Not that she’d checked. But as annoying as Travis could be, he was also a quality worker and a very talented craftsman. She trusted him.

“Did you check it out?”

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