Page 12 of Late to Love

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Yeah, well, you didn’t have to break into my home at seven a.m. on a Saturday morning, but here we are,” he shoots back.

I throw my shoulders back. Nope. He’s not making me feel bad about this. “I’m committed to getting this done. On time and on budget.”

He snorts an amused laugh, but it’s not unkind. “Darcy. The only time a project is done on time is if the person lies about how long it’s going to take in the first place. And even then, it’s up for grabs.”

“Not on my watch.” God, I hope I can stick to that.

“Uh-huh.” His eyes dance over the rim of a coffee cup. “What are we doing today, boss?”

Boss?I swallow. Guess we’re really doing this. Fuck me. Here’s hoping I don’t slice a finger off with as distracted as he’s going to make me. “First, we get some music going.” I take the speaker out of my tote, followed by my phone.

“Oh no,” he says, stepping forward. “I’m in charge of the music today.” He pulls his phone out of his sweatpants—and thank God, because they were threatening to slide lower and I’m not sure if I could have behaved enough to keep my eyes to myself. No idea if he’s wearing underwear with those pants, but if he is, they’re not doing much to, um,containhim. Because…yeah.

It’s hot in here.

In moments, he’s paired his phone with the speaker and the sound of Noah Kahan streams out. It’s a perfect complement to the overcast weather outside, and I can’t stop the look of surprise on my face.

“What?”

I grin. “Nothing. Just…didn’t take you for a Noah Kahan fan.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Darcy. Despite snooping through my medicine cabinet.” He winks and turns away, leaving me gaping after him.

Holyshit. He’s funny and playful. I have never seen this side of him. And then I realize something else: He’stalking. Like, not just speaking in one-word sentences or grunting at me when I ask something. Talking.

Also—he totally knows I went snooping in his medicine cabinet. Whoops.

With another sip of my coffee—which is delicious, by the way, he had the perfect creamer and I knew exactly where the sugar was—I hustle after him. “We’re installing trim today.”

He nods, his gaze finding the stack of custom trim I’ve spent the past week making in the few spare hours I have between this job and helping Dad at the store. “Over there?”

“Yep.”

His long stride eats up the distance as he nears the stack, then pulls one out to look at it. “I don’t know shit about this stuff, but this doesn’t look like store-bought.”

I don’t bother hiding my smile. “Because I made it.” Stepping closer, I say, “That’s a larger trim than you’d find in a normal store. Trim is a total luxury for a space this huge, but I knew I could do it for a good price, and I thought it’d go a long way towards making it feel homey. Getting up there to install it is another thing entirely, so I’m actually glad you decided to help today. That way, I don’t have to fear for my life when I go up this ten-foot ladder.”

But he’s staring at me when I turn back to him. “You…made this?”

I shrug. “Yeah. It’s not like it’s hard.”

His eyes bug out. “It’s hard, Darcy. It’s very hard. Don’t put yourself down like that.”

Damn him. Because that makes me feel things I shouldn’t. Things like him being more than hot. Things like, I could really be into this man, and that’s a bad idea.

Sucha bad idea.

“You ready?” I say instead. “We’ll start in the kitchen. That’s the smallest area and we’ll feel like we’re really accomplishing something once it’s done.”

Without waiting on an answer, I get set up, strapping my tool belt around my waist and looking up in time to catch a hint of something in his eyes that I can’t quite place. Does Anthony have a tool girl kink?

Scratch that. The man is significantly older than me. He’s guaranteed to have kinks I probably don’t even know exist.

“You’re going to hold the ladder while I get up there, then hand me the first piece when I ask, okay?”

He nods wordlessly. Which is good.

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