Page 18 of Now or Never

Chelsea narrowed her eyes at him.

“We have mutual friends now, and it’s a small town. You won’t be able to avoid me,” he said, plastering on an over-the-top smile.

Chelsea rolled her eyes.

“I’m a great friend.” He kept his sales pitch rolling along. Maybe it could kill some of the baby aliens. He wanted the awkwardness to end, for sure. But he also wanted to prove to himself, and everyone else, that he could be just friends with a gorgeous woman he was desperate to bone.

Chelsea let out an exasperated exhale. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll be your friend. Is this why you came lurking around here?”

Adam’s smile beamed from his face.

Nailed it.

“Only partly,” he said, feeling cocky. “I actually need your permission on some insurance forms to use your driveway for heavy equipment. We’re breaking ground on Ethan and Natalie’s house next week.”

Chelsea stood paralyzed, staring at him for a moment. “Next week?”

Adam nodded and flipped open the binder to the pages he needed signed. “Ethan told me you’re hoping to rent your place as a film location, but I think we can work together to get around that.”

“Film locations need to be silent. Isn’t building a house kinda loud?”

“It’s extremely loud.”

“How is that going to work?”

Adam pulled a pen out of the binder rings and clicked the bottom, then handed it to her. “We don’t work all day, every day. And out here, we can start early or go late since the only neighbour is you. The loudest part is digging the foundation and framing. We can make it work.”

Chelsea took the pen and stared at the paper with a furrowed brow, then threw a nervous glance at Ben. “I really need this contract. If I don’t get it, I . . .”

She trailed off, breaths coming faster and more erratically.

“Hey,” he said, hating the nervous energy that was coming off her. He hadn’t realized he’d got used to her playful quirkiness until it was gone. Then he missed it. He wanted to pull her into a hug, but that would have the aliens laying eggs for sure. But then again, friends hugged each other all the time, right?

Still, it was probably best if he implemented a no-touching policy with her.

“We’ll deal with problems as they come.”

Chelsea slumped into a chair, face drained of hope. It was hard to watch.

Adam took a chance and patted her shoulder with his hand. “Nothing to worry about. I told you, I’m a great friend. I look after my people, and you’re my people now. Plus, I can always call in a few favours.”

Chelsea looked up at him with a raised brow. “Favours? Who do you know in the film industry?”

Adam smiled. Who did he know? Almost no one.

But everyone knew him.

“I can get a favour if I need one. You’ll have to trust me.”

“I don’t trust anyone,” she said, staring at the paper. “But I want Natalie and Ethan’s house to get built.” She glanced up at him and narrowed her eyes. “You won’t damage my driveway, will you? The last thing I need is another problem to fix.”

Adam shook his head. “No damage at all. And if there is, we’ll fix it. I’d never put you out like that. It’s all in the contract.”

On a deep exhale, Chelsea scrawled her signature on the three highlighted lines, then closed the binder and passed him the pen. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” she said with her glazed, aqua eyes.

Adam stared, lost for a minute in the glistening, before letting out an exhale. “Me too.”

five

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