Page 13 of Tempting Me

Fingers crossed.

CHAPTER FOUR

LUCA

I’m pretty sure that Miles is lying to me.

He's never lied to me.

Ever.

Till now.

And I can’t even focus on it completely because Sandhill Contractors, a company out of Wind Valley, had a truck roll through town first this morning. They were headed for The Marina.

It’s absolute bullshit.

“Hey, whoa, what did that door do to you?”

I look up to see my dad sitting in the lobby of my shop.

“Hey, Dad.” I let out a deep breath. “Sorry.”

“It’s not my shop, but just because you could fix the door yourself if you break it doesn't mean you should.”

I nod and then point at my office.

The guys will all be coming back soon. It's another scorcher out there today, so I told them to cut out early. I don’t need anyone getting heat stroke on me. The work can wait if itmeans safety for my guys. It also means a more hands-on approach from me to help where I can and keep everything on schedule.

“What brings you in today?” I ask.

Dad doesn't normally make random appearances at work like this, seeing as how I'm a grown man and all. It reminds me of when I was a kid. A teenager, to be more specific. He knew instantly when something was bothering me and would just appear in the doorway of my bedroom. It must be a parent instinct thing, and my dad's sense for it only heightened after my mom passed away. I was fifteen and everything about it sucked. Dad made it his goal to make sure we all knew how much we were loved after it happened, and to this day, given how he studies the expression on my face, the love this man has for his kids hasn’t changed.

“Just checking in to see how my youngest boy is doing.”

“One minute, Dad, doesn't make me the youngest.

“Eh, technically it does.”

“Dad.”

“Luca.”

“Why are you here?”

“I saw the truck this morning, too, and just wanted to see how you were.”

“Honestly, I don't care.”

“Not even a little?”

“Nope.”

“So you're ready to see them every single day while they work on The Marina.”

“Are you kidding me?” I stand quickly, and some paper flies off my desk. “She hired him on the spot?”

“Ah, so you care a little.”

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