Page 59 of Seven Year Itch
“Yeah, why?”
“Nothing, I’m just... surprised.”
“I notice things.” His eyes tighten, and his nostrils flare with irritation. “And I know you want these to match everything you have going on in there, so I kept the detailing simple.”
“But I like your detailing,” I argue, looking up at the pieces he has in the rafters. I could find a place for all of them in my house.
“But it should match your vibe.”
“But I wouldn’t need to hire you to make this if I didn’t want your vibe. Otherwise, I could just buy something off Wayfair.”
“Wayfair?” he snaps, his severe eyes turning to slits. “No fucking way you want a mass-produced unit from a discount store in your shop. It would look like shit.”
I jut my chin up at him in defiance. “I know it would, which is why I’m paying you to make something nice with your style in it.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, Dakota. It’ll still be my style.” He steps closer to me, his arm brushing against mine as he points back to his sketch. “See? These curved angles I drew here are kind of my thing. And that works well with the vintage aesthetic in your store.”
He flips back a page, and my lips part when I see a sketch ofmy store. It’s a rough drawing, but it’s undoubtedly my place. He’s got my funky globe chandeliers and the curves of my stained-glass windows. He even did a good illustration of my front counter with the vertical slat boards and rattan accents. And he’s drawn his shelf idea into the space that I wanted it for. He’s put a lot of thought into this.
I smile and look up at him, disarming his sour disposition with my change in mood. “Our styles look good together.”
“That’s what I was fucking saying,” he grumbles under his breath, and my chest shakes with silent laughter.
It feels like old times. Like the house reno all over again, only this time... the arguing feels different. More stimulating. Back then it was just exasperating. Maybe it was just sexual frustration we were dealing with all that time. Maybe that’s what we’re still dealing with now.
“Have you ever had sex with anyone in here?” I blurt the question and stop myself from clapping my hand over my mouth like a moron.
“Excuse me?” Calder’s expression is unreadable, and I hate it. God, what must he think of me asking such a stupid question out of the blue like that? Especially when he told me he built this place after his dad died. I’m hopeless!
I shake my head and try to recover. “I was just wondering if you bring girls back here.”
“To my workshop or the mountain in general?” he asks, not avoiding my question, just requesting more clarity. His eyes dart to my lips before moving back up to my eyes.
I chew my lip and shrug. “I’m curious about both, I guess.”
His eyes crinkle as he chuckles, and the sound ignites a fire in my loins. “Yesto women in my house, but not as many as you might think. I don’t like bringing them up here if I can help it. Butnoto the workshop. This place is my escape, you know? Where I get away from all the noise.” A pensive mood casts over him as he looks around at everything, but then he shoots me that playfulsmirk again. “Plus, power tools and sex aren’t really a kink I need to explore.”
“Probably wise,” I say under my breath, turning away to hide the blush I feel running up my neck. “I was just curious.”
I snap the notebook closed and march over to the furniture like I need to see it one more time to make my final decision. “To get back to business, I think your design is perfect. I need two of them so just text me a quote for the price and estimated turnaround time, and we should be all set.”
I clear my throat and push my hair out of my face before steeling myself to turn back around and face him. And when I do, the butterflies in my stomach become a serious problem because he’s standing there, in his masculine workshop with his trim beard and rumpled hair, looking so utterly mountain man perfect. It’s making me wish he didn’t have a rule about not sleeping with women in here... because I would probably consider a repeat performance right now if he was interested.
He stares back at me with a look I can’t decipher, something totally different from the teasing, mocking one that I’ve grown accustomed to. I want to say it’s like lust or hunger but doubt that’s true. He’s probably just itching to get me out of here so he can get on with his plans for the night. I bet he has a girl he’s going to go see. Someone easy and uncomplicated who he hasn’t had a one-night stand with before. Someone who’s not me.
Chapter 19
Half-Million-Dollar Mistake
Dakota
My mouth goes dry when I see his name pop up on my phone as I sit in my house on a sad, boring Friday night. I shake my head in irritation because all communication is supposed to go through our lawyers. But I’m already paying an insane amount to my lawyer so the urge to save myself the legal fee overcomes me.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Dee, how you doing?” he drawls in his smarmy bartender voice.
“What do you need, Randal? We’re not supposed to talk to each other directly.”
