Shut up, id.
I pulled at the neck of my T-shirt — I’d run home and changed into grubby clothes after my humiliation at the office — and blew cooling air into the suddenly warm vicinity of my boobs.
He put down the power tool, pushed up the safety glasses and glanced down the stairs at me. “What did you say?”
“What are you doing here?”
He gave me a brief Fireworks smile as he got up and dusted off the knees of his well-worn jeans. He came down the steps and grabbed his water bottle, taking a big sip. It was as hot as a volcanic vent in here, even with the front door open. Sweat peppered his army-green T-shirt, which advertised Bohemia Brewing Company and clung nicely in all the right places. Which was all of them.
“What areyoudoing here?” he asked, setting his water bottle down.
“I asked first.” I wasn’t quite ready to tell him I was out of a job. After all, I had to pay him rent, and I didn’t want him to worry.
“My dad loves the idea of me working on the house,” he said. “He told me he’d lighten my load for the next few weeks so I can help you get stuff done. He’s even sending a crew over later today to help us out. I want to get these stairs stable and make sure there are no holes in the floors before the bug crew comes later this week. They’re going to need access.”
“The bug crew — a work crew — why? I mean, wow. You got a lot done. But why does your dad want to help?”
Landon shrugged and took another sip of water before putting down the bottle. “I guess he wants to be on that sponsor plaque.” He grinned again. “You get the day off?”
“You could say that.”
“What?” The grin faded. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, shit. I might as well tell you. I got fired. Well, put on a ‘freelance basis,’ which is basically the same thing.”
“Oh, man. I’m sorry. But you didn’t like that job much anyway, did you?”
Landon was more observant than I gave him credit for. “No, not really. But it was a job. And I have to pay for all this. And — and rent, and—”
Damn it.Tears pricked my eyes. I hated crying, but the truth was I cried at almost everything, though I did my best to keep the waterworks bottled up. Usually, I succeeded.
“Hey now,” Landon said, coming over and surprising me with a hug. A chill ran through my body. A good chill. My arms apparently acquired minds of their own, because they slipped around his waist without my permission, and he pulled me closer. My body ignored my brain and leaned deep into his snug, comforting embrace as he murmured into my hair, “It’s fine. Don’t worry about the rent.”
“But I do worry.”Oh my God, how can a man this sweaty smell so good?“I’m just a little overwhelmed right now.”
“Shhh.” His soft shushing was warm in my hair. “Shhhhhh.” Did I imagine it, or did he justsniffme?
Holy snotbuckets. We were standing there sniffing each other, rubbing each other’s backs, his body hard —whoa,even harder against mine …
I stepped back abruptly before my panties’ fire alarm went off and glanced up at Landon’s face. He wasn’t smiling now. In fact, he looked downright serious. Disturbed. A hundred percent lickable and simultaneously pained, as if he was struggling with something. He managed to paste a dim approximation of the Fireworks back on his face. “It’s OK, really. Hell, we’ll practically be living here for the next month anyway.”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
Living with Landon.
I lived with Landon now, but did I really? He was rarely there, and when he was, at least in the past, he was never really emotionally there. Not that a roommate needed to be emotionally present or anything, but —
OK. I was kind of lying now. Lying to myself. If anyone was absent these last several months, it was me. Because the last thing I wanted to do was get emotionally invested in some hot guy who thought he was God’s gift to women.
Or whoI thoughthe thought was God’s gift to women.
I was really confused right now.
“So you’re here to work?” Landon finally said, sounding almost normal.
“Um, yes?”
His smile got real again, and his eyes gleamed. “OK. I’ve cut some new steps already and routed the edges, but they need sanding. You think you can handle that?”
