“What’s up, Rico?” he asked, and the worker pointed toward me.
Quade’s eyes found mine as he backed up slowly from the truck, wrench in one hand, tool belt sitting low on his hips. Damn, this man was giving handyman fine. I felt my stomach flip, and I hated it.
“Good morning, Ms. Green.” He climbed the stairs calmly, like he didn’t care that he was about to get cussed out. “Everything okay?”
“Well, for starters, you’re tearing up my ramp at the crack of dawn,” I shot back with a little more attitude than usual, trying to push back the fact that my heart was still fluttering from that very real dream I’d had of him eating me for breakfast just moments ago.
“We just out here trying to beat the heat,” he said as he made it to the top step. He looked at me through the window, then tilted his head. “You gonna open the door, or you just gonna stare at me with an attitude all morning?”
I blinked. “It’s better than what I want to do to you.”
“Open the door.” He smirked, ignoring me.
I rolled away from the window and over to the front door, wasting no time throwing it open. I didn’t even care. I was in a nearly see-through, oversized t-shirt that left my thighs fully exposed.
“What do you wanna do to me?” he asked as he stepped over the threshold and into my space. Shit, now I was regretting not getting dressed first. My body was still warm from that dream, and now here he was, standing in the same space where Dream Quade had kissed down my thighs and whispered that he saw me with the same look he was giving me right now. Then he had the nerve to smell like cedar and temptation.
“What the hell is this? You said you were stopping by today to do measurements,” I said, trying to gather my attitude back up and hand it to him. “And tearing down my damn ramp sure doesn’t look like just measurements.”
Quade said nothing, just came in and closed the door behind him. His eyes flicked over my body; it was brief and controlled, almost like he caught himself mid-scan and remembered to focus on my face.
“I did the measurements… for the most part,” he said nonchalantly. “The ramp is rotted, the nails loose, the slope all wrong. I couldn’t let you go another day with that unsafe chunk of wood outside. Thought it was best for my crew to start the prep today.”
“Y’all could’ve knocked,” I said. “Or at least waited till a decent hour. Y’all woke me up with all that noise.”
“I could’ve.” His eyes locked on me and didn’t waver. “But I figured showing you was better. Trust me, Noa. You’re getting something better than what you had. I got you.”
I swallowed hard, throat tight. The authority in his voice almost sounded like he’d said, ‘I see you.’ It did something to me I wasn’t ready to admit out loud. My body still remembered the dream, and sitting this close to him, my face all but perfectly positioned at his zipper, wasn’t helping me focus. I looked down, mortified to see my nipples pressing through the cotton like they had no home training. When I looked back up, I caught him staring briefly before his eyes darted back to my face. Iswallowed. My mouth was dry. My thighs were warm, and I needed to shut this down fast.
“Well, next time, just knock, call, or something. I’d like to know what’s going on before you start,” I said quickly, backing away from the doorway. I crossed my arms over my chest as if he hadn’t already noticed my arousal. “I’ll let you get back?—”
“Ohhh, I didn’t know the renovations were starting today.” Teagan came clanging through the front door, bonnet half-sliding off, carrying a coffee mug and enough energy for ten people. “Girl, if I knew we were going to have company this early, I would’ve combed my hair.” Her eyes bounced between Quade and me, scanning the space between us like she immediately clocked the vibe. Her eyes dipped low, and she gave me a mischievous grin.
“Everything good?” she asked, like she was concerned, but she was just being nosy.
“Yeah. Quade was just getting back to work.”
“Un huh,” she muttered under her breath, eyes narrowing as she gazed at my folded arms and then at Quade. He was wearing a smirk that I was sure made women risk it all.
“I’m fine, Teagan,” I snapped.
“I heard you.” She rolled her eyes before turning her attention to Quade. “She’s not in here giving you a hard time, is she?”
Quade chuckled low under his breath, clearly enjoying himself way too much. “She’s been real hospitable,” he said, glancing at me with a teasing smirk. “Opened the door, gave me a warm welcome. Real sweet.” His sarcasm had my blood boiling. I shot him a glare, but he just leaned against the wall like he had all damn day.
“You lucky I don’t curse you out worse for tearing apart my ramp without asking.”
“You’re right,” he said, hands up in mock surrender. “But let me remind you, I didn’t have to ask. You signed the contract.”
“Contract or not, it’s the principle.”
He grinned. “I like a woman who stands on principle. Because of that, I’ll knock next time. Maybe even bring flowers.”
“Oooh, y’all flirting!” Teagan snorted, covering her mouth to muffle a laugh.
“Teagan!”
“What?”
