Blowing out a soft huff, I stepped forward to take his hand. “Mina Kensington. You too.”
His warm palm enveloped mine. Strong, calloused fingers gripped my hand. When he let go after a quick shake, those roughened digits slid over my skin like delicious sandpaper.
Spicy tingles raced up my arm.
A curious gleam in his gray eyes had me wondering if he felt it too.
Mentally, I rolled my eyes at myself.Yeah, right.He probably just noticed my awkwardness.
Clearing my throat, I shifted and clasped my hands, letting the cool metal of the building key bite into my palm. “So, how come you’re here and not your dad? I was expecting him, and he didn’t say anything about sending someone in his place.”
Fine lines appeared on Luke’s face, making me question just how old he was. Initially, I pegged him for his early to mid-twenties, but those lines said differently. So did the sage maturity now written on his expression.
“Dad, um…” Luke paused and cleared his throat. “He had a heart attack the other day.”
“Oh my goodness!” Any wariness I still felt over this stranger’s appearance evaporated, and a different sort of wariness took hold. A pit formed in my stomach, and I sent up a silent prayer that Les Decker was still alive. “I’m so sorry to hear that. Is he doing all right?”
“Yes. He’s been transferred to the cardiac rehab side of things at the medical center. Hopefully, he’ll be home in a week or two. It wasn’t a mild heart attack, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, either.”
The tension in my shoulders abated. “Good. I’m glad to hear that.”
“Me too. It was…” Luke shifted on his feet and took a deep breath. “It was scary.”
“I bet.” I could only imagine how he felt. My parents were both in great health and living out their dream on the family homestead near Hoonah.
“In any case, he was adamant the business didn’t shut down during his recovery. Somehow, I let him convince me to add project manager to my duties at the company.”
“What were your original duties?”
“I’m an architect.”
My eyebrows shot up. “How old are you?” Because now that he wasn’t frowning and the lines disappeared around his eyes, he once again looked like he was barely old enough for the ink to be dry on his university degree.
“Twenty-six.”
And just like that, I felt old. At thirty-two, I knew the age gap wasn’t huge, but somehow, it felt significant—like I had lived a lifetime in the six extra years I’d been on the planet.
“But don’t worry, Ms. Kensington. I’ve had my general contractor’s license since I was eighteen. I grew up helping my dad on jobs. He had a hammer in my hand before I could walk.”
The image that provoked brought a smile to my face. I could see Les doing that. He was extremely serious about his work, and it showed in the finished product.
“Well, that’s good. So, are you up to speed on what I’m looking for?” Les and I talked about it, but he’d yet to see the building. Today was supposed to be about coming up with a feasible plan for my ideas.
“Mostly. How about you walk me through the space and show me what you want? I’ll take some measurements and get started on the plans.”
“Sounds good.” I glanced around, deciding where to start.
CHAPTER 2
Luke
When Dad asked me to meet Mina Kensington today to go over her café plans, he failed to mention how devastatingly beautiful she was. Client or not, I was still a man. One with a weakness for curvy brunettes. Mina’s glossy, dark-brown hair hung in waves around her shoulders, framing her heart-shaped face and aquamarine blue eyes.
Hiding just beneath the tips of her hair, rounded, soft curves strained the fabric of her white t-shirt, which bore the coffeeshop’s logo. I’d actually never been to The Cozy Cup. While I was from Parker’s Landing, my life and office were in Juneau now, and when she first opened, I was away at college in Seattle. When I came to Parker’s Landing, I either went to Dad’s office or to my parents’ house.
My gaze quickly traveled the length of her body, taking in the nip at her waist and the fullness to her hips, which were on display thanks to her tight jeans.
The woman was a total knockout.
