She certainly couldn’t tell her sisters. They were already privy to her money troubles, to her ex-best friend and ex-husband’s betrayal, and to her strained relationship with her oldest daughter. How was she supposed to tell them that a man made her stupid on top of all that? And not just any man, but one she’d known his whole life? One she’dbabysat.
She shook her head and glanced over at the man in question. He looked like he’d stepped out of one of those inappropriate calendars they sold for charity—the blue-collar edition.
July in Havenbrook meant near-hell levels of heat, and Rory’s place only had shoddy window air-conditioning units in the bedrooms. Which meant it was hotter than Satan’s armpit everywhere else in the house. Nash had lasted all of ten minutes inside before stripping off his shirt and getting right back to work. And Rory most certainly hadnotbeen staring at him every chance she’d gotten, trying to make out the individual designs of his tattoos.
Currently, he stood clear on the other side of the kitchen with his tape measure out as he scrutinized her cabinets. He mouthed something to himself, then plucked the pencil from behind his ear to jot a note on a piece of scratch paper.
He was so intense when he worked. So focused. So precise. What would it be like to have all that concentration directed solely at her?
“What’re you thinkin’?” he asked.
She snapped her eyes up to his, her cheeks flaming scarlet. Not only had he caught her gawking, but apparently, he was a mind reader too. That was just fantastic. “What?”
He stared at her for a beat, his eyes narrowing slightly, before he tapped his outstretched tape measure on an upper cabinet. “In here. You gonna try to reuse these or get all new?”
An exhale left her in a loud whoosh, and she nearly sagged against the wall in relief. “Oh, um, I’d like to save the money and just repaint them. If you think they’re salvageable?”
“They’re in pretty good shape, so I think you’ll be okay.” He reeled in the tape measure and hooked it onto his tool belt.
Leaning back against the counter, he crossed his arms over his gloriously hard and bare chest, his biceps bulging at the move. She’d had no idea men looked like him in real life. Heaven knew Sean hadn’t.
“If you’d like, I can price out adding a short set above these so the cabinets go all the way to the ceiling. That way you can maximize your storage space since the room’s on the smaller side.”
There was something really wrong with her when her knees went weak over a man talking to her about kitchen cabinets. Of course, it didn’t help when said man was downright indecent. Everything from his broad shoulders, to his cut biceps, to his corrugated abs, to that distracting trail of hair leading straight into his—
She jerked her gaze away from his zipper. “That’d be great, thanks.” Without another word, she spun back around and continued attacking the wallpaper with a ferocity better suited for war.
But thiswaswar as far as Rory was concerned. A war between her traitorous body and her absolutely-knew-better mind.
It was just a dumb infatuation, that was all. Rory’s libido was sick and tired of being shoved into the bottom drawer along with the pocket vibrator she should’ve thrown out—the one Nat had gotten her as a gag gift one Christmas. No doubt for the sole purpose of watching Rory lose her mind when she’d opened it.
But, well, when your orgasms had only ever come by your own hand—despite having been married for more than a decade—sometimes it was nice to spice things up a bit. And keeping that little toy was a hell of a lot easier than worrying about ordering something new. How were those items packaged, anyway? Would it show up on her credit card bill? Did the shipping label spell out SEX TOYS in huge block letters for all the world to see?
It made her heart leap into a gallop just thinking about what Edna would have to say about delivering something like that to one of the Havens. That woman was nice as could be but was a huge gossip, and the last thing Rory needed in her life was more of that directed at her.
“I’m surprised you’re takin’ down the wallpaper,” Nash said from right beside her.
Rory jumped, bracing herself against the wall so she didn’t totter off the chair. She’d done well so far today, making sure to keep a decent distance between them while they worked. And now he’d gone and shot it all to hell.
He stood so close, she could feel the heat pouring off his body. What would all those hot muscles feel like under her hands? Or her mouth? The thought lit a match inside her, stoking a fire in her lower belly that hadn’t been kindled in far too long.
With her standing on the chair, her breasts were nearly eye level with Nash, and absolutely nothing good would come of that. She was already primed, the apex of her thighs growing warm as her nipples tightened beneath the ridiculous excuse for a top she wore. Thankfully, she’d had enough forethought to don her most heavily padded bra so her body couldn’t give her away.
“What?” she asked, not recalling a word of what he’d said.
One side of his mouth lifted in a cocky grin, his eyes never leaving hers. “The wallpaper.” He tipped his head toward it. “I’m surprised you’re gettin’ rid of it.”
That snapped her out of her stupor. The wallpaper in this house was horrendous and covered every square inch of it. Rainbows and lily pads and geometric shapes. No rhyme or reason to the designs at all, which was a nightmare in and of itself. Nothing went together, and it drove her absolutely mad. In the kitchen and dining area? The walls were covered from top to bottom with a farm scene, complete with barns and enough roosters to fill them.
“I’m offended by that. Why in heaven’s name would you be surprised? It’s hideous.” She gestured toward the remaining paper on the wall. “Do I seem like the kind of woman who likes hideous things?”
He shrugged. “Not really, no. I just figured every woman needs a good cock in the house.”
She snorted. “Yeah, well, I wouldn’t know anything at all about a good cock.”
It took her half a second before she realized what she’d said, and she whirled toward him on a gasp, the move upsetting her balance and sending her teetering toward Nash. Without missing a beat, he caught her before she could fall, but that might have been better than the current situation.
His thick arms held her flush against his body, her feet dangling off the floor like she was nothing more than a rag doll. And why did the proof that he could manhandle her if he wanted send shivers up her spine?
