Nothing kept Nash King from an honest day’s work—not even the Fourth of July. Never mind that it was his favorite holiday, or that Havenbrook on the Fourth was a sight to behold. When duty called, he answered.
Today alone, he’d fixed a screen door that’d come off its hinges, replaced a rotted front porch step, and repaired a window thanks to the impromptu summer storm that’d cropped up a couple nights ago. In this economy—not to mention the fact that he hoped someday soon to buy out his old man and take over King Construction—he couldn’t be picky about who he took on as clients…even if those jobs happened to be on the Fourth.
He glanced at the clock on the dashboard of his beat-up truck and swore under his breath. If he had any hope of making it to the field for the annual baseball game before Finn Thomas—team challenger to the Havens for the second year—had Nash’s balls in a sling, he needed to haul ass.
Nash’s cell rang, and he glanced over at the caller ID. Speak of the devil… It wasn’t Finn, but his twin was a close second.
“Yeah, Drew,” Nash answered, setting his phone to speaker.
“Hey, man. I need a favor. Well, Finn needs a favor, but as usual, he’s sent me to do his dirty work.”
Nash laughed. “Whatcha need?”
“I can’t find Rory anywhere, and she’s not answering her phone. You know she’s gotta be here for this. You have any idea where she’s at?”
“You sure she’s not out there bossin’ everyone around?”
Drew snorted. “I thought y’all would’ve gotten over this rivalry shit after workin’ together on the bar for so long.”
One would think, but no. If anything, those months of working side by side with Rory had only fanned the flames licking inside him. Flames he’d been trying to put out for too damn long.
“She with her sisters?” he asked.
“Nope, and I can’t exactly grill ’em on why she’s not here.”
“Town hall? Her house? Parents’ place?”
“Nope, nope, and nope.”
“Well, shit.”
“You’re not helpin’ me, man.”
He laughed. “I’m not a fucking psychic. Gimme a minute.”
Havenbrook wasn’t exactly a metropolis where someone could hide in plain sight. It shouldn’t have been this hard to find someone…unless they didn’t want to be found. And as long as he’d known Rory, she’d always stepped straight into the limelight. Had reveled in it, in fact.
Of course, she hadn’t always been on the receiving end of the town’s whispers about her recent divorce, so maybe hiding out was exactly what she was doing…
That thought pinged something in his mind. He’d just finished up a remodel for one of the oldest and stubbornest of Havenbrook’s residents. Miss Norma might’ve been ninety-five, but she was bound and determined to stay in her house until the bitter end—and do so with a brand-new kitchen. All that was left on the remodel were the finishing details, which meant he’d had a partner in the form of snooty, pretentious, overbearing, bossy…and hot-as-hell Aurora Haven for the past too-long-to-count.
“I’ve got one place I can check.” Nash made a U-turn and headed in the direction of Miss Norma’s house. “Let me see what I find, and I’ll call you back. You better not let ’em start without me. I don’t wanna miss the fireworks, and you know I’m not talkin’ about the ones in the sky.”
Drew laughed. “Wouldn’t dream of it. You’re our ace in the hole on the team. Can’t win without you.”
Nash snorted and hung up, not bothering to say goodbye. It only took a minute to drive the couple blocks to Miss Norma’s place. Sure enough, Rory’s car was parked right out front. He sent off a quick text to Drew as he got out of his truck, letting him know he’d found Rory and would send her on her way as soon as he could.
He climbed the porch steps, pushed through the unlocked front door like he’d been doing every day for the past month, and stepped over the threshold. Music played softly somewhere inside, so he followed the sound straight into the kitchen—and stopped short, his mouth going dry.
Jesus, did the universe hate him?
That was the only logical explanation. Because if God loved him, there was no way the big guy upstairs would force Nash through this agony day in and day out. And itwasagony. Pure, deep, and unrelenting.
Across the room, the one and only Rory Haven shook her fine ass while teetering high up on a wobbly ladder. She wore fitted, bright-red pants that cupped her backside perfectly and ended at her shapely calves—something too fancy, considering the paintbrush she held. Humming along with the ancient radio on the counter, she rocked her hips to the beat of an old country song, and Nash tried to talk down his cock, which had leaped to life as soon as he’d laid eyes on her.
She was…stunning. There really wasn’t another word for her, because God knew she’d stunned his ass over and over again—had been stunning him for years. She’d pulled her long, dark hair up in some kind of fancy ponytail, the ends curled and bouncing along the exposed skin of her back as she danced. Her sleeveless, white tank-style blouse was tucked into her indecently tight pants. Only Princess Rory would think it okay to wear a white—and what appeared to be silk—blouse while doing some touch-up painting.
The song ended and another started right up, Rory’s hips not missing a beat. There was no denying it—she was heaven and hell all rolled up into one perfectly petite package. A perfectly petite package he’d love to have wrapped around him until they both collapsed from pleasure. And then maybe once more after that just for the hell of it…
