Against his better judgment, Michael touched Emily. It was an innocent touch, just a grazing of her arm, and it was meant in the spirit of friendly comfort. It only served to heighten his senses. She was soft and warm, and he wanted to touch her some more, to be able to explore the curve of her shoulder and the crook of her neck. Steeling himself against a barrage of unwanted sensation, he licked his lips and spoke. “Everyone gets stressed. We’ve all said things we don’t mean. But Em, don’t let him talk down to you. You deserve better than that.”
Her throat moved as she swallowed, but she didn’t respond.
Michael released her arm, knowing he should before anyone got the wrong idea. “And for the record, you’re not hippy. Your hips are perfect.”
Emily’s lips fell open.
He turned and walked away before his mouth betrayed him any further. As he looked up, he met Lacey’s gaze. Her eyes flitted between him and Emily. She’d clearly seen his exchange with their guest.
Let her think he was flirting. He knew the truth. He’d witnessed a man insult his fiancée and he wanted to make her feel better. That was it.
At another time, Michael might have been concerned. He might have felt a need to go out of his way and placate Lacey, to assure her nothing was going on between him and Emily.
Only right now he didn’t give a flying fuck what she thought.
***
By the time the second day of renovation and filming rolled around, Michael was already pleased with the team’s progress. It helped they employed a large crew, one that consisted of their own plumbing and electrical experts. Michael could handle any of these jobs himself, but having a good team allowed him to assume the role of team lead, assuring each job was handled to his precise standards.
It was one of the things he’d insisted on when taking the job onHandymen. The Inspiration Network might want him to play Bob Vila, but he needed to know the work was being done exactly as he would have done it in any other situation.
Of course, that didn’t stop him from diving into the fray as well. Being a site manager had its perks, but he was never happiest than when installing a new hardwood floor or putting the finishing touches on a new kitchen.
As he walked through the house, Michael checked off the items on his mental “to do” list. Nick and Eli managed their own smaller teams in their respective areas and wouldn’t need help, but Michael checked on both of them. Eli and his group were busy out front, removing wheelbarrow loads of the old, dry sod. As for Nick, he worked with his team in the backyard, preparing for the new deck.
Emily was busy in the kitchen with one of the men on Michael’s team, discussing the location for the new pantry cupboard. Although the plan was to convert the house into a store, Emily and Michael had agreed on keeping a full working kitchen. She wanted to be able to prepare her recipes on site, as well as package them. She needed plenty of workspace, good appliances, and storage options.
Trent was supposed to be helping her right now. Lacey wanted lots of shots of the happy couple together, tackling the renovation. However, he was nowhere to be found.
Michael’s dander went up right away. The same thing had happened a couple of times during the first day of filming. Trent had a habit of wandering away when he was supposed to be glued to Emily’s side, helping her with various projects. Each time, they’d had to send someone in search of him. Emily didn’t seem to notice, too occupied in absorbing everything the team members taught her.
Michael spotted Lacey on the phone, just inside the foyer, and decided to check in with her before he went in search of the nomadic fiancé. “Where’s Trent?”
Lacey shrugged. “Isn’t he with Emily?”
“Nope.”
“I need to film the two of them in the kitchen any minute now.” Lacey called out to the show’s intern, a kid named Jacob. “Jacob, sweetie. Would you be a dear and go fetch Trent from wherever he is this time?”
“Never mind,” Michael muttered. “I’ll find him.”
Still mumbling, more annoyed than he probably should be, Michael headed outside. He checked the driveway, making sure to look between the large equipment trailers, and glanced down each end of the street. He followed the cracked paving stones up the left side of the house, the ones Eli was dying to replace. Trent wasn’t in the backyard either.
On a hunch, Michael looked around the other side of the house, the one blocked off with a rickety side gate. He heard Trent’s voice before he saw the man. Trent stood facing away and spoke to someone on his cellphone.
“I can’t tonight. I told you I have this stupidHandymenthing.”
Stupid?They were practically handing his fiancé a new store. Michael almost said something then and there but the next thing Trent said caught him off guard.
“Baby, don’t tease me. It’s hard enough being away from you. I need you to be patient and I’ll get away as soon as I can.”
The little fucker. A douchebag and a cheater.
Michael turned away, telling himself it wasn’t his business, but something made him stay. Maybe it had to do with how wonderful Emily was and the fact she was about to saddle herself to a total dipshit. Then again, maybe it was because he was dying to tell the man what he really thought of him. He leaned on the gate between them and knocked three times on the wood. “Sorry to disturb you.”
Trent froze and slowly looked over his shoulder. He could almost hear the man’s wheels turning as he told himself to act casual.Nothing to see here, buddy. I’m just keeping another woman on the side.
“Oh, hey, Michael.”
