She blinked rapidly, looked at the ceiling, the floor, a paint can—anywhere but me. “I—I brought… maps. More maps. Historical ones. For Saint. Or whoever. Not for you. Definitely not…for…that.” She gestured vaguely at my upper body.
Trigger made a strangled sound that might’ve been laughter. Saint elbowed him hard enough to shut him up.
I stepped forward, reached for the folder she clutched like a shield. “Thanks. And sorry. It’s hot up here.”
“Mm-hm,” she squeaked.
I opened the folder to save us both. “These are good. We can match the original structure to the renovation plans.”
She nodded so fast I thought she might get whiplash.
Saint rescued her. “Nora, come look. The old beam structure is actually beautiful under all the plaster.”
“Oh, thank God,” she muttered and hurried over to him.
Trigger sidled up to my shoulder, whispering, “She saw your pecs and almost exploded.”
I didn’t take my eyes off her. “Say pecs again, and I’ll throw you out the window.”
Trigger beamed. “He’s in loooove.”
“Bathroom duty,” I said.
“For how long?”
“A month.”
“HAVOC,” Trigger yelped. “HELP ME.”
Havoc didn’t even look up. “You did this to yourself.”
Nora spentfifteen minutes with Saint going over beam placements and original building measurements.
But even while Saint talked excitedly about the structure, Nora kept sneaking glances at me.
Small. Quick. Pink-cheeked.
Like she didn’t want me to see.
But I did.
I saw everything.
Eventually, she straightened, smoothing her blouse. “This place is really looking wonderful. All of you are doing a wonderful job. Okay, I should—um—I have a meeting with the Friends of the Library board. They get weird if I’m late.”
“Need help crossing the street?” Trigger teased.
Nora spun so fast her hair whipped. “I can cross a street by myself, Trigger.”
“Sure,” he said. “But Wolf likes to supervise.”
I closed my eyes.
Nora’s cheeks flamed. “He does NOT supervise me.”
Trigger pointed at me. “You want to bet?”
She opened her mouth—
