“Don’t do it yourself. The wood panels are heavy. You need help. I’ll send Marcello. He owes me a favor.”
“Marcello, the plumber?”
The Italian community knew each other across state lines. The far-reaching web of connections was shocking.
“Yes. I gave his nephew a summer job a couple of years ago. He owes me. I’ll send him over to give you a hand.”
“That’s really nice, Dad, but I can do it myself.” When he grumbled in protest, she added, “And if it’s too much, I can get the kids to pitch in. You always said, hard work builds character in young people. So I’ll put them to work.”
“Do they know what they’re doing? You know kids these days.”
She played to her father’s old-school patriarchal side. “We often share the gym with the boys’ basketball team. Some of them probably take shop at school. I’m sure we’llmanage. Jordan can assist in the worst case.” Only in the very worst case, if she could help it.
“Who’s Jordan?”
“Oh.” She realized she hadn’t told many people that Jordan had become an unlikely player in her latest reputation-saving scheme. “Jordan Thompson. You met him at Joel and Lucy’s engagement party.”
“The bodyguard?” Her father sounded suspicious.
“He’s a friend of theirs too.” Why did she feel suddenly defensive? “But yes, the bodyguard. He coaches basketball at The Link.”
“Hm.” Then after another beat. “Well, make sure he’s there when you unload the shipment. The panels are easy to put together. I built them like a 3-D jigsaw puzzle. But a couple of the longer side pieces are heavy and awkward to carry. So let the bodyguard move those for you.”
The fact that he didn’t try to tell her not to do any of it was the reason she always got along better with her dad. He believed in her. Or at least, he tried to.
“Thanks, Dad. I’ll make sure I have help.”
She said goodbye quickly before he could put her mother back on the phone. Exhausted from a sleepless few nights, and drained from the conversation with her parents, all she wanted to do was nap. But there was too much work and not enough days to do it, so she took out her laptop and got to it.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
No matter how long Jordan stared, the image in front of him wouldn’t go away. Vanessa Barone was holding a drill. Not just holding a drill, but using it.
She wore denim overalls, safety goggles, noise-protection earmuffs, and work gloves. And she was drilling a piece of wood that she’d set up on a sawhorse.
It was comical and…hot. Comical because she was a supermodel wearing oversized overalls with glue stains on them, and hot because she was handling the power tool like a badass. Brow creased in concentration, hand steady, focus clear.
Hot. As. Fuck.
And he’d been staring for far too long. As he got closer to the double doors leading to the courtyard, he saw wood panels and supplies stacked all around the outdoor space. She couldn’t hear him approach over the noise she was making, so he leaned against the open door and waited. Spooking her while she held a drill likely wouldn’t end well for anyone.
Sawdust shot up around her, landing in her hair and allover her overalls and long-sleeved shirt. Jordan knew that Vanessa’s father had built the successful cabinet-making company, Barone & Sons, from the ground up. After her father retired a while back, her sister had taken over the business, and he knew Lucy was quite the craftswoman herself when she spent time in the shop. Joel had sent him pictures of the beautiful pieces Lucy had recently built.
But Lucy had worked long and hard to take her place as head of the family business. As far as Jordan knew, Vanessa had wanted nothing to do with it. So the fact that this clearly wasn’t her first time handling a power tool surprised him.
When the drilling stopped, he waved, trying to draw her attention. She whirled around, long ponytail snapping over her shoulder. Her mouth popped open in surprise, hand flying to her heart as she ripped off her hearing protection earmuffs.
“I didn’t mean to spook you.” He lifted his palms. “I heard all the racket and wanted to see what was going on.”
Vanessa tugged off her earmuffs and propped her goggles on top of her head. The faint red lines from where they’d suctioned to her face framed her eyes. Of course she looked damn cute.
“There’s no practice today.” She scowled at him. “I made sure to come on a day that wouldn’t interrupt you.”
“Careful, princess, I might get used to you doing me favors.” When her scowl deepened, he grinned. “I’m here to do paperwork.” He shoved away from the door and approached her. “Where’s your coat? It’s freezing.” As he spoke, cold air puffed around him, proving his point.
“I took it off an hour ago. Lugging all this stuff around warmed me up.”
If the thought of her cold twisted like a knife in his gut,the thought of her out here for an hour, hauling fucking lumber, was a death blow. “What in the hell have you been doing out here, in the middle of winter, dragging all this heavy stuff alone?”
