I’d been biting back a smile most of the morning, which had gotten awkward when Javier had asked metwicewhat was so funny. The first time was easy enough to pass off, but the second had gotten his curiosity up, and now he had just caught me again. I needed one of those shock collars people use to keep dogs in a yard, only this time to keep my head focused where it needed to be.
It had been evident that Jake had been plotting with the devil himself when we arrived at the coordinates for our date this past Saturday night. I didn’t have to take us too far. We ended up back at my dad’s shop where a huge box and a pile of parts had been dumped on the concrete floor. A note, kindly left by Jake, had informed us that we’d be putting together a foosball table he had bought for himself and hadn’t wanted to set up. I saw a bit of the Robbins Family type-A tendency come out while Tessa slogged through the pile of parts. The activity had been her worst nightmare, but I ended up having a great time. Refusing to look at the manual for the sole purpose of driving Tessa crazy was not the only reason, but it had definitely helped. My dad’s shop hadn’t seen a broom in a long while, if ever, and she kept escaping to sweep or organize something.
Our goal had been to make a table. And a table we made. Though there were definitely one or two raised voices (Tessa’s), quite a bit of laughing (both of us), a handful of curse words (Tessa, surprisingly), and several tears that were blinked back (both of us).
Getting tools thrown at me by Tessa? A bonus.
Five mysterious leftover parts? A fun gift for Jake.
The foosball players put in backward? Priceless.
As per the instructions from Jake, once we made the table, we had to play a game in which the loser had to perform one favor for the winner. Hence the reason for my staring out the window, waiting for her to arrive.
She had lost.
I pulled myself together, attempting to return some emails and make a few calls on some orders before heading back into the framed office to help run electrical wire with Trevor. Frank Robbins had already come and gone, roughing in the plumbing, and Ronnie had finished the HVAC last week.
I was up in the rafters, pulling a home run wire from one end of the office to the electric box, when she pulled up. My crew and I were used to cars coming and going and slowing down to peep in on our project, so the guys went right on working, running wire and hanging outlet boxes. I had a fantastic birds-eye view of the woman walking into the office, and I couldn’t help but stare.
“Hey! It’s Tessa,” Ronnie called out, immediately gaining the attention of my men. “Did you change your mind about our date?”
Tessa grinned at him behind her sunglasses as she approached. “You’ll be the first to know if I do.”
“Hold on just a minute.” Trevor slid down from the ladder he had been standing on while wiring lights, landing with a thump on the floor. “Him? I’m the hot Prince Harry, remember?”
She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt today. Simple. Though she always looked beautiful, it shouldn’t have been an outfit that caught a man’s eye, but I couldn’t look away. And I didn’t want to let her see me just yet. I was completely fine with watching her tease and laugh with all the guys she would never be interested in while holding a gigantic plate of lemon-raspberry bars.
Enter Javier.
“I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced,” he said, charm oozing from his lips as he made his way toward Tessa. She shook his hand, which he promptly kissed just before he shot me a look up in the rafters.
“Tessa Robbins,” she said, staring up at Javier.
Breathless. Did her voice sound breathless?
Javier made a big point of looking toward the parking lot before giving me another calculated look.
“Oh… You here to see Marten?” He pointed up at me. “The boss has had his paws on the window with his tail wagging all afternoon. Now I know why.” I detected a smile underneath his expression that I wanted to scrape off with a knife.
He didnotknow why. I shot him a look that was full of swear words, but he only bit back a chuckle.
Tessa turned and looked up to where Javier had pointed and smiled when she saw me. With her sunglasses, her bright smile, and her blonde hair up high in a ponytail, she looked like a perfect summer day.
I pasted a smile on my face. Either way, I had created this. I had to see it through. And so did Tessa. “Hey, Tess,” I said as I maneuvered my way down to the ground. “What brings you here?”
She motioned to the plate in her hand. “Oh, I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d swing by with some treats.”
My eyes narrowed, well aware that every guy in the room had stopped working and was staring at us. “Why is that?”
She grinned impishly at me. “No reason.”
Folding my arms, I waited for her to crack while trying not to smile.
“You sure?” I baited.
We stood at a face-off, staring at each other. Finally, her eyes widened as though she had just remembered something.
“Oh, that’s right.” She turned to Ronnie, who stood salivating at the treats, and handed him the plate while she dug into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.
