He blinked, and his cheeks had the slightest tint to them. “They’re working on our stairs. I called the landlord at six.”
“That’s fast,” I said, glad my voice sounded normal and not all breathless because damn, seeing Jonah Daniels in the flesh was a lot to handle. “How did you get someone out here so fast?”
He almost smiled. One side of his mouth quirked up, and he scratched the back of his head, showcasing his very toned biceps. Jonah shrugged. “He knew I played on the team.”
“Ah, you used your name. Good for you.” I jutted my chin toward the door. “Can we see what’s going on?”
He furrowed his brows and followed my gaze. “Don’t see why not.”
I marched past him and carefully opened the front door, the cool morning breeze hitting me. “Shit.” I rubbed my hands over my arms, but it didn’t do any good. My urge to see them working outweighed the temporary coldness, so I held onto the frame and leaned a hair over the edge.
Jonah joined me, his shoulder touching mine when he adjusted his position to see, and it was so not sensual. There was no reason for my skin to prickle with awareness or for my heart to skip a beat. He smelled like laundry, which wasn’t that exciting, but I breathed him in a little deeper.
“Never seen stairs fixed before,” he said.
“Yeah, me neither. It looks like they’re securing the foundation? Making sure we don’t fall and bust ass or die.”
He slid me an amused look but didn’t respond. We watched in silence for a few seconds as a couple of guys hoisted up long planks of wood, nailing them on the outer side of the staircase. The culprit of the awful beeping noise was a mini lift. A guy in a yellow helmet raised a hand. “You two live here?”
“Yes,” I said, nodding and trying to prevent my teeth from chattering. “Thanks for fixing this.”
He smiled. “Should be done by midafternoon. If not, we’ll bring you both down with this lift so you can find somewhere else to go for the night.”
“Thanks.” I crossed my arms again and darted inside, the warmth and still air soothing my chilled skin. “D-damn, I’m cold.”
“You’re hardly wearing any clothing.” His voice was closer than I thought. When I got into the living room, I turned and held out my arms. His gaze moved from my face to my legs, up my stomach to my chest, where he sucked in a breath.
“I like to be cold when I sleep, plus, I’m covered everywhere that matters,” I said, looking down to make sure I didn’t lose my shorts or anything. Then I saw it. What caught his attention and had him focused on my chest.
My nipples were pointed, freezing cold and sharp enough to cut glass, and they strained against my thin tank top. He swallowed so hard I heard it. That little sound had the same impact of a bull crashing into a window, and every part of my body was attuned to what he did. His quick breath, how he wet his bottom lip with his tongue, and the way his fist curled against his leg.
Oh my.
Our eyes met, and in that moment, I really wanted to know how Jonah Daniels’s chest felt under my hands, and I was pretty sure he wanted the same from me. He took a step toward me as my phone blasted from where I left it on my nightstand. Sam Hunt’s sexy drawl snapped me out of the moment, and I darted into my bedroom, shutting the door and answering my phone.
“God, Hannah, I’m so sorry. Our stairs, it’s a disaster. We can’t leave, and I might have to take a lift down.” I threw myself on my bed face first, my brain an absolute mess. “Am I fired?”
She laughed and let out a long sigh. “No. Not even a little bit. I’m glad nothing happened before if the stairs were so old. You could’ve been hurt, so don’t even worry about the shift. I practically live here anyway.”
“I was so excited to come in too.” I rolled onto my back and stared at the blank ceiling. “Everything alright with your little man?”
“Yup. He’s good. I think we’ve figured out a custody agreement that works. He’ll still have a couple days away from me which I hate but… it’ll solve the battle.”
“Well, if you need me to hang with him again, let me know. I owe you, since I bailed on what was supposed to be your first weekend off!”
“Be safe, don’t worry. Keep me updated about tomorrow when you know more, okay?”
“You got it.”
She hung up, and I took a second to collect myself. Sure, that moment was weird. There was attraction. Probably two-sided.Definitely two-sided.But he was my brother’s teammate, and I told Michael nothing would happen. Plus, he said he wouldnevergo for me. Two strikes didn’t necessarily equate no attraction though.
Thinking someone else was hot was fine. Healthy. Normal. It was our actions that mattered. I could control my desire for him. For sure.
I put on my largest sweatshirt, an old hockey one from our high school’s team, and used the bathroom. My face was puffy from not sleeping enough, and I yawned. Caffeine. If that damn beeping was going to continue, I needed coffee. With a shaky breath, I went back into the living room and booked it for the kitchen. Music and grunts came from the TV, and my mouth literally fell open at what I saw.
Jonah was working out. Shirtless. Ten feet away from me.
Shit.
