Taking a breath, I face the camera, away from him. Ihaveto look anywhere but him to will this tightness in my body go away. I pull out a few more Sour Patch Kids, filter them and pop an orange one in my mouth before putting the few yellow and green in the other pocket.
“It’s a little early for sweets, don’t you think?” Tucker says.
I shrug, emptying a few into my palm and picking out the yellow and green. “Sour Patch Kids are good all hours of the day. Besides, they keep me from saying something I’ll regret.”
His gaze flicks to my mouth. “Does it work?”
I feel my breath catch in my throat and I almost choke before I swallow down a mix of sweet and sour. “Sometimes.”
“Hmm. Good to know.”
“Okay, we’re getting ready to roll,” Andrea shouts to the entire crew, before looking between Tucker and me, voice lower. “Now, just…do what you do.”
Which is reality TV code forplease flirt without acknowledging that we’re asking you to flirt.
I move closer to Tucker without thinking—clearly my body is more than willing to cooperate after all that. The air around us shifts, and even without touching I feel the heat of him through my entire body. I try like hell to ignore it, focusing on the man standing behind the camera giving us a countdown with his hands before the red light turns on.
I start by sharing a summary of what I said when we filmed our first walk through about the porch. Once I finish, I glance toward Tucker. “What do you think, Tucker? Can you work your magic?”
He smiles at me, and it feel so fucking real that it almost knocks me backward. He’s looking at me as if cameras are not even on us. Or he’s just really damn good at faking this.
“Depends. Are you planning to help, or just tell me where to swing the hammer?”
I narrow my eyes. “I have plenty of experience swinging a hammer.”
He stares at me, not responding. I’m about to turn my head back to the camera to talk more about the porch when I see his eyes dip, tracking from my face to my hands, and lower, like he’s mapping something he shouldn’t be thinking about.
“But can you hit the nail?” he finally says with an even tone, but there’s something underneath it now—something deliberate.
Heat creeps up my neck.
I knowexactlywhat he’s implying.
What’s worse is that he knows I know.
I straighten my shoulders anyway, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing me flustered. I smile sweetly. “I don’t miss. I’mveryprecise.”
The corner of his mouth twitches and he fights a smile. Hesteps closer into me, not enough for the cameras to notice, but enough that I can feel him all around me.
“Good,” he murmurs. I feel his breath against my neck as he’s leaning in. My pulse stumbles and my body reacts in ways I absolutely did not approve during this morning’s staff meeting. “I would hate to have to show you how it’s done.”
The crew loses it behind the camera, and I faintly hear Jade murmur, “This is gold.”
Tucker doesn’t look away or move.
Neither do I.
“Okay,” I say, forcing myself to step out of this bubble he’s put us in, and force myself to keep smiling for the camera. “Then why don’t you walk me through it. Front to back. What’s the plan from the contractor’s perspective?” I cross my arms over my chest.
He puts more space between us.Thank god.
“The first thing should really be removing this entire thing and starting from scratch.”
I shake my head. “Not happening. Next.”
He narrows his eyes briefly before releasing a sigh. “This porch isn’t safe, Scottie.”
The way he says my name and the stark change in his tone pulls something in my chest. I think it’s the first time I’ve ever really heard him get serious. And this isn’t him doing this for the show. It’s not the cameras on us right now. This is all him, looking at me like he’s responsible for what happens next when it comes to my safety.
