And just like that, the faint smile falls and he’s back to having that distance in his demeanor. I can’t make out why, but it’s weird and unsettling. It’s like he cares about what I think all of a sudden, and he hates that he’s right about needing to trash the entire porch and start fresh.
I’m ready to step away from him when I feel his shoulder brush mine as he points to the railing. “Now…if we rebuild this with heavier posts, it’ll hold. You want classic whitewash, right?”
I turn my head to look at him, but his eyes are still fixed on the porch.
“Uh, yeah,” I say, stuttering over my words because I feel like I’m getting whiplash. Is he working with me here? “Something warm, like a soft white, maybe ivory. I want it to feel cozy.”
He nods. “I can do that.”
This time the grin that takes over my face is unstoppable. I’ve spent so much of my life believing that what I wanted wasn’t possible, and having Tucker say it so easily feels like someone quietly rewriting a rule I’ve lived by for a long time.
Looking over my shoulder, I directly face the camera, ready to lighten the mood again. “See? He can be agreeable when he tries.”
I smile up at him as he looks down at me, eyes glinting from the sun.
There’s a pause, and my heart thrums in my chest with each second his gaze stays locked on mine. “Keep smiling at me like that and I might start agreeing more often.”
CHAPTER 10
THINK YOU CAN HANDLE FINISHING WHAT YOU STARTED?
Tucker
By mid-afternoon, the front yard looks like a lumberyard and a war zone had a baby. Even though Scottie was reluctant to see the safety hazards of the porch, she agreed to getting rid of almost everything, and I agreed to give her the vision she sees without anyone getting hurt.
The old porch is finally gone, with boards stacked in neat piles.
Scottie stands in the middle of all of it. The messy bun she showed up with earlier today somehow messier with pieces angled around her face. She looks like sunshine in pink work boots. All brightness and warmth, but tougher than she looks.
Her cheeks are flushed, and she reaches up to wipe her forehead with the back of her wrist, leaving a streak of dust. “Looks good.”
I step closer to her, brushing a piece of hair away from her eyes. “You mean,welook good.”
“You’ve been holding that line all morning, haven’t you?”
“Maybe.” I shrug, and look down at my watch. “Levi should be back with the materials any minute now.”
I sent Levi and two of my best crew members off earlier tograb the supplies necessary for the porch after assessing how bad the structure really was. It felt easier this way. It keeps the cameras focused on us while the real logistics happen behind the scenes.
“We’re doing this all today?” Scottie’s eyes widen. “You can’t be serious.”
I laugh. “You’re the one on a time crunch. This will be likely one of the easier projects compared to the inside of the house. We can bang it out in one go.”
Her cheeks flush instantly, and I catch it before she can smooth it away. She looks like she’s deciding whether she wants to murder me with a two by four or pretend she didn’t hear it at all.
She chooses the second option when her gaze slides past me and she squares her shoulders. I clock all of it—every controlled movement and how she’s trying like hell to prove my words don’t have any effect on her. Watching her pretend she’s unaffected has been my favorite game since she showed up here in town.
I step closer, just enough that my breath brushes her ear. “Is that what you want, Scottie?” My voice stays low, lips grazing the shell of her ear. “To bang it out in one go?” Her body tenses, but she doesn’t move—doesn’t pull away. “Think you can handle finishing what you started?”
“Professional,” she says in a warning tone. “Remember?”
I should stop.
This is her giving me the chance to pull it back and laugh it off.
I can’t find it in me to take it, though.
My eyes stay on her, unblinking, like if I look away now I’ll lose something I didn’t know I was holding.
