“This place has potential,” I say, stepping back to take it in. “The bones are solid.”
“It’s a literal shithole,” Troy replies.
“With good bones,” I snap. “And decent sun exposure. And existing structure we can build on.”
He grins. “God, you’re such an architect.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“It’s kind of hot,” he says under his breath.
I turn to glare at him, and that’s when it happens—I step back and catch my heel on a broken bit of concrete.
I stumble, flailing slightly?—
And Troy’s hand is there. Fast. Steadying me by the waist like it’s nothing. His palm is warm through my jacket. His fingers curl slightly.
I freeze. So does he. For a second, we just… stand there. His hand on me. My pulse rocketing to unhelpful levels.
“You okay?” he asks, voice low.
“I’m fine.” My voice is not fine. It’s sharp. Too fast. I step out of his hold like I’ve been electrocuted.
Which, frankly, is not far off.
“Careful,” he says, smirking. “We haven’t even poured the concrete yet.”
I don’t respond. I’m too busy trying not to think about the way his hand felt. The way it didn’t take much effort to steady me. Like I weighed nothing. Like he didn’t even think about it.
We start packing up. I keep my eyes on the ground.
“Coffee?” he asks suddenly. “We should go over the site notes before we forget everything.”
I hesitate. Every part of me says don’t. Keep the boundary up. Don’t blur the lines.
But the other part—the tired, slightly cold, slightly buzzing-from-contact part—says why not?
“Fine,” I mutter. “But I swear to God, if you steal my pastry again, I’ll break your fingers.”
He grins. “Deal.”
We start walking. Side by side.
And I’m not thinking about his hand on my waist.
Not at all.
Nope.
Not even a little.
We start walkingtoward our stuff, Troy still smirking like I didn’t just almost face-plant in front of him and then physically leap out of his arms like he was contagious.
I’m mid-eye-roll when a voice cuts through the air—loud, obnoxious, and echoing across the concrete like a damn war cry.
“WELL, WELL, WELL. Weirdo spotted in D4! Everyone back off; he bites!”
I freeze.
