Page 31 of Married at Midnight

CHAPTER TEN

Thursday morning, Connor woke up to the sound of a hammer outside his window. “What the hell?”

He jumped out of bed. Still half-asleep, he staggered to the open window, only to startle the man on the scaffolding outside. Connor reached out and jerked the wobbling man back toward the house.

“Are you harassing my workers?” Ellie’s sweet voice came from below.

Connor looked down at the base of the scaffolding to see Ellie wrapped in a heavy coat and scarf. She smiled at him, but behind that smile he could see the unappeased frustration that matched his own. Damn Viola and her phone calls.

“It’s seven thirty in the morning,” he replied, suddenly realizing his grip on the worker was unnecessary because of the safety harness strapped to his upper body. He released the man. “Sorry.”

“No problem, sir. We got the all clear, so we assumed it was,” the worker said in an apologetic tone.

Connor looked past him to Ellie. “You couldn’t have waited another half hour?”

“Seattle city code states workers can begin residential construction at seven in the morning. We’re on a tight timeline, remember?”

She was right. Yet that didn’t make him any less frustrated or tired after spending yet another night at his lab after Ellie had gone to bed. He drew in a breath, hoping it would kick-start his brain.

The day was clear and cold. But at least the rain had stopped. If they were going to finish the renovation on time, they had to work quickly on the exterior of the house. “Why are the workers back here changing out the window frames so early?” he asked, pulling on a shirt.

The corners of Ellie’s mouth tipped up. “The new windows will be here in about an hour. In order to be ready for them, the old, leaky, broken ones have to come out. The frames and all the wood with dry rot must be repaired.”

“Sounds like you’re on top of things,” he conceded. There was no way he’d be able to go back to sleep now even though he’d been up half the night. He might have been at work, but his thoughts had all been on Ellie. “I’ll be down to help in a few minutes.”

“Don’t hurry on my account,” she replied. “I’ve got things under control.”

He quickly dressed, then met her outside, where she stood directing the workmen. He had to admit—she did have everything under control. Two crews of two men each scaled the scaffolding near the back windows, each rigged with safety gear. Two more men sent up supplies or gathered the rotten wood pieces into bundles so they could be hauled away.

“Great work, guys. You’ll be done in no time,” Ellie encouraged before stepping back with a satisfied look.

“Seems like you picked the right contractors for the job,” Connor said.

She startled at the compliment, as though surprised he’d noticed. “Thanks. It only took five years of working with contractors to figure out the best ways of dealing with them.”

“You worked with contractors as a wedding planner?”

“Events coordinator,” she clarified with a sigh. “Of course,” she continued. “When a bride has a vision of her wedding, there’s no changing her mind. If I couldn’t find a venue that fit the bill exactly, then I built it. This is a step beyond the plywood-and-duct-tape method of wedding venues.”

Connor looked around him. The work crews were happy, engaged, and definitely getting the job done. Her style seemed to be more one of motivation and praise than correction. Whatever magic she had was working on him as well. He was no longer tired, but eager to get started for the day. “I can keep an eye on the framing contractors if you want to go talk to the roofers. They arrived as I was coming back here. They’re setting up at the front of the house.”

“Thanks,” she replied. “These guys know what they’re doing, so you’re mostly hanging around watching. Since you’re co-foreman, they’ll know to ask you if they have questions.” With that, she disappeared around the side of the house.

By lunchtime, the windows had been put in and all the roofing materials were perched on various sections of the roof, waiting to be installed. The roofers had said they needed two days to replace the roof. If the weather held, they might be done early.

“Want to go with me on an errand?” Ellie asked Connor later that afternoon when she found him at the front of the house replacing the old, rotting handrails that marched up the stairs. She gripped the left-side railing and shook it. It held firm beneath her grasp. “Good job, Grayson. You can build cars and railings.” She graced him with a smile. “Who knew?”

That smile sent his heart thudding in his chest. “There’s a lot about me you don’t know.”

“Maybe we should rectify that.” The words seemed casual, yet he sensed they weren’t.

“I’d like that,” he replied. “Where are we going?”

“The paint store. We need to pick colors for the interior and exterior.”

“I’ll drive,” he said, heading toward his self-driving car.

“No.”