Page 11 of Built to Last

Apparently, I wasn’t thinking anything. Not when I grabbed Gilbert like a crazed fool and slammed my mouth over his, and not when I walked away and tried to pretend the whole thing never happened.

I wasn’t thinking anything as I resolved the issue between Gil’s delivery guy and Gordy. That situation never should have happened in the first place, and I sure as hell wouldn’t be using Gordy’s company for any more plumbing work. What did it matter if the man had to wait an extra half hour to get started? The whole thing was just some dick-measuring contest, and I had no patience for that sort of thing.

That didn’t explain why I was all hot and bothered as I left Gordy to finally do his work and headed into the shop to check on progress.

I was surprised to find Marco standing in the middle of the vague chaos that was the last of the drywall going up and the first bit of painting getting underway.

“Hey, Kyle,” Marco greeted me, lighting up like the Northern Lights. “I hope you don’t mind me stopping by to get a look at the progress in here. Everything looks fantastic.”

“I don’t mind at all.” I stopped in the center of the space by his side, crossed my arms, and took a moment to look around with him. It was the best way to calm down and drag my head back to where it should be that I could come up with.

I’d kissed Gilbert. Hard. And it had felt so good. All the wild and free feelings that had been bottled in me since college started to leak out all over the place, making me feel like a stiff breeze would have my dick standing up and asking for more.

“…collaboration or something,” Marco was in the middle of saying, smiling up at me with all his boundless enthusiasm.

I blinked and shook my head slightly, frustrated with myself for getting lost in all the wrong thoughts instead of staying in the moment.

“Sorry, I drifted there,” I said, being as honest as I dared. Darius and some of the other crew members were just feet away, listening as they worked, so I sure as hell wasn’t going to tip my rainbow cards to any of them.

“I was just saying that I’m eager to find ways for my shop and Common Grounds to collaborate on promotions or events and things,” Marco said, unphased that I’d tuned out.

“Oh, yeah,” I said, letting my arms drop to my sides. “You do have similar businesses.”

“Gilbert looked pleased with the sample basket I gave him earlier,” Marco went on.

Who did what now?

I tried not to react too strongly or let the rush of jealousy in the pit of my stomach get the best of me. I didn’t even think it was jealousy, really. I’d probably just had too much coffee that morning and the acid⁠—

Had Gilbert tasted coffee when I kissed him? Was that a turn-off?

Shit. Get it together, man!

“You’ve met Gilbert?” I asked, trying to keep the wheels of my sanity from coming off and flying in every direction.

“Well, yeah,” Marco laughed, either too good or too naïve to see past me acting like an idiot to hold anything against me. “You introduced us the other night, after the baseball game, remember?”

I wanted to smack a hand over my face and hide. I was so off my game today, and I had no idea why.

So off my game that I’d kissed Gilbert Meyers, the man who’d walked away and broke my heart when I was at my most vulnerable.

“It’s great that you’re already thinking ahead to business collaborations,” I said, crossing my arms again, widening my stance, and trying to remember I was a grown-ass man who ran a successful construction company that I’d built from the ground up. “There are a ton of businesses in this shopping strip and along the street. There’s the card shop, the florist, the ice cream parlor, the dry cleaner, and even the funeral director across the street.”

“Funeral director?” Marco looked way too amused by that.

“Yeah, it’s been in the family for something like four generations now,” I babbled. Anything to get my thoughts and the conversation away from Gilbert. “The youngest son just took over. I can’t remember his name, but he’s about our age. Bit of a weirdo, but maybe you could go talk to him about some sort of deal for refreshments for the funerals they conduct.”

“Wow,” Marco said, still smiling. “I can’t decide if that’s morbid or a cool idea.”

I shrugged. “A little of both, probably.”

“I’ll put that on my list of connections to make,” Marco nodded, then continued to smile up at me. I could see the gears in his mind turning, like he was figuring out the best way to take the conversation somewhere else.

I had a guess of where he was headed, and I didn’t want to go there. Especially with my crew working all around us. So I jumped in and asked, “Does this mean you’re a hundred percent decided and committed to signing the lease for this place?”

Switching to business did the trick. “Absolutely,” Marco said. “Talking with Gilbert this morning sealed the deal for me. Not only do our businesses mesh together, you have to admit, he’s kind of cute.”

The way Marco leaned closer to me and lowered his voice to a campy sigh had every nerve in my body shorting out. I glanced around quickly, checking to see if any of the guys on my team had clocked the moment.