Chapter 14
Samantha’s mood plummeted once she realized her time with Bryce was coming to an end. It was Sunday evening. Even though she was reading a book while he worked, his hand occasionally caressing her foot as he worked on his laptop was all the connection she needed.
“I’m sorry I’ve been busy with work all evening,” Bryce mumbled without looking up from his laptop.
“It’s my fault. I distracted you.”
Bryce finally looked over from his computer long enough to give her a grin. She shifted on the couch, feeling the soreness between her legs as she moved. They had made good use of her weekend there. Her only regret was making him fall even more behind on his work. No one should have to work on a Sunday.
“Feel free to distract me any time you want.”
“Maybe next weekend. I should get going,” she said, moving to stand.
Bryce grabbed her ankle, keeping her from getting up. “Stay the night.”
“I can’t. I have a long week of rehearsals. I can’t just skip Monday after they gave us yesterday off,” she said sadly.
“I’m not saying skip rehearsal. Just leave early in the morning. If you leave tonight, neither of us will get any sleep anyway. If you stay, we’ll both feel better tomorrow,” Bryce suggested.
Samantha studied him. He was dressed in gray flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt. He hadn’t been dressed in actual clothes since he went into the office Saturday morning. His thick brown hair, which was getting quite long on top, hung over his face as he looked down at the computer. Samantha enjoyed his usual rugged construction worker look, but the just fucked look was equally appealing.
“And I’m supposed to believe that we’ll get sleep if I stay tonight?”
He looked up from his computer. “Sammy, I know you’re sore. Even if you beg, we aren’t having sex tonight.”
Of course, the thought of begging for sex sent heat straight to her core. She shifted again under his knowing gaze. She did sleep better when she was next to him. His idea sounded better the longer she thought about it.
“Okay, fine. But you have to make sure I’m up in the morning.”
Bryce placed his laptop on the end table before gripping her foot to pull her close. She squealed as she was dragged across the couch, only stopping when her hip collided with his leg.
“You’ll stay?” he asked, his eyes searching her face.
“I’ll stay,” she breathed.
His lips found hers and she immediately deepened the kiss, slipping her tongue inside his mouth. His chest vibrated against her when he groaned into the kiss.
“I meant what I said. No sex.”
“No sex. I’ll find something to fix for dinner while you finish that up. If I’m staying here, I can’t have you up working all night. I need my beauty sleep,” Samantha said with a small laugh.
An hour later, Samantha set two plates of spaghetti and meatballs on the small kitchen table. She had started the meatballs before taking a shower and packing up to leave in the morning. She even managed to make garlic bread. Bryce emerged from the bathroom as she was taking the garlic bread from the oven. He wore gray sweatpants and no shirt. His wet hair dripped down his shoulders and back.
“Hungry?” she asked, ignoring her dry mouth.
“Very.”
“So,” she began once they had started on their food. “Would it be easier if I came here next weekend? If the drive isn’t terrible tomorrow morning, I don’t mind coming Saturday evening and then leaving early Monday.”
“I won’t ask you to do that. If I’m caught up on work, I’m more than okay making the drive to see you. Where did you get garlic bread?”
“I made it,” she answered quickly. “Don’t change the subject. I know you don’t mind the drive, but my work is done once rehearsal ends. It makes more sense for me to come here. That way you don’t lose six hours that you may need for work. Unless you don’t want to see me next week, which is fine too.”
“Okay,” he agreed after a long moment. “Having you here made everything a million times better.”
Samantha ate a few more bites of food before she continued. “Invite the owner’s daughter over for dinner.”
Bryce froze as he was getting ready to take a bite. “You were serious about that?”
Samantha tried to ignore the alarm bells ringing in the back of her mind. Her trust issues had nothing to do with Bryce and it wasn’t fair to punish him for his brother’s mistakes. She hoped meeting the woman would help her and help Bryce.
“Yes, I was serious. It will be fine, trust me.”
Bryce continued eating. She watched as he pushed his food from one side of his plate to the other, deep in thought.
“Okay,” he agreed eventually. “I’ll talk to her.”
“Perfect.”
Samantha wasn’t feeling the same enthusiasm now that her idea could become reality. Why she felt so strongly about meeting the woman Bryce used to date was beyond her. She was winging it on her self-healing journey. All she could do was hope things would work out the way she intended.
Bryce was walking from the double-wide trailer that served as the construction office toward the construction site when he nearly collided with Lizzy. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt and was removing her hard hat. She had been dressing more casually ever since their conversation.
“Hey Lizzy. I kept forgetting to ask you something,” he said before she walked past him. Hopefully, she didn’t notice he was lying. He hadn’t forgotten, he was just dragging his feet.
“What is it?”
“Are you around this weekend?” he asked.
She rearranged her thick hair back into a ponytail before she responded. “Yeah. Is there something you need me to do? I’ll do whatever. Just pretend I’m my dad.”
Bryce put his hands up to stop her rambling. “No, it’s nothing like that. I was just wondering if you wanted to come for dinner. My girlfriend will be here visiting. It was her idea.”
Lizzy frowned at his explanation. “Why does your girlfriend want me to come over for dinner?”
Bryce clearly hadn’t thought through his explanation. He never told Lizzy that it was Samantha’s idea that he share how uncomfortable he felt around her. Kicking at a stone, he hoped a better explanation would come to him.
“You told her about me, didn’t you?” she asked.
He opened his mouth to respond but quickly closed it without saying anything. What could he say that wouldn’t dig his hole deeper?
“Oh my god. You told her about our conversation. She must hate me!”
Bryce placed a hand on her shoulder. “No. It isn’t like that,” he reassured her. “She wants us to all be friends since I’ll be stuck working down here for a while. She thinks we should make the best of it. Her words, not mine.”
She looked from his hand on her shoulder and back to his face. “What’s the story with her and her ex?”
“That’s for her to tell, not me. You can ask her all about it when you come over,” he answered carefully. He didn’t correct her, and he certainly didn’t want to explain that Samantha’s asshole husband was his dead brother.
“I just want to make sure I’m not walking into an ambush.”
“No. She isn’t like that. She just knows how much I hate working out of town and is trying to do what she can to help.”
She turned toward the construction site for a long moment before turning back around to face Bryce. Her brown eyes searched his face as if trying to detect a lie.
“Okay,” she finally agreed. “What time? And what should I bring?”
Bryce breathed a sigh of relief as he finished making his way to the construction site. Lizzy agreed to come over at six on Saturday and would bring dessert. Samantha had asked him every day if Lizzy would be over for dinner. Finally, he could tell her yes.
Walking through the job site reminded him just how much work was left to do. On paper, the progress looked more impressive. It didn’t take him long to do a quick walk-through to make sure everything was going according to plan. He wasn’t one to micromanage. As long as the job was done right and on time, he didn’t worry about much. He only asked that the lobby get completed last, so they didn’t cause any damage as they went in and out with tools and equipment.
Taking a moment, he stopped to appreciate his favorite things about a new job site. The smell of fresh-cut lumber lingered in the air. Voices shouting over power tools nearly drowned out the sound of music playing, but all the sounds combined to form what Bryce found comforting. He was in his element at work. When he was working, he never second-guessed himself.
His footsteps echoed in the corridors of the empty third level. Demo of the entire building had been completed already, and crews were working from the top floor down. All he’d needed was a quick reference of the blueprints and he was able to visualize the new apartment building in all its glory.
He used his phone to snap pictures and make a few notes along the way. Things were actually coming along. After taking an objective look, it was obvious things were on track. He could afford to take days or weekends off every now and then, but Samantha making her way to him made things easier for him. He wouldn’t complain.