Chapter 3
Livvie
Closing my laptop, I skipped happily through the cottage to the living room where I plopped down on the couch and pulled on my shoes. Wes was in town and eager to meet at the bed and breakfast this morning. Good thing I hadn’t been able to sleep in this morning or I might’ve missed him.
I’d enjoyed talking to him the past several weeks, going back and forth via email and phone calls about the renovations and plans. I hoped he was as easygoing and good-natured in person as he seemed over the phone.
The project, while huge, was going to make all the difference. The only thing we weren’t touching was the kitchen that the catering business was run out of. That was a recent enough addition to not need updating. Everything else was being done. New floors, new walls, and a major expansion.
This was the last day of having guests and the restaurant open for a while. I looked around the quiet lobby. We didn’t do breakfast for the public, just brunch, and we had no guests, so the place was quiet. Almost gloomily so.
Not for long. I looked around with excitement in my heart for what it would be like later. We were going to turn this place into the destination for Bluewater.
A sigh at the door drew my attention. My Nana stood in the doorway to the dining room and looked around. She had a look of mixed emotions on her face, which made my own emotions spike.
Luckily, the place was cleaned out, the staff having removed most items not needed for the last day of brunch, so there were no small objects lying nearby for me to accidentally float into the air when my stress spiked.
“The place hasn’t been this empty since I bought it so many years ago.
” She’d purchased the property when I was around nine, and for a long time it had been extremely successful.
She could’ve retired years ago and lived on her profits, but she’d kept hanging on to see if I would be able to take over eventually.
Smiling at me, Nana walked over and took my hand. “You know what you’re doing. Change is difficult for us old people.”
I wrapped my arms around my sweet nana and hugged her tight. “I know it’s hard. But when you see this place remodeled, you’ll want to move in and be a permanent guest.”
She chuckled and pulled back. “I just bet you’re right, my Livvie.”
“You’ll see. This is your legacy for me and I’m going to make sure it’s going to stay running for years and years to come, until I can pass it to my granddaughter.”
Nana’s eyes lit up with that thought. “That sounds lovely.”
Another sound from the door pulled my attention. This time it was a masculine voice. Nana and I both looked over and then every bit of oxygen left my body as I took Wes in.
Whoa.
I’d seen his picture and did a little online stalking when I’d gotten his resume. I’d known he was a looker. Up close, though, he was another ballgame altogether.
“Hello,” he said. Stepping into the room, coming closer, he seemed to falter. “I’m, uh, Wes.” His gaze moved from Nana to me, and he seemed to nervously rub at his forearm.
“It’s nice to meet you.” I stepped forward, ignoring his falter, and held out my hand. “I’m Olivia.” I tilted my head toward my grandmother. “As is she.”
A flash of shock behind his eyes made me want to falter, but it was gone equally as fast. He shook his head and started his introduction over through gritted teeth. “Hello. It’s nice to meet you both.”
He grabbed my hand and shook. I had to stop myself from saying something about how warm his palms were. He had to have a fever or something. No wonder he was acting so strangely. “Uh, call me Livvie,” I said, fighting the distraction.
Wes held my hand and stared into my eyes for a split second longer than was totally appropriate, sending the warmth from his hands up my arms and straight to my nipples.
Thank goodness for padded bras.
“Are you going to invite the man inside?” Nana asked with a laugh.
I ducked my head and backed away. “Of course. Please, come in. I’ll give you the grand tour.”
Wes grinned at Nana and held out his hand. “You must be the famous matriarch. Your granddaughter speaks very highly of you.”
Nana tittered, something I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen her do, and actually fluttered her eyelashes. I’d definitely never seen her do that. “Well…” She sent me a wide-eyed look before winking. “I’ve got some paperwork to do with Wayne. You two have fun.”
Walking with an extra spring in her step, she headed toward the kitchen, leaving us standing silent in the entry. I clapped my hands together. “So, this is the reception area.”
Wes nodded and looked around before pulling out a big, industrial measuring tape.
He focused on the windows and walls. I didn’t pay attention to what he was doing.
I couldn’t stop looking at the lines of the muscles on his arms, the cut of his shirt against his shoulder blades, and the sheer size of his massive hands.
Hoo. Okay.
“I’ve only seen pictures, so it’s nice to finally get a real sense of the place.” He grinned at me from across the room. “It’s got great bones. I think we’ll be able to keep a lot of this old charm with the remodel, make it shine again.”
I grinned. “That sounds amazing. I don’t want to modernize it so much that it loses its original appeal.
” The building was built as a family home in the 1800s.
It was important to me that we keep as much original as possible, just refinished.
“How well do you think you’ll be able to match the addition? ”
“Pretty well,” he said. “It’s a passion of mine to combine the old with the new.”
We moved into the dining room and Wes kept his distance. Maybe he wasn’t much of a people person, though he’d seemed like one over the phone. I couldn’t stop my eyes from straying his way as he moved around and inspected the room. He was seriously hot.
And he had a beard. I’d never dated a man with a beard.
What might it feel like between my legs?
My cheeks reddened as I snapped my thoughts back to the present. What had gotten into me? I’d never been the type to jump straight there, even with hot guys.
Wes was on another level, though. A hot, steaming level.
We went all through the kitchen and the upstairs, then Wes turned toward me. “Well, I think we can start the big renovations in the next couple days. We’ll get the walls down on the south side to add the extension.”
I bounced on my heels in excitement. “I’ll be available any time to help with decisions or anything that you need.”
He nodded. “We’ll have questions often, I’m sure. This will take between three and six months depending on how the weather cooperates with us.”
Before he could continue, his phone rang.
I stepped away to let him take the call.
He talked to what must’ve been someone important in his crew because they talked about start times and materials.
The hair on the back of my neck tingled, and I could’ve sworn Wes was staring at me.
Risking a glance back at him, I discovered I was absolutely right.
“Okay, well, I think you’ll want to be scarce,” he said. “Except for the kitchen we’re staying out of, this whole place will be a hard-hat area, and I prefer only trained crew be underfoot.”
I arched an eyebrow at him. “I plan to come by and be involved.”
He nodded. “And that’s fine. But I just don’t want you walking around willy-nilly. Not because of anything on your part.” He held up his hands when my eyebrows went up. “It’s not an insulting thing for you. You’re not trained is all. It’s about safety. I’d hate for you to get hurt.”
I pushed my hackles down and nodded. “Okay. I can accept that.”
A big grin spread across Wes’s face. “I have your number saved in my phone.”
I started down the stairs. “Okay, cool.”
“And I promise, I’ll call if there are any decisions to be made or problems.” He was much closer to me going down the stairs than he had been going up. Like he’d become more comfortable just being around me. I hoped he had. I’d hate for him to be uncomfortable for the next three to six months.
Even this close, I could feel his heat. “I don’t mean to be too personal, but you’re very warm. Do you have a fever?”
Wes stopped abruptly halfway down the stairs. I nearly ran into his back. “No,” he said in a husky voice. “I just run hot. I promise, there’s no danger of me spreading a sickness.”
Nodding, I caught my breath in my throat before I sighed right in his face. Some memory tickled the back of my mind. Something from early childhood, but it wouldn’t come to mind.
Then the moment broke when Wes turned and headed down the stairs. He said his goodbyes in a low, husky tone. I tried to form words to tell him I’d talk to him soon, but my voice had fled. It was off somewhere with my breath, laughing at me being so bowled over by a handsome face.
Once he was out of the room, both my voice and breath returned, and I headed out after him. Nana was just outside the door staring after Wes.
When Wes got to an old Ford pickup, he turned and looked back at us.
He was still close enough that I could tell he was looking between Nana and me.
He shook his head and got in the truck. Once he was out of the parking lot and we’d both waved at the back of the departing truck like the polite ladies my nana insisted we be, that same polite nana turned to me and gave me a severe glare.
“Whatever you do, little girl, do not fall for that man.”