Love You, Mean It (Blushing #2)

Chapter One Violet

Chapter One

Violet

This smoke detector was a nuisance. Could a girl not make some unhealthy pizza rolls without notifying the entire neighborhood that she was doing so?

My head was spinning as the siren blared with a fury.

I tried waving a towel at the ceiling.

I tried opening the back door to let some fresh air in, even though it was colder than a witch’s tit in a brass bra outside.

So, right now, I was taking one for the team by fighting this monstrous beast on my own.

“That’s it!” I shouted at the freaking smoke alarm from hell. I yanked it down from the ceiling as I balanced on a barstool in my highest heels. “You are not going to win this one!”

I stumbled back down on my four-inch stilettos, grabbed the hammer from the kitchen drawer, and cranked my neck from one side to the next as I prepared for mass destruction.

I am going to make this bastard my bitch.

“What the hell are you doing?” Charlie’s voice boomed from the open doorway as he stepped inside, one brow arched with complete judgment, per usual.

“Have you ever heard of knocking, Charles?”

He took the hammer from my hand and fiddled with the smoke detector, which of course decided to turn off easily for him.

He glanced around the room, taking in the two tennis shoes I’d thrown at the ceiling, along with the empty box that I’d chucked up there as well.

And then his eyes moved to me.

His tongue swiped out along his bottom lip as his gaze moved from my face down to my feet. I glanced down, realizing that I was wearing nothing but a cropped black tee and sleep shorts that were more like panties, along with my favorite Manolo Blahniks, of course.

“Nice outfit. Heading out for tea?” His voice oozed sarcasm, but I didn’t miss the way his heated gaze took me in.

I placed my hands on my hips and blew out a breath.

Charlie was sort of my landlord, although he didn’t charge me rent. The home I’d just purchased from my best friend, Montana, had flooded shortly after I’d moved in. He was my contractor as well, so he’d offered me his guesthouse as a place to stay while he renovated my home.

But the man is one of the most infuriating people I’ve ever met.

“I’m trying to go to work. But apparently making a healthy breakfast is a crime around here.”

He glanced over at my pizza rolls, sitting in a pan on the counter, and his lips twitched before he straightened his features.

“So you decided to throw some tennis shoes and an empty box at a smoke detector and put on a pair of heels?” he grumped as he took the hammer and set it back in the kitchen drawer where I’d found it.

The house was well stocked, and all I’d had to bring with me was clothing and toiletries, and of course some decorative things to make the place a little bit warmer.

“Yes, Charles. I was trying to get dressed for work, so I tossed a few items at the ceiling in hopes that I wouldn’t have to climb on that wobbly barstool and yank that bastard off the ceiling.”

He eyed the barstool I’d found out in the garage, which currently had a book under one leg because the other three legs were taller.

“That was supposed to go in the trash.”

I shrugged. “I was working at the kitchen counter over the weekend and found it out in the garage, and it suited my needs.”

“And the heels?”

What is his obsession with the heels?

I glanced down at my feet, noting that Charlie’s eyes were focused more on my legs than my feet. “Duh. I couldn’t reach the ceiling on the stool, so I needed a few more inches.”

“You could have used a broomstick and avoided balancing on a broken barstool in a pair of deadly heels.”

The only way these heels would be deadly is if I took one off and clobbered you over the head with it.

“I’m not a construction guy, Charles. I think on my feet, or shall I say, I think on my stilettos?” I held up one leg and shook it twice as I chuckled.

“I don’t need a lawsuit from a tenant who isn’t even paying rent,” he hissed.

Was this guy for real? I risked my life turning off his stupid smoke detector, and he’s giving me attitude?

“The only way I’m suing you is if being a dick is suddenly a crime.” I glared at him.

He barked out a laugh, which was almost startling, seeing as the man had no sense of humor.

“I came in here to make sure you didn’t burn the place down, not get a lecture on what a dick I am.”

“I doubt you need a lecture to know what a dick you are,” I said, using my hand to cover my laughter. I walked over to the counter and popped a pizza roll in my mouth and pointed at the pan. “Want one?”

“I’d be too afraid you were going to poison me.” He turned toward the oven and bent down. “Let me check this out for you. I don’t think my cousin cooked much when she stayed out here. She’d eat in the house with me and Harper most nights.”

Charlie had a six-year-old daughter named Harper, and he was raising her on his own. His cousin Jordan had moved out recently, which worked out well for me, as I was in need of temporary housing.

“Well, as you can tell, I’m a real gourmet cook,” I said, my voice light. My gaze moved down his muscled shoulders to where he crouched on his thick thighs as he looked inside the oven like he was trying to figure out life’s biggest mystery.

He stood up and turned to face me. The man had to be a good foot taller than me. “I’m guessing it’s just old. I was planning to renovate this place after she moved out, but then you went and flooded your house, so I don’t see that happening anytime soon.”

“Are you insinuating that I flooded my house on purpose?”

“You didn’t turn your water main off when you went out of town.”

This freaking guy.

“I don’t know anyone who turns off their water supply when they go out of town,” I said, my voice coming out much louder than I’d expected it to.

“Everyone I know turns off their water when they travel.” His lips remained in a flat line, as if he was the one who was irritated with me.

“Well, you’re from small-town Alaska, where a local resident is a moose with a giant set of cojones.”

“You got a real thing for dicks and balls, don’t you? Every time I see you, you’re referencing one or the other.” He walked toward the door.

“Calling someone a dick is not really referencing an actual penis. You know that, right?”

He paid me no attention and ignored the comment. “Your tile came in, if you want to stop by your house and check it before they start your primary bathroom renovation tomorrow.”

“Oh. Isn’t it gorgeous?” I’d chosen a beautiful blue Italian tile for the bathroom. Now that I’d been forced to renovate the house, I was going to make it my own.

“I mean, it’s tile.” He made no attempt to hide his sarcasm.

“Spoken like a Neanderthal.” I reached for another pizza roll.

These really are the breakfast of champions.

“I’ll order a new oven. If you need to cook, just come over to the house and use the oven until the new one gets here.”

“Fine.”

“Fine,” he said as he stepped outside. “And let’s not throw things at the ceiling or smash things with a hammer.”

I moved closer, grabbing the door handle and forcing a smile that was obviously not genuine. “Thanks for the helpful tips. See you around, Charles.”

I slammed the door as he turned to walk toward the main house, and I heard him chuckling.

I popped the pizza roll in my mouth and glanced out the window to see him walk across the yard.

He was tall and ridiculously good looking in that rugged, muscly, manly sort of way.

Which irritates me.

I made my way to the small bedroom and quickly changed for work. Luckily, I’d already done my hair and makeup, and I hurried into my closet and grabbed my boots, as it was still cold outside.

My phone rang, and I saw my best friend Montana’s name light up the screen.

“Hey, Monny.”

“We have a meeting in twenty minutes,” she said. “Where are you?”

“I know. I’m leaving now. I had a small smoke detector issue, and a run-in with my grumpy landlord.”

Loud laughter sounded from the other side of the phone, and I put her on speaker as I slipped into my favorite camel-colored dress coat.

“I don’t think a man offering you a free place to live is really a landlord.” She chuckled. “I just pulled in your driveway. You can hop in, and we’ll head to the meeting together.”

“Great. I hate driving in the snow.”

“I know you do. You need a car with snow tires. But this way we can go together.”

“Perfect.” I grabbed my cream beanie, pulled it over my head, stepped outside, and ended the call as I hurried into her car.

“We just need to stop by my house after the meeting, on our way to the office. My grumpy contractor, who also happens to be my grumpy landlord, said the new tile arrived, and I just want to check it before they move forward.”

“You sure are getting your fill of Charlie lately.” She smirked.

“I sure am.”

And I was equal parts annoyed and entertained.

Maybe slightly more entertained than annoyed, depending on the day.