Chapter 19 #3
She shifts beside me, and I think she must sense the tension that’s taken over the hallway, ratcheting up the temperature several degrees.
It’s been that way from the beginning, that tension, and if I hadn’t blocked my feelings for the shy girl all those years ago, I might have recognized Hayden this time around, regardless of the name change. Might have sought her out long ago.
Oddly, it feels good to admit how she affects me—has always affected me. To realize I’m not as unfeeling as I thought I was.
“I bought this place,” she says, obviously changing the subject, or at least going back to our original conversation, “to prove something.” She looks around.
“Which is?”
Her gaze falls on me. “That no matter what someone says or does, I can hold my own.” Her expression is strong and beautiful, and for a moment, my breath locks in my lungs.
I think about kissing her.
And hold myself back with all of my strength.
This urge to kiss her has gotten out of hand.
Working at Blue Casino with Paul and William, and with Blackwell for a boss, isn’t much different from working for my father, but it’s also different in every way imaginable.
Because my father isn’t calling the shots.
So I understand the need Hayden has to prove herself.
She was given a raw deal when we were teenagers.
This is her redemption. And I want her to have it. Just as long as she doesn’t get hurt.
Her gaze drops and a small smile plays along her mouth. “It sounds stupid. Maybe I’m deranged for buying the place. I also wanted to make things up to my parents. They sacrificed everything for me.”
“That’s what good parents do.” I think of my mother and how she died to give my youngest brother life, and the pounding behind my temples that’s been teasing me these last couple of days returns. I squeeze my forehead and grab the items I’ll need to prepare the mud.
Hayden is stronger than any woman I’ve ever met, with the exception of my mother. The light and strength that come from Hayden draw me. The more I know her, the stronger that urge to be close gets. I want all of her.
“We’re the same age, right?” I ask bluntly, and out of nowhere, except that I’ve wondered. She’s got to be my age, but her determination and decisions make her seem much older.
Her pretty, petal-colored lips compress. “It’s not gentlemanly to ask a lady’s age.”
Never lets me get away with anything. God, I love that. “It’s only ungentlemanly when you’re forty or above.”
“I think you mean thirty or above, but just so you know I’m confident in my womanhood, I happen to be twenty-seven.”
Same age as me. “When is your birthday?”
“August thirty-first. I’ll be twenty-eight in a couple of months.”
I nod. “Virgo.”
“How did you know?” She peers at the powder I’m pouring into a bucket.
It’s messy. I should probably move it outside. “I have four brothers. Among the five of us, we take up half the zodiac.”
Hayden’s jaw drops. “Four brothers? There are five of you walking around?”
It is a scary prospect, but them’s the breaks.
She continues to stare as though dazed. I point at the bucket. “This is going to get messy. Is there someplace in the yard where I can blend it? I’ll need an electrical outlet.”
Her eyes refocus and she stands. “Yeah, sure. This way.” She smacks the back of her jeans, as if to dust them off, though there’s nothing on them. Doesn’t stop me from checking out her cute ass.
I follow her out and blatantly ogle her, because that’s what I do, though I don’t recall being this much of a dog before. Matter of fact, I can’t recall the last woman I ogled. It seems I reserve that for my feisty coworker.
“When’s your birthday?” she asks as she leads me to the back door. We step onto a small deck. A metal table with a yellow flowering plant on top separates two lounge chairs. It’s charming, just like the rest of Hayden’s house.
“February fifteenth,” I say. “Same age as you.”
“Not quite.” She pats me on the shoulder with her tiny hand. “I have a few months on you.”
I chuckle at the ridiculousness of that statement. “You’re only five and a half months older.”
“And don’t you forget it,” she says, and walks down the deck steps to a fenced-in yard, shooting me a mischievous grin.
This is how things go down over the next few hours: I mud, then build the new jamb in her bedroom while the mud is drying—taking breaks with Hayden for beers and burgers she picked up from the joint a few blocks away—and we banter.
The hours pass, and it’s not until ten p.m. that I realize how late it is.
Hayden is in the kitchen, futzing around with something or other.
I’m not really sure what, as I’ve been in the zone working on the bedroom wall.
I put away my tools and bring in the shop vac I brought from home.
Not much I can do about the dust that’s collected.
I brought a few drop cloths, and we covered the bedding with a sheet, but this work is messy. Dust is everywhere.
I vacuum up the debris on the floor and return my tools to the truck. I’m finished, with the exception of sanding, painting, and shelving, but that will have to wait until the mud dries.
I look around to make sure I’ve grabbed everything.
Hayden’s home is clean and orderly, the exact opposite of her office, which surprises me.
The colors in her bedroom are cool tones, and calming.
It’s been a long week. More than once I’ve looked longingly at her bed.
The headache that’s been brewing these last couple of days in spits and spurts is going full force now, and it feels like my temples are pulsating.
I stop in the doorway of her bedroom and close my eyes, rubbing the sides of my head.
“You okay?”
The damn headache has muted my senses. I didn’t hear her approach, but Hayden is standing only two feet away. At some point, she changed, because she’s in sleep pants and a tank top. My head hurts like hell, but I’m coherent enough to notice she’s still wearing her bra, much to my disappointment.
“Headache. I get them sometimes.” I wave behind at her room. “This is all I can do for today. I’ll have to return tomorrow after work. Or next weekend, if that’s okay?”
She chews her lip. “Of course, but are you sure? You’ve put in so many hours. I said it yesterday and I’ll say it again, we should call it even. You don’t owe me anything.”
“It’s been fun and I don’t mind.” I attempt a smile, but it comes out as a wince. The headache has my eyes tearing.
Before I know what’s happening, Hayden is dragging me by the arm toward her bed. She carefully pulls off the sheet we placed to protect it, and pushes down on my shoulders. “Sit.”
I do as she says, because I’m too tired to protest. Not that I would. What sane man would refuse a beautiful woman drawing him to her bed?
She crawls up behind me, and if I weren’t in so much pain, I might think of ways to take advantage of the situation.
But all I can think about is that I still have to stand up, walk to my car, and drive my sorry ass home.
I should have taken painkillers hours ago, but I was in the zone. Now I’m paying for it.
Warm little heatblaster hands flatten on the top of my head—and drain the pain right from my skull.
My shoulders relax, and my eyelids close.
Hayden’s fingers slide to my temples and she rubs in gentle circles.
I rest my forearms on my knees, and my head drops.
I sense her angle closer to reach me. I shouldn’t lean this far forward, but it feels so good I can barely keep myself upright.
One of her hands slides to my neck. She begins massaging my head with one hand and my neck with the other.
I am in heaven. Feels so good…
I should probably tell her she doesn’t need to do this, but Hayden is willingly putting her hands on me. I’m no dummy; I keep my damn mouth shut. And that’s when I really lose track of time, because everything melts.
The tension caused by Blue Casino.
The barriers holding Hayden and me apart.
Until I’m dreaming there’s nothing standing between us…