5. Sullivan
Chapter 5
Sullivan
I stared at the dishwasher part on the dash of my truck.
I needed to go inside of Nora’s and install it.
These were the days I wished I had one of my other brothers around to do this kind of thing for me. Not because I didn’t want to see Nora, but because I wanted to. Far too much.
“Just get it over with,” I muttered as I opened the door. I grabbed the part, and my toolkit then I headed up her walk.
She swung the door open before I could ring the bell. “I was wondering how long you were going to sit out there.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” She left me to follow her, and I tried not to stare at her ass. The ancient cutoffs made it very difficult. Especially since her legs were tanned and toned.
I’d always been a sucker for denim cutoffs on women—Nora was far worse for my psyche. She always had been.
A quick flashback of us at Saratoga Lake with the rest of our friend group during the summer slammed into me. I could have sworn they were the same cutoffs back then. Add in the little yellow bikini top she’d worn, and I’d had to jump in the lake to cool off and hope my best friend didn’t notice I was looking at his girl.
The kitchen was way more decorated than the last time I’d been there. White curtains fluttered, thanks to an open window. April was always a mercurial month in upstate New York. One day was thirty, the next was eighty.
A few appliances had been added to the countertops, as well as a decent-sized round table in a honey tone with four chairs under the window.
“I’ve got some cold brew or iced tea if you like.”
“Cold beer?”
She laughed. “No, high-octane cold coffee.”
“Oh. I’ve never actually tried it. My mom is a pretty hardcore coffee queen, but she prefers hot even in the summer.”
“Then coming up.” She turned to the fridge and bent forward to get it, and I forced my eyes away from her.
I pulled my tools out then I smiled at her when she handed me the tall, frosted glass. She had her own, hers with a sparkly purple straw. “Where’s mine?”
She grinned. “You didn’t seem a straw guy to me.”
I took a sip and gave her a surprised look. “That’s good stuff.”
“Want that straw?”
I shook my head. “No, you’re right about the straw.”
“Careful, cold brew will sneak up on you. It’s like three regular cups of coffee.”
“Then I’m going to have to start making some of my own.” I set my glass down and opened the dishwasher. “I should be out of your hair in less than an hour.”
“Sounds good. Mind if I play some music?”
“Not at all.”
I set out my tools when she disappeared. A tall speaker in the corner of the kitchen counter kicked on. I laughed as “Rockstar” from Nickelback filled the small room.
She reappeared in the doorway to the living room. “I couldn’t resist.”
“God, how many times did we listen to this song that summer?”
“Far too many to count.” Her smile slid away, leaving a sadness in her big, hazel eyes. She pushed away from the jamb. “I’ll get out of your hair.”
Before I could tell her she wasn’t a bother, she was already gone. I sighed and tossed one of my old towels down on the floor before I knelt down.
What should have been a quick job ended up having more complications. I sang along to the playlist of songs from our past. I finally found the problem between the line from under the sink to the dishwasher. A spray of water shocked me enough to roll out from under the sink.
Whomever had set up the dishwasher had been an idiot.
I stripped off my T-shirt and used a dry corner to mop off my face. I had another shirt in my truck, but it wasn’t worth it to go get it when I’d probably only get wet again the way this thing had been put together.
The song changed over to an old one from Finger Eleven. The lyrics had been printed on my brain. Another one that had fed the summer of our senior year.
Procured beer and a pontoon boat that we’d all chipped in to rent.
I sang along as I fixed the shitshow of a hookup. When I crawled out, I found Nora with her phone up and a grin on her face. The sadness was long gone, and there was something far different in her gaze.
“Singing handyman? Didn’t realize I was getting a concert too.”
I threw my shirt at her, and she dodged it with a laugh. “You’re not posting that anywhere, are you?”
“Maybe...” She zipped into the living room.
“Nora!”
“What? Hot guy under my sink is a good post.”
I stalked toward her. “I’m sure no one needs to see that.”
“C’mon, this is marketing gold.”
I stopped. “Be serious.”
“What? I am. You are not showing off a plumber’s crack to be ashamed of, Sullivan Murdock. Just abs that I do not remember from high school.”
“It’s been a damn long time since high school.” I crossed my arms over my damp chest. I kept in pretty good shape, simply because if I didn’t work out, I’d probably go absolutely mad since Danny had come back home.
I rowed off the stress in my basement gym.
“Don’t post that.”
“Too late.” She shoved her phone into her back pocket and laughed as she darted around the coffee table, down the hall. I sprinted after her noticed that it led to the bedrooms. I stopped halfway down, unsure if I should follow. Fifteen years ago, I wouldn’t have blinked.
Now was much a different situation.
Even if Nora was still so very off-limits.
But I felt a breeze and without the haze of hormones firing at me, I finally noticed that it was getting brighter at the end of the hall. The old house had an add-on. I kept moving, and the hall opened up into a four seasons room at the back of the house. She was sitting on an ancient couch with the biggest, and ugliest, cabbage roses print on it.Sun was shining on her pale blond hair, turning it golden.
Her fingers were flying over the keys.
I plucked her phone out of her hands.
“Hey!” She popped up off the couch, rushing to me. “Give me that back.”
“How do I delete a video?” I dodged her hands as I tapped the settings feature, but I didn’t use social media enough to know what the hell I was doing. I had the business account my brother Kai had set up on one of the random times he’d come home to help out.
I remembered to post on it maybe once a month with a photo from a job that was semi-interesting to look at. Not much to crow about recently, to be honest.
“Come on. It was just a joke. No one will care.” Her voice was delighted and too close for comfort.
“These abs are not for sale. They were hard-won.”
She reached around me, and her bare arm slid across my skin. I twisted enough to catch her gaze, my skin sizzling at the contact. Her hazel eyes were full of joy. It launched me into the past for a moment as I turned into her. Especially when her exceptional breasts grazed my chest as she reached for her phone that I had hoisted over my head. I was a tall man, but Nora was no pipsqueak.
She seemed to realize she was practically in my arms and stilled.
Our chests rose and fell in quick concession, both of us breathing hard.
My gaze dropped to her mouth. It was pink and full, without makeup—as was the rest of her face, which didn’t help with the trip down memory lane. She looked as fresh-faced as she had when we were kids.
And just as distractible.
My attraction to her had been the definition of inconvenient. Especially since Booker had been my best friend since we were freaking eight-years-old. High school had just clinched it until...it hadn’t.
Until he’d gotten his dream and I’d been left behind.
I stepped back and cleared my throat, then handed back her phone.
Her eyes went wide, and I couldn’t help but notice her nipples tighten and push at her nearly threadbare shirt. The room was warm with the sun blasting in through all the windows, and all I could smell was her spring flower scent. She always smelled fresh, but this was a window into the adult Nora.
And a reminder that she was definitely not for me.
I pasted on an easy smile. “Hey, if you can drum up business for me with my off-key singing…”
She stepped back another few inches too. The room was empty save for a yoga mat on the floor across from the ugly couch. “I didn’t realize you needed help.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. Great. Nothing like showing off just how crap my business was. “Just coming out of the slow season.”
She tilted her head. “Well, you could be my first client here in Indigo Valley. That’s what I did in Los Angeles.”
“Oh.” I frowned. “For a job?”
“For a company, actually.” She held up a finger and darted back into the hall. She came back with a little white card and handed it to me.
“No BS,” I read aloud with a laugh.
“I pretty much left everything behind in LA. I still have a few clients I can help remotely, but I wanted a fresh start.”
I glanced down at my naked chest. “And this is going to sell?”
Her grin widened. “You Murdock boys were put together well.”
“Thanks. I think.”
“Definitely a compliment.”
“Right, well. I, um, should get back.” I jammed my hands in my pockets.
“Oh, right. I’m sorry.” She did a little shoo-shoo gesture.
I strode down the hall, using every inch of my long legs to get away from her before I did something stupid.
Like ask to stay for dinner. And maybe dessert.