Chapter 13
Fox pulled up to the curb in front of the multi-storied townhome in Beacon Hill. It was the last place he wanted to be. He was meeting both Heidi and his top renovation contractor to make sure everyone was on the same page before they began tearing everything out.
He grabbed his notebook and stepped out of his truck to meet Heidi where she waited on the sidewalk.
“Thanks for taking the job,” she said as he approached. There hadn’t been a choice. His boss had returned a bid in record time, and the Andersons had signed it that same day.
“Joey should be here in a second. He’s our best renovation expert, especially for these older homes.” As if Fox had summoned him with just his words, a matching work truck pulled up behind his.
“Joey, this is Heidi,” he continued when the man met them in front of the house. “She’s the designer on this project, so we’ll be working closely with her to make sure everything is to the homeowner’s expectations.”
“Good to meet you, Heidi,” Joey said, stretching out his hand.
“Very nice to meet you too,” she said, taking his hand. “Shall we?” She led the men to the front door that was opened by Edmund. Fox fought the resigned sigh that threatened at the man’s appearance.
“Who’s this?” Edmund demanded.
“This is Joey,” Fox answered. “He’s our expert in custom remodels of these historic homes.”
“I thought you were going to do it.” Edmund scowled at him, barely giving the other man a glance.
“I’m just the supervisor. Joey is the real talent. All I do is make sure he has what he needs and that the work runs on time.”
“Hmm, we’ll see about that,” Edmund snarled before whipping his phone out of his back pocket and stomping into the other room.
“Okay, well, let me show you the tradesman entrance off the driveway,” Heidi said, leading them through the house.
“I’ve arranged for a roll off to be set up tomorrow. Is it good in the driveway?” Joey asked.
“Yes. Mrs. Anderson has left for a spa in the Berkshires for the duration, and Mr. Anderson is in Europe this time of year on business. Edmund will be in and out, but he lives elsewhere. Work can’t begin before eight in the morning and must end at five in the evening.”
“That won’t be a problem,” Fox began when his phone rang in his pocket. “Go ahead, I’ll catch up on the second floor.” He answered his phone as they disappeared upstairs. “Yes, sir?”
“I just got a phone call from the Andersons’ son insisting that you were being uncooperative,” his boss said.
“I’m not sure how.”
“Look, I don’t like that kid any more than the next man, but that family has the potential to send a lot of work our way.
If he wants you with a hammer in your hand, that’s what you’ll need to do.
You can check in with your other jobs when you have time.
They can always call if there’s a problem, or do I need to assign someone else to your other projects? ”
“No, sir. I’ve got it.” He wasn’t about to let one of the other guys swoop in and take the commissions he had worked so hard to negotiate. With any luck, he could start looking at a small house with a yard for Ethan to play in somewhere outside of Boston.
“Good man,” he heard before the line went dead. With a sigh, he pocketed the phone. Turning back to the stairs, he found Edmund leaning against the newel post with a smirk on his face.
“Everything all right?” he asked.
“Everything’s good,” Fox answered before brushing past him.
He climbed the stairs in a few strides and joined the others.
“Looks like I’m joining your team for a while.
” Joey gave him a confused look for a moment before his features straightened back out.
Fox assumed that meant Edmund was now standing behind him.
“Glad to have you.” Joey patted him on the back before following Heidi to the next room.
“Yes, Foxworth, so very glad to have you onboard,” Edmund said.
“Hey, guys,” he called without acknowledging Edmund. “I’m going to kick off so I can check the other projects. Are you good?”
“We’ve got this,” Joey said, sticking his head back out of a bedroom. “I’ll see you at eight.”
“Yeah, eight.” Fox spun around and almost raced back down the stairs. He was through the house in a matter of seconds. Closing the front door behind him, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He had just made it to his truck when he saw the front door swing back open. Edmund stood on the threshold with a smile. Something about it made a chill run down his spine.
He threw his truck in gear and raced away from the curb. There was no real direction in mind as long as he got away. Spending the next several weeks in that house was going to be miserable. Edmund had to have a job. He couldn’t possibly hang around all day. Could he?
He had worked in several of the large houses in the area, especially when he was starting out. None of those residents had even taken notice of him.
Fox was on the north side of the city before he realized it. He pulled over in front of the house he kept finding himself drawn back to every time. There was no reason for him to be parked here.
The sensible thing to do would be to head over to the one project he had on this side of town, but his sense of self-preservation seemed to be failing him more and more lately.
He was still debating what to do, when the front door opened and the one person he longed to see waved at him. It would be rude to drive away now he reasoned. Turning off the engine, he slowly slid from the driver’s seat.
“Perfect timing,” Bailey called. “I was just making some lunch. Care to join?”
“I would,” he answered. She led him through the house to the kitchen in the back. Never did she question why he kept showing up unannounced. She simply motioned at him to take a seat while she moved back behind the island.
“I hope turkey is okay. If not, I have peanut butter and jelly.”
“No, turkey is perfect.” He watched as she layered on meat, cheese, and plenty of vegetables on the sandwiches.
“Mayo, please.” She smiled at him before smearing a healthy amount of the spread on his sandwich.
When she set the plate in front of him it included a pasta salad, fruit, and chips.
“This is better than any sandwich shop. Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
They ate in silence for several minutes, but he could feel her watching him. No doubt she wondered what brought him to her doorstep this time. If he was being honest with himself, there really wasn’t a reason other than he just wanted to see her. He had to tell her something, though.
“I’ve had the strangest day,” he finally said.
“Oh? Strange how?”
“We’re redoing this house in Boston, and the homeowner’s son is just creepy.”
“How old is he?” Bailey picked up a chip and popped it in her mouth before her gaze landed on his.
“Around my age, I’d guess. He’s just always there saying weird shit. Like, when I did the measurements for the bid, he just followed me around even though the designer was there. I’m sure it’s just my imagination, but I can’t help being weirded out. He makes my skin crawl.”
He watched as she slowly sucked the salt from the chip off her fingers. How did eating chips become so damn sexy? He moved his gaze back down to his plate to break the spell.
“I doubt it’s your imagination. If my gut tells me that something seems weird, it probably is. Maybe he has a crush on you.” He looked up, and she winked. “I get it. Guy like you, wielding a hammer, all sweaty and such. What’s not to like?”
“Yeah, okay.” He laughed. It was either laugh the comment off or throw her on the table and eat that pussy like a starving man. Laughing seemed like a safer option to him.
She had no idea what she did to him every time she talked like that. It felt a little beyond innocent flirting and a little dirty since he was with her sister. Still, he didn’t mind. Not at all.
“I made brownies,” she said, letting the subject slide. She stood and scooped up his plate.
“What sane man says no to a brownie?”
“Well, I’d hate to deny you your sanity.”
“I hate to deny you anything.” Her hands froze as she scooped some of the brownies onto a plate. Her soft brown gaze met his, and he swore he could see longing in them if only for a moment before she continued to plate the brownies. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled.
“Don’t be sorry,” she said, joining him again at the table. “I feel the same.”
“Shit.” He sat back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. “What do we do about this?”
“I don’t know, Fox. But we can’t risk Ethan. If Brooke knew you were here, she would take him away from both of us, and we’re the only stable thing that little boy has in his life.”
“You’re right.” He scooped two brownies from the plate and stood.
“I just don’t know how much longer I can keep pretending I want to be with her.
I don’t know how much longer I can keep my hands off you.
” He heard the small gasp she let out. “Somehow, I’ll figure this all out.
I’ll find a way for us to be together with Ethan. If that’s what you want, that is.”
“It is,” she admitted. “But, until then, we can’t be together. We can’t even be seen together as friends. This,” she added motioning vaguely at the table, “can’t continue. It won’t end well. You have to understand.”
She stood to walk him to the door. Before she could step away from the table, he took her face in both of his hands and peered into her eyes.
“I understand, but don’t think for even an instant that I like it.” He brushed his lips softly against hers. He was walking down the hall away from her before it had even sunk in that he had kissed her.
“Thank you, Bailey,” he said, stopping at the door. His back was to her, but he knew she heard every word. “For the lunch.” He paused before adding, “And for being so damn good. For being the safe haven in this hurricane.”
He was out the door before he could change his mind. His feet took him to his work truck, but his heart stayed behind. If only for a moment, he had glimpsed what normal felt like. He knew what her sweet lips tasted like. It wasn’t enough, but it would have to do for now.
Bailey stood just inside her front door and watched as Fox pulled away from the curb. The kiss had been so fleeting that, for a moment, she could almost pretend it never happened. But then it would flood her senses once again. It hadn’t been carnal by any means, but it had still been perfect.
She felt the same angst, yearning, and need from him in that moment that she felt all the time. It was wrong on so many levels. He was her sister’s boyfriend. There was a code for sisters and their boyfriends.
Then again, when had Brooke ever considered her when she’d made a decision? If they hadn’t been six years apart in school, she was positive her sister would have stolen every boyfriend she had.
A close friend she could bounce all of her feelings off of would have been a welcome thing right then.
Working from home, though, didn’t help when it came to making friends.
She never saw her work colleagues since they all worked remote like herself.
College was long enough ago that she had lost touch with those friends.
“Maybe it’s time to get a dog.” She shook her head when she realized she had been standing in her doorway for at least the last fifteen minutes staring down the road.
“Good grief, Bailey.” She stepped back inside and closed the door.
“The dog doesn’t sound like too bad of an idea, though.
At least I won’t just be talking to myself. ”
Climbing the stairs to her office, she tried to put all thoughts of Fox out of her mind. It would be an impossible task. She knew that kiss would feature heavily in her dreams both at night and during the day.
She already had a problem with dreaming about him most nights.
Most of them were rather X-rated, which meant her vibrator was getting a workout.
Now she could add him to her days too. Earning a living was becoming harder every time she saw him.
How did she work when she was too busy staring into space imagining what could be?
She slumped into her office chair with a sigh. A couple of more hours of work, and then she could start scrolling for a dog. Her computer came to life with a swipe of her mouse. Soon she was knee deep in code again.
In the back of her mind though was a nagging thought. What if she gave in? What if next time she kissed him back? What if they did more than kiss? Brooke didn’t need to know, not yet anyway. Not until they could come up with a plan that didn’t harm Ethan.
Opening a new document, she typed “Fox plan” at the top. She would come up with a catchy name later. She then skipped a line and typed “1.”
After several minutes of watching the cursor blink, she closed the document. She wasn’t clever enough for a plan that complicated. Brooke would be. She sighed again and turned back to work. It felt like they were all racing toward a collision, and she couldn’t see how it would end well.
That dog looked better and better by the second.
At least when it all blew up in her face, she would have company to commiserate with her.
She shoved the thoughts of Fox deep down and focused on the three screens in front of her.
Without realizing it, she had pulled up dog rescues in the area on one of them.
She might as well check while she was there.