Chapter 2
Tim
I was used to laying down the law with my rugby team and my workers.
Tabitha, with her long, shiny blond hair and luscious curves, didn’t look like any of my rugby mates, and I wished I didn’t still find her so attractive.
Seeing her sad hit me hard, but she needed to know the truth.
So, taking my usual wide stance, I folded my arms over my chest.
“These plans of yours aren’t practical. We don’t have to widen the doors, open up the walls, or make the kitchen bigger.
And your tile idea for the bathrooms is just bizarre.
Leave the house how it is—put in basic tiling, basic counters, basic cabinetry, paint the walls a nice color, stick out some flowers and cushions, and call it a day. ”
I raised my hands. How simple is that?
She shifted toward me, and her sweet rose-and-apple scent hit the back of my nostrils. But her eyes narrowed with fury, and her cheeks fired red as her whole body vibrated with anger. Oh fuck.
“Thank you, Tim. Wow! Just like that! Golly, how easy. I wish I’d thought of that.
” She clamped her teeth together. “Know why I didn’t?
This house is a veritable rabbit warren of rooms. We have beautiful dining and drawing rooms where no one goes, next to a horribly cramped kitchen where everyone ends up.
These rooms must be opened up to make a generous, beautiful, inviting kitchen, because that’s where everyone wants to be.
If we go with your suggestion, well…” She rolled her eyes.
“Quite frankly, it’s like putting lipstick on a pig. ”
Outraged oinks sounded from below us, and a wet nose nudged against my hand. Perky and Pinky, the pigs.
Tabs huffed out at me, before cooing to the pigs, “Sorry, guys. Lipstick would look divine on you.”
I edged forward, getting in her space. “Tabitha, you’re making a rod for your own back,” I insisted. “Trust me on this.”
She tipped her face back to me, the crest of her cheeks still flaming. “Timothy, I’m a trained architect.” She pushed her fists down against her sides. “Why do you have to constantly undermine me and question everything I’ve decided? I’m so tired of this—just bloody do it.”
Just bloody do it? What the hell?
I felt my jaw twitch. Nobody could rile me like this woman. “And I’ve been a contractor since I left school, and I’m telling you that these plans of yours are bloody ridiculous.”
She screamed in the back of her throat, and we glared at each other for a few minutes, both too furious to speak. The flush on her chest and the way she was heaving were too damn sexy. A flurry of wings from the pond interrupted our angry staring match.
Uncomfortably, without speaking, we both trudged back into the kitchen. Why the fuck was everything wet in here? I eyed her father suspiciously. Then I pointed out all the wiring issues as Tabitha listened, grim-faced.
“Thank you for that.” She was being scrupulously polite, which somehow was even worse than her fury. “Let’s go ahead and do the extra payment now.”
Grabbing my phone, I pinged her the invoice for the electrical work, and she transferred the money to me.
She glanced at her phone. “I’d better get the train back to work.
” Her face was more angular and world-weary than when we were twenty-five, but somehow even more beautiful.
A strand of her silken hair fell from her ponytail, and I had to stop myself from reaching out and pushing it back behind her ear.
“Do you need a ride to the station?” I asked, feeling bad that she’d had to travel four hours for this meeting. Whatever my frustrations with Tabitha, she was an incredibly hard worker.
“No thanks. I need the walk.”
Now I felt even worse. Why couldn’t we just work together and be friendly? Except I knew why, and it was all my fault. “Okay, if you’re sure. See you tomorrow, I guess.”