Chapter 5
five
. . .
Cutler
Phoenix
Have we all noticed that Heart is in a much better mood these days?
Cannon
No doubt. His girl is back in town.
Bass
Glad you brought her home. Sounds like it was a shit situation for her over there.
Brody
Which is odd, because you know what they say about French men.
Bass
That they eat their bread with cheese instead of butter?
Bass
They drink a lot of red wine?
Brody
I was going to say that they have sex at all hours of the day, and they always light up a cigarette after.
Phoenix
What the fuck are we talking about?
From what she’s told me, I think that might be a myth. Though the cheese, the bread, and the wine appear to be true.
Brody
Good to know.
Brody
And I’m glad you’ve got your title back as the only grumpy dickhead in the group, Nix.
Phoenix
I wear it with pride. Heading home. Late night for me.
Was there a fire?
Phoenix
No. But Trudy Lawson decided to bake cupcakes at two o’clock in the morning because she couldn’t sleep.
Cannon
Is baking cupcakes a crime? I love cupcakes.
Phoenix
When you put them in the oven and then fall back asleep and set off all your smoke alarms because you’ve burned the damn cupcakes—that’s where things get hairy.
Bass
She couldn’t just take them out of the oven before going to sleep?
Brody
Seems logical.
Phoenix
Not if you take a sleeping pill, and don’t hear the smoke detectors, and wake up your neighbors who are pissed about being the only ones awake, so they call us.
Cannon
I love when Nix is in a good mood. It warms my heart.
Phoenix
I’ve got to get back to work. I’ll see you guys for lunch later.
I leaned back in my desk chair and picked up the phone when I saw my uncle Bridger’s name flash across my cell. He fired off several questions about the house I was building, which I happily answered, and then we moved on to the design that Gracie was working on.
“Yes, Gracie and Emilia have talked through the design, and she’s been busy getting orders placed. Floors go down this week, and things are rolling.” Gracie had been working with my designer aunt ever since she got here.
“Wow. We should be in by early October?” my uncle asked.
“I don’t see why not.”
“Great. We’re on track.”
“We are. And things will move fast now,” I said. “We’ve got cabinets going in next, and then things will really start coming together.”
“I’m glad to hear it. And I’m grateful that we’ve got Gracie taking over the designing and doing all the ordering. It takes a lot of pressure off of Emilia.”
“Gracie’s happy to be working on this project.
I think she missed doing what she loves, and she’s already placed a ton of orders.
She said deliveries start next week. Hell, she’s been here for all of a week, and she’s already got sample boards going, and she’s been meeting with the subs at the house. She’s a beast.”
“I’m glad she’s back. And I can tell you are too.”
“Yeah, it was weird having her so far away. I wouldn’t mind keeping her as long as I can. Not thrilled about her moving to New York in three months, but at least we don’t need a passport to visit one another.”
More laughter, which was a compliment because Uncle Bridger didn’t find many people to be humorous. “You two sure have an interesting relationship. Always have.”
“You’ve never had a female best friend?” I asked, my voice laced with humor because I knew he’d deny it. He loved his wife, his kids, his family, and most of his employees, and he feigned irritation with most other people.
“I’d never had a best friend before marrying Emilia. You know I can’t stand most people.”
He was full of shit. He liked to play the part of the grumpy asshole, but he was a big teddy bear beneath all that broodiness.
“Well, I didn’t like having her so far away. We’ll leave it at that.”
“Maybe you aren’t supposed to be far away from one another,” he said as loud laughter came from outside my office.
ROD Construction had grown quite a bit since we’d opened the doors.
We had twenty-two employees now, not to mention all the subcontractors we worked with in town, from framers to painters to electricians.
A lot of my guys did the woodwork and special projects for homeowners, and we had a real good thing going.
Blue Sky Bay was making a name for itself, and this small town was one that tourists flocked to in the summer and the winter.
Blue Sky Lake was a big lure, with its turquoise waters and mountain scenery.
Our ski slopes were just as impressive during the colder months, and people were buying up homes and willing to commute to the city, driving forty-five minutes each way every day, just to come home to this beautiful landscape at the end of the day.
I was happy that ROD Construction had played a role in the growth of this town that had become home to me.
I loved the locals, and the quaint downtown with all the self-owned businesses.
My company did everything from new construction to full renovations where we’d gut a home or business down to the studs and bring our clients’ visions to life.
“You might be right, but she’s moving to New York to work for her old boss, and we’ll just have to visit when we can.
” I glanced out the all-glass doors to see Gracie standing at the front desk talking with Zoe, who ran our front office.
And I didn’t miss the way Dirk Roberts had been stopping in every day this week ever since Gracie came to work here.
He owned the window company in town, and he handled all of our window and door orders.
Suddenly the dude was stopping by every day and hanging all over her.
When I mentioned it to her, she just laughed it off and reminded me that she was a grown woman and she could handle herself.
I knew she could.
And I’d never been the jealous type, even with women I was actually dating.
But it irritated me the way he hung all over her.
I’d always been different with her.
“Well, I’m glad she’s there now,” my uncle said. “Emilia is no longer worried at all about the house, and she said that we’re in good hands. So keep me posted, and we’ll talk later this week.”
“You got it. Talk soon.” I ended the call and saw Zoe grab her purse and keys, which meant she was heading home.
Dirk was talking up a storm with Gracie, and I moved to my feet and made my way out to the front office.
“You out of here, Zoe?” I asked.
“Yep. I’ll see y’all in the morning.” She waved before pushing the door open and stepping outside.
“See you tomorrow,” Gracie said, and Dirk just continued gaping at her.
I raised a brow. “I’m guessing you need to get back to your office at some point?”
“Oh, yes. I’m just distracted by a beautiful woman, I guess.” He chuckled.
“Well, how about you get distracted at your own place of work?” My lips formed a flat line, and I crossed my arms over my chest.
He smirked. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Gracie. Well, if I’m lucky I will.”
For fuck’s sake.
What kind of shit line was that?
If I had a hose, I’d turn it on and spray him down like a dog.
Gracie just chuckled and waved before turning her attention to me. “I’m making dinner for us tonight.”
The last few nights had been busy, as everyone was happy she was back in town. We’d gone to the container park for dinner two of the nights, and last night we’d eaten at Bennett’s because she’d been dying for one of Bass’s steaks.
“Yeah? Are you sure you feel like cooking? I can grab us a pizza.”
“Yes. I picked up some groceries this afternoon and dropped them at the house,” she said as we walked out of the office, and I locked up. We’d walked here this morning, seeing as I only lived two blocks from downtown, where my office was.
“Sounds good. It’s been a long day.” We made our way down to the little dirt trail along Blue Sky Lake that led to my house. The sun was still out, as it was the middle of June and it stayed light fairly late now.
“Well, don’t get too tired. We’ve been so busy this week, you haven’t given me any new tips outside of telling me to be confident,” she said, glancing over at me and rolling her eyes. “So tonight, I want to get down and dirty.”
And there goes my dick.
He was a responsive motherfucker.
“You’re serious about this?” I shook my head. “You don’t need any tips, Gracie. I think that’s obvious, if you consider the way Dirk follows you around like a fucking puppy.”
“I’m not talking about getting a guy to flirt with me,” she said as we walked up my driveway toward the front door, and she turned to look at me. “I know how to flirt. I’m talking about actual sex. I think it might be a weakness of mine, and that bothers me. I hate sucking at things.”
Jesus.
She really just went there.
“First of all, don’t say ‘sucking’ when you’re talking about sex and not expect a dude to react.” I groaned as I pushed the front door open.
I fucking loved sex.
Loved women.
Loved making them feel good.
But for some reason, talking about sex with my best friend had me on edge.
I’d been going through a bit of a dry spell these last few months. Bass was right: I hadn’t been myself ever since Gracie moved to Paris.
We’d never lived far from one another.
And I must’ve been distracted.
And now I was horny as hell with her living in my house.
But I wanted her here, so I couldn’t tell her that.
“Oh, so if I throw out the word ‘suck,’ it’ll earn me some brownie points?” she asked as she followed me into the kitchen.
Gracie paused at the sink and washed her hands before pulling out a pan covered in foil from the refrigerator and popping it in the oven.
“I marinated the chicken when I dropped the groceries off this afternoon. We’re having your favorite, Bear. Barbecue chicken, mashed potatoes, and a big salad.”
My stomach growled at the mention of it. “You don’t want me to throw the chicken on the grill?”