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  “It’s a huge part,” Nyree said. She hadn’t considered soundproofing, and, of course, Cheyenne hadn’t mentioned it. Her friends were more concerned about aesthetics; they weren’t thinking about wall insulation. “What are my options?” she asked.

  He hunched his shoulders in a casual shrug. “There’s a pretty broad range—from basic padding that should at least muffle voices, to top of the line soundproofing material that’ll let you scream at the top of your lungs without the person in the next room hearing a sound.”

  She laughed. “There shouldn’t be any screaming going on. It’s not that kind of massage parlor.” She tipped her head to the side. “Although we’d make a lot more money if it were.”

  One corner of his mouth curved up in amusement. “No doubt,” he said. “But probably not worth the weekly police raids.”

  “Probably not,” she answered with a grin.

  Several beats passed as they stood there staring at each other. Nyree nervously pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. She noticed the way Dale’s eyes tracked the movement. He studied her mouth, his breaths becoming more labored.

  With a sudden shake of his head, he cleared his throat and took a step back. “So, the soundproofing,” he said.

  “Yes, the soundproofing.” She nodded. It took her a moment to remember what they were talking about. “Uh, what do you recommend?”

  “It all depends on what you’re willing to spend on the materials.”

  “Actually, it depends on whatever will take the least amount of time.” Nyree held her hands up. “Don’t get me wrong, I have to take price into consideration, but making sure everything is ready by our April 4th grand opening means more to me than saving a couple of dollars.” She looked up at him. “I know it’s going to take a miracle to get the amount of work that needs to be done completed in just two months. Are you sure this is something you can handle?”

  “What if I say that I can’t?” he asked. “What are your options then?”

  Nyree’s stomach dropped, because she knew she didn’t have many options. She’d searched online last night for contractors, hoping to find someone she’d missed in her initial search, just in case Dale fell through. There was no one else. She’d exhausted the list of contractors in this area.

  But ‘can’t’ had never been a part of her vocabulary, and Nyree wouldn’t allow it to sneak in there now.

  “I’ll find a way to get it done,” she said. “I have to. It’s just that simple.”

  His brow cocked with a look of amused admiration. “You’re pretty determined.”

  “I don’t fail,” Nyree said. “Especially when it comes to something so important.”

  Dale backed up to the wall and leaned on it, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

  “Here’s what I don’t understand,” he said. “According to Vanessa, you convinced the Whitmer family to go through an accelerated closing on the house. What if they hadn’t agreed to that? What would you have done then about this grand opening that’s supposed to happen in two months?”

  “I never considered not being able to close on the house,” she said without a shred of compunction. “I needed it to happen, so I made sure it did. Like you said, I’m pretty determined.”

  “I guess so,” he replied, that smile stretching wider. “So why are you so tied to this date? What’s so special about April 4th?”

  Nyree knew the question was coming, yet it still pained her to answer. She pulled in a deep breath. “It was my Aunt Hazel’s birthday,” she said. “She died two years ago. Breast cancer.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Thank you,” Nyree said. She was proud of the way she held her composure. Even after two years, the ache from losing her aunt was still raw.

  “She was a special woman,” Nyree continued. “Actually, she’s the inspiration behind this entire business, which is why it’s really important to me that it opens on her birthday.”

  He nodded. “I’ll make sure that happens.”

  “Are you sure? I can continue to look for someone who can help.”

  He shook his head. “I have my own set of men that I work with. If there’s work to be done that I can’t handle on my own, I’ll subcontract one of them.” He pulled out the estimate. “These numbers are based on you changing the arrangement of the three shampoo stations in the salon area. I can easily tie in the plumbing myself, but if you decide to reroute it to fit with your original plan, I’ll have to hire my buddy Leon. I’d feel more comfortable with someone who’s had more experience with plumbing than I have.”

  “It’s encouraging to know that you wouldn’t bite off more than you can chew for the sake of being macho.”

  “I am macho,” he said with a grin. “But I’m not stupid. I know my limits.”

  That smile. Goodness. It killed her!

  “I, uh…” Nyree cleared her throat. “I talked to Reesa and she’s okay with the shampoo stations being on the opposite side. Not as if she had much choice,” Nyree said. “When it comes to the house, the buck stops with me. My friends are paying rent, but I’m the one who bought this place.”

  “Impressive,” he said.

  “Is it?”

  “You don’t think so?”

  Nyree shrugged. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”

  “And once you decide to do something, you do it.”

  “You’re a quick learner,” she quipped.

  His lips eased into a subtle, yet sexy grin, while amusement shimmered in his warm brown eyes. “So, are we making this thing official?” he asked.

  “Do you want it to be?”

  The humor in his gaze turned to heat as his eyes dropped to her mouth. “Yeah,” Dale said. “I want it.”

  Warmth instantly spread throughout her body, the flush of heat so powerful Nyree was surprised small flames didn’t erupt along her skin.

  “Are we still talking about the job?” she asked.

  Dale’s head jerked up. “Uh, yeah.” He took a step back. “Wait. I’m sorry, what were you asking?”

  She so wanted to call him on his previous slip, but decided against it. There was work to be done.

  “How soon can you start?” she asked instead.

  “I’ll put in the order for the building materials as soon as we’re done here, then come back in a few hours to start measuring out where the shampoo stations will go. I want to tackle that first.”

  “What about your other job?” she asked. “Don’t you work full-time for Harding Construction?”

  “The project I’m currently working on with Harding is scheduled to wrap up in the next couple of days. Once that’s done, I’m all yours.”

  Nyree pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.

  She knew he didn’t mean it in the same way her mind heard it, but that didn’t stop the heated tingle that skirted along her skin.

  “I like the sound of that,” she said. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

  Chapter Three

  Dale glanced at his watch as he single-handily lifted the 4 x 8 foot sheet of fiberboard and carried it over to his boss. He was counting down the seconds to 3:00 p.m., when the second shift was scheduled to relieve the guys who’d come on the construction site at six o’clock this morning. This was his final day on this job, and he was more than ready to commit full-time to Nyree.

  To the job. He was ready to commit to the job he was doing for Nyree.

  Webster Harding stared in disgust at the building material Dale stacked against the wall.

  “I tried to convince Lou to go with the cypress, but he’s a stubborn son of a bitch,” Harding said. “This fiberboard crap will rot out in a couple of years.”

  Dale shrugged. “It’s treated. With proper care it should be okay.”

  “Don’t say that too loud, Chauvin. I’m trying to make money here,” his boss said.

  Dale just shook his head as he returned to the stacks of fiberboard they were using for the interior walls of the motel being e
rected just outside of Maplesville proper. He knew it killed his boss that the property owner refused to bend on the materials.

  Harding was a grade-A charmer with a head for turning a profit. That was the reason his construction company was the most successful in Maplesville. Harding talked a good game when it came to convincing clients that he would deliver the best in craftsmanship. Dale had had to bite his tongue more than once as he listened to Harding persuade a client into believing that his company was worth the expense. The fact of the matter was, not everyone could afford the very best of the best. A customer shouldn’t feel obligated to break the bank in order to get some decent construction work done on their homes and businesses.

  That’s where his new contractor business could fit in. He wouldn’t try to pressure anyone into paying for anything they couldn’t afford. The people around here needed someone who was willing to work within a client’s budget and still give them a quality product.

  “Great,” Dale whispered under his breath when he realized it was exactly what Vanessa tried to tell him. As if he needed another reason for his sister to say ‘I told you so.’

  It should come as no surprise that Vanessa was right, although Dale wasn’t about to tell her that. She’d been extra smug this past week, gloating over him accepting the job with Nyree, as if she’d single-handedly made it happen.

  Okay, so maybe she had. And he couldn’t deny that Vanessa had a point about this being the perfect opportunity for him to get his own general contractor business off the ground, especially now that he had an investor interested in backing him up with much needed capital. Maplesville needed someone to fill in the gap between high-end outfits like Harding Construction and run-of-the-mill handymen who did construction work as a side job.

  He could be that alternative.

  Yet, even as he considered what it would feel like to hang an open sign above his own general contractor business, Dale couldn’t help but acknowledge the trace of unease that skidded down his spine. He’d done everything he could to convince himself that this is what he wanted, but it was hard to believe in that lie when he had to fight back a panic attack at the thought of actually going through with it.

  There was a difference between wanting to do something, and believing that you have to do it because it’s the only thing you’re good at. He was good at working construction. He could have been good at a lot more, if he hadn’t wasted the opportunities he’d been given years ago.

  Dale’s hands tightened on the two-by-fours he’d just lifted from the pallet of building materials. If he had a nickel for every regret he harbored, he wouldn’t have to work another day of his life.

  Twenty minutes later, he climbed into his truck and pulled onto the highway, heading for downtown Maplesville. He was officially done with the motel job. He’d talked it over with Webster, and just as Dale had anticipated, his boss had no problem with him taking a couple of months off to work on Nyree’s project. There were always guys clamoring to join Harding Construction. The pay was good and the work was steady.

  Harding assured him that there would be a spot for him when he was done renovating the Whitmer House, but maybe he wouldn’t need that spot. Maybe this really was the kick in the pants he needed to finally get his own business off the ground.

  It was a testament to some of the good he’d done in his life that he’d get this chance to prove himself while working in the presence of Nyree Grant.

  Dale tightened his fingers around the steering wheel, fighting the pent up lust coursing through him just at the thought of seeing her in a few minutes. These past five days had been an exercise in maintaining his control unlike any he’d ever been through before. She told him she’d be around the house while he worked, but he didn’t realize how much she’d be around.

  Granted, she’d spent most of her time on the other side of the house, painting the walls of the rooms that would house the makeup studio, but she didn’t have to be right next to him for Dale to know she was there. He could feel her presence in the air. It was the hardest thing in the world to concentrate knowing she was just a room away, dressed in those boxy hospital scrubs that still managed to be sexy as hell.

  Dale pulled up to the Whitmer House and grabbed his toolbox from the lock box in the bed of his truck. The rain that had been falling off and on for most of the day started to drizzle once again. As he approached the home’s side entrance, he could hear Nyree singing in that adorable off-key voice he’d already become used to. There were a few guys at the construction site who sang or hummed while they worked, and it always irritated the hell out of him. Funny how he found it cute whenever Nyree did it.

  She stood in the middle of the kitchen, her back turned to him as she painted the trim work she’d been working on for the past five days. The hardwood floors were covered with a plastic drop cloth. Two sawhorses were spaced evenly apart. Positioned across them were several long pieces of the pre-primed baseboards that would go around the flooring of the entire house.

  “Rain ran you inside?” Dale asked.

  She turned at the sound of his voice. “Hey,” she said. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “Hard to hear over that angelic voice,” he teased.

  “Ha ha. Very funny.” Her rather inharmonious singing had already become a standing joke between them. She set her paintbrush on the edge of the paint tray and folded her arms across her chest.

  “So, are you officially all mine?” she asked in an innocent voice, as if the words weren’t dripping in innuendo. The mischievous smile playing at the edge of her lips was so damn tempting it made his skin heat.

  Dale knew he would eventually have to put an end to this flirting. It had been okay—even expected—the day they first met. How could two single people who were obviously attracted to each other not flirt?

  But now that he was working for her, it was unprofessional. Not only was it unprofessional, it was also dangerous as hell. Because the more they flirted, the more he wanted it to become something beyond the teasing, sometimes downright suggestive, banter they’d shared these past few days.

  Yet, despite knowing that he shouldn’t do it, Dale held his hands out and answered her previous question. “That’s right, boss,” he said. “I’m all yours.”

  Her eyes traveled the length of him. “Hmm, now that I have you full time, I’m going to have to really put you to work. You know that, right?”

  “What have I been doing for the past five days? Playing around?” he asked as he took off his jacket and clipped his tool belt around his waist.

  “Oh, you’ve been putting in the work, but time is running out,” she said. “We’re down to seven weeks.”

  He stepped up to her. “You don’t think I can handle it?”

  “You haven’t shown me everything you can do just yet.”

  Dale pulled in a deep breath. “You know, when I took this job my sister told me I’d have to act professionally.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning no thinking about you the way I’m thinking about you right now.”

  Her heated eyes glittered with amusement. “So what does it say about me if I’m thinking the same about you?”

  He grinned. “You’re technically my boss. I think that means I can sue you for sexual harassment.”

  Nyree burst out laughing. “I’ve spent all my money on this house. If you tried to sue me, I’m afraid there’s not much I have left to give.”

  “We could think of something,” he said.

  His chest heaved with the breaths he sucked in as he tried to find his center of control. They were playing a dangerous game, but one he was willing to lose if it meant succumbing to this attraction that had been raging out of control for nearly a week.

  Yet whenever he thought about broaching the subject, something made him back off. No, it wasn’t just something, it was one thing in particular.

  He was intimidated by her.

  Dale wasn’t ashamed to admit it. How could he not be at least a
little intimidated when faced with a woman as accomplished as Nyree. He’d never met anyone so young who had their shit together the way she did. Hell, she’d achieved more than a lot of people he knew who were twice her age. What did he have to offer someone like Nyree? Other than the obvious.

  Then again, maybe that’s all she wanted from him. She sure as hell didn’t look interested in his brain when she stared at him like she wanted to have him for dinner.

  But if there’s one thing Dale wasn’t up for, it was playing stud. He’d been down that road before, dating women who were more interested in the fact that he was a big, brawny football player with the body and reputation to match. He could still remember the way it made him feel, like a piece of meat that wasn’t good for anything other than getting them off. He may only be a construction worker with a used pickup truck and dust on his steel-toe boots, but that didn’t mean he had to go back to being arm candy for women who were out of his league.

  And, let’s face it, Nyree was out of his league. At least he could acknowledge it.

  He hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “I should probably get to work,” he said. “I want to have the rest of the piping done by the time the shampoo bowls arrive tomorrow.”

  Her reluctance was evident in the way her shoulders slumped, but she nodded and went back to painting the baseboards.

  Dale spent the next hour fighting back the urge to slip into the kitchen just so he could see her. He’d come up with a dozen inane excuses he could use, but every single one of them was more transparent than the lace curtains that used to hang in his grandmother’s sewing room.

  Why was he wasting his time thinking up excuses? He should just go in there and lay everything on the table. Forget being professional. Forget not being good enough for her. Who in the hell cared whether or not he was good enough for her? If all she wanted from him was a nice piece of ass that could get her off, he could live with that.

  “Hey, you got a minute?”

  Dale jerked the miter saw so hard he slipped, having to stop himself with his hand on the floor.