Blueprint for Love (7 page)

Her sister had a point. Thankfully, Gabe
owned all the Sampson’s chains, a do-it-yourself home improvement
warehouse. He was the one who gave them the money and the
encouragement to start Three Sisters Construction. People respected
Sampson’s.

Marlow added, “Vic came to your aid when he
didn’t have to. He seems like a reliable guy. We need someone like
that.”

“
Exactly,” Candace agreed.
“This new contract is our chance to really build our clientele. If
a male chauvinist is capable of leading the work crew, then so be
it.”

Ronnie held her hands up for silence. “All
right, all right. Are you guys on the Vic Romano committee or
something?”

“
Ooh,” Toye’s eyes lit up.
“His name sounds so macho. Vic Romano, the Italian
Stallion!”

They all burst out laughing.

“
Girl, you might end up
riding that stallion!”

Images of her riding Vic was just too much
for her. Flushed with heat, Ronnie gulped her orange juice. She was
eager to change the subject. “How in the world are you going to
keep this party a secret from Gabe for the next two weeks?” Ronnie
asked Candace.

Ronnie breathed a sigh of relief as her
sister launched into her latest plan. Crises avoided. She hated
having the spotlight on her. Yet, even as Candace babbled on,
Ronnie’s thoughts drifted once more to the man who’d rescued her.
Her family was right. She owed him a second chance.

# # #

Ronnie pulled up to the curb of an apartment
complex. This was the address on Vic’s application. She walked
around the seemingly vacant property.

“
Hello?” she called
out.

No answer.

She wandered to the end of the building
where she noticed a sawhorse and planks set up. Several
two-by-fours were laid nearby. Someone was here working, but where?
Wearing high-heeled wedges, she carefully stepped around a red
toolbox with some tools neatly placed beside it. Someone was fixing
up the place.

Finally, she spotted an open window in the
back on the first floor. She peeked her head through. An empty
kitchen with black appliances and plenty of counter space greeted
her. Unfortunately, no one was in the room.

Shoot! I should have called the number on
the application before I drove way out here.

She did an about-face and turned from the
window. She ran smack into a human wall. Vic’s bare, chiseled chest
blocked her view. She stumbled backwards. Vic caught her and pulled
her against his sculpted pectorals. He was hot and sweaty. But
instead of being disgusted, she was turned on!

Her eyes followed the dark trail of hair
that extended from the bottom of his six-pack into the leather tool
belt slung low on his narrow waist. His abs looked like they were
carved from wood.

Damn, he was sexy. Transfixed to the sight
of her hand against his bronzed chest, she stood motionless. Only
the deep timbre of his voice with its erotic undertones pulled her
from her trance.

“
Well, Ms. Jones. To what
do I owe this pleasure?”

Her eyes snapped up to meet his. Up close,
she could see tiny gold flecks in his green orbs. They were framed
by thick dark brows and eyelashes women would kill for.

The cocky smile he flashed made goose bumps
pucker on her arms. Not for the first time, she wondered if he had
the goods to back up that smile. Was he as confident with his
lovemaking as he was with everything else?

“
I, uh,” she
stuttered.

Damn, woman! Get it together. You act like
you’ve never seen a naked torso before.

Ronnie suddenly felt self-conscious in what
Devon referred to as her Mommy jeans and tank top. She wished she’d
dressed a little sexier.

Ridiculous! Why do you need to dress up for
him?

At five foot eight, she was already tall,
but she was happy that Vic loomed over her. In middle school, when
the boys were at least a foot shorter than her, she’d felt her
height was a curse. Now that she was grown, it gave her the
advantage of looking thin and graceful. Did Vic notice?

Vic drank in the sight of Ronnie. Her face
was scrubbed clean and free of makeup. Her long hair was pulled
back into a bun. Not as sexy as last night’s bun, but still
enticing, nonetheless. Her yam brown skin glowed beneath the midday
sun. His fingers itched to reach out and stroke her silken
cheek.

Did she know how hot she looked in those
jeans? He liked seeing her dressed casual instead of so buttoned up
and formal. He wondered if she was wearing another pair of lacy
black panties today. If she were his woman, he’d toss her over his
shoulder, carry her upstairs to his bedroom, and strip those jeans
off to see for himself. But she wasn’t his woman. Still, he could
fantasize—just like he’d done last night when horniness had taken
the place of sleep. The image of her soft, round ass fueled his
lust as he’d stroked himself. But masturbating wasn’t enough. He
wanted the real thing.

Ronnie’s full lips parted as if she were
catching her breath. Her eyes flitted in all directions, refusing
to land on his bare chest. He chuckled to himself. Was the Ice
Queen shy? Surely, she’d seen plenty of bare-chested men. The fact
that he was naked from the waist up shouldn’t have bothered
her.

But he sensed her discomfort. Perversely, he
enjoyed it. Was he turning her on? It was hard to tell with her.
She kept her emotions on a tight leash.

Her lush lips were inches from his. He
should have gone with his first thought and pulled her full bottom
lip into his mouth. Suckled it until he made her whimper. But all
too soon, she spoke, breaking his window of opportunity.

“
I came to tell you you’re
hired,” she blurted out.

Vic stared into her maple colored eyes,
captivated by the fluttering long lashes. He didn’t know why, but
he wanted to give her a hard time. Instead of backing away, he
leaned in closer.

“
Do you always deliver
that type of news in person?” he asked.

Her eyes widened, and then she looked away,
smoothly stepping out of his embrace.

“
I was in the
area.”

A lie. He knew it and she knew he knew it.
Vic called her on it. “No you weren’t.”

“
Excuse me?”

“
You expect me to believe
you were just in my neck of the woods? Nah, my mama didn’t raise no
fool. Admit it. You wanted to see me.”

Her mouth dropped open,
and then snapped shut. She moved further away, putting distance
between them. She crossed her arms defiantly, eyeing him with a
challenging gaze. “You are
the
most arrogant man I’ve ever had the displeasure
of meeting.”

“
And you are the most
inconsistent woman I’ve ever met. You’re cold when you meet me.
Then, you kissed me the other night. Now, you’re here to hire me.
What’s up with that? Guilty conscience?”

He grabbed a nearby plaid shirt and pulled
it on. Ronnie frowned, and he didn’t know whether she was
disappointed or relieved.

“
First of all, I have no
reason to feel guilty about anything,” she retorted. “I finished
all my interviews and you were the most qualified for the job. I
told you I’d let you know, and I’m here—letting you know. Second,”
she rushed on, before he could interrupt, “that kiss was a ‘thank
you’ peck. You make it sound like I tongued you down.”

He couldn’t help the sly grin that spread
across his face. “That’s an image that’s going to be hard to
shake.”

She narrowed her eyes. She had to know he
was just playing with her.

“
I’m only hiring you at my
sisters’ insistence. You don’t have to act so smug about
it.”

She turned to walk off, but her insult hung
in the air. Maybe he really was acting a little smug. He grasped
her arm. The feel of his calloused palm on her bare skin made his
dick stir. Touching was dangerous. Every time he touched, he wanted
more. Ronnie stopped in her tracks. Vic released her and shoved his
hands in his pockets.

“
I’m sorry,” he said. “I
appreciate you taking the time to come over here.”

She nodded. “Apology accepted.” She glanced
around. “Are you working on a remodel?”

“
Kind of. The super is
real busy. I told him I’d help out and do some repairs in exchange
for reduced rent.”

“
Smart.”

He grinned. “I am capable of moments of
greatness sometimes. You’ll find out, I’m not so bad, for a sexist
pig.”

She cocked her head to the side. “You’re
very full of yourself, you know?”

“
I prefer the word,
confident.”

“
Does that apply to all
aspects of your life? Or just work?”

He gave her a look that he hoped conveyed
the hunger he felt. “Curiosity can be a dangerous thing, Ms. Jones.
I accept serious inquiries only. So, don’t ask a question like that
unless you really want to find out.”

She didn’t spar with him, even though he
could see the playful glint in her eyes. She was a class act, he’d
give her that. Her refusal to go there with him let him know he was
trying to play in a game that was out of his league.

“
I’d better get going,”
she said.

He nodded, reluctant to see her leave. He’d
enjoyed her brief visit. “By the way,” he asked, “how did the event
go?”

“
I made it in time to do
my sister’s introduction—after my wardrobe malfunction.”

He chuckled. “Glad to hear it.” He wanted to
add that she could have a malfunction anytime in front of him, but
he left it alone. After all, she was his employer now. He’d have to
see her frequently, and he didn’t want her to feel awkward.

“
You can start on Monday,”
she said, reading his mind. “Please be at the office at 5 a.m. You
can follow the project manager to the site.”

“
See ya then.”

As Ronnie walked back to her Beemer, Vic
watched the provocative sway of her full hips. He shook his head.
He had to get a hold on this spark of attraction he felt.

As soon as she pulled the doorknob to the
driver’s door, he called out, “I see you got your flat fixed.”

“
Yes. Gabe took care of
it. He chewed the guys at the dealership a new asshole for
forgetting to give me a spare.”

Gabe? Vic should have known she had a
boyfriend. “I’m glad you got a man who takes care of you.”

She tossed him a bored smile. “What was that
you said about curiosity being a dangerous thing? It works both
ways, Vic.” She smirked before sliding behind the steering wheel
and driving away.

He grinned. Was that
Ronnie Jones’ attempt at giving him a dose of his own medicine? She
totally called him out. If this
was the
kind of sexual-filled banter they would wrestle in all the time,
both of them had better steer clear of each other.

Vic squeezed the trigger of the heavy-duty
nail gun and fired a series of nails into a two-by-four. He worked
methodically, powering each nail into the wooden framework every
two inches. He and his crew worked on the second story of an outlet
mall. Eventually, it would be three stories high. Not too big, but
enough of a job. They had a six-month completion time. He’d been
working on the job for two weeks. Got his first paycheck yesterday.
The first thing he planned to do was buy Andrea a camera. She’d
expressed interest in photography. It wouldn’t be one of those
expensive ones, but it would get her started.

However, first, he had to pay his rent.
Rocco, his overweight and under-compassionate landlord, wanted his
money on the first of every month. No grace period. He didn’t care
that Vic was helping the Super with repairs. If you didn’t pay on
time, Rocco would show up at your door with his enforcers—two
muscle-bound idiots who used grunts for communication. They spoke
one language. Money.

Vic removed his hard hat and mopped his
sweaty brow with the back of his hand. He stepped back and surveyed
his handiwork. Not bad for a guy fresh out of the pen. He hadn’t
worked on a construction crew in five years.

“
This shit don’t bother
you?” an older guy, named Lenny, with skin as black as midnight,
asked.

Vic laughed. It had to be one hundred
degrees today, but he didn’t mind the weather. He enjoyed being out
in the elements with the sun on his face and the wind at his back.
While others complained about the backbreaking heat, he thanked the
man up above he was free of his cinderblock cell.

“
Nah, man,” Vic answered.
“Just another day in paradise for me.”

Lenny grunted. “The sun done fried yo brain,
son. This ain’t no fuckin’ paradise.”

Sergei, another guy on the crew, stopped
hammering nails long enough to join the conversation. “The time I
spent with special forces in Hawaii, that was paradise—if you don’t
mind cockroaches the size of your goddamn hand flying around. But
the women.” He trailed off, looking into the sun baked sky. “The
women were off the goddamn chain. I had my pick. Russian. Croatian.
Spanish. Even black chicks.” He made kissing noises. “Those were
the best. Ever had a piece of chocolate? And I’m not talking about
fucking Nestle.”

Vic didn’t take offense. He shrugged it off.
Sergei was one of those dudes who liked to call attention to
himself. Big mouth. Little brain.

“
Man, shut de fuck up,”
Lenny said, waving him away like a bothersome horsefly. “All yo hot
air makin’ it even hotter ‘round here.”

“
Yeah,” a pimply-faced kid
named Craig shot back. “If you were all that in Special Forces,
what the hell are you doing here with us?”