Beautiful Ties (7 page)

“I can drive,” I protested smoothly. Surely, I was independent enough to drive myself to and from work. I had been doing it for years.

“I can, too,” he retorted while raising a brow at me. The look on him was sexy and frustrating at the same time. “Besides,” he continued, “your house is on the way, so it’s kind of a waste of gas to drive separately. Not to mention, carpooling would cause less pollution.”

I resisted the urge to glare at him. Instead, I shook my head in exasperation as I was quickly learning that this man was as stubborn as my two brothers.

That cannot be a good sign.
I definitely do not want to date someone with that trait.

“Good point, but I still need my keys to get back into my home,” I said, placing the keys in my purse and striding forward.

I breezed past him as he held the door open for me, and I ignored the pleased expression on his face that should not look so adorable.

“Wow,” I said, completely overwhelmed with the sight before me.

The building Kyle, Jason, and Damon had bought on Lakeview Avenue needed some serious renovations. The outside had been extremely deceiving with its pristine brick and what looked to be new windows and a new front door. The inside was a disaster. The walls were covered in the ugliest shade of brown wallpaper I had ever seen. Worse yet, it was peeling, and it would have to be entirely removed before we could paint.

Ugh.

I had a serious hatred for wallpaper—well, not if it was pretty and had been properly applied. But when it had been done wrong, it was a nightmare to remove. The blue Berber carpet was heavily worn in some areas. In others, it seemed as though someone had taken a razor blade to it and made it look like a shaggy carpet. Golden light fixtures were literally hanging from their sockets. They were definitely fire hazards. They would need to be replaced and rewired for safety concerns.

I felt like I’d just stepped into a hellhole as my eyes continued to gaze the perimeter back and forth, over and over, in astonishment. This was not a building that Kyle would have normally purchased. It needed much more TLC than any project we had restored in the past.

“Yep, this place will take every single day we have set aside for remodeling, and if we’re lucky, it won’t take any longer,” Jason said, finally breaking the silence.

My wide eyes turned to him, and I was pretty sure my open mouth was nearly touching the floor. “This place…” I started to say, but my mind still seemed to be stuck in a state of shock. “This is a
serious
project.”

Jason nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, it is,” he agreed. His eyes roamed over the wide-open floor plan and then landed back on me. “Surely, as a businesswoman, you can see it has great potential.”

“Of course, but this is past Kyle’s norm. How did you get him to agree to buy this?” I asked without thinking.

“It was his idea at first,” Jason said carefully. “But after we all quickly ran the numbers and considered what work would need to be done, we knew this place was such a great deal that the three of us couldn’t walk away.”

I knew he was right. Kyle had told me how cheap the building was, but I had no idea that its condition would require a lot of manual labor.

“Okay,” I said while my mind was finally wrapping around the idea.

The building did have outstanding potential. We only needed to find a starting point.

“How about we start with a list? Today, we can gather supplies and order what we need. Then, we’ll go from there.”

Jason grinned. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

He slowly ran his gaze up and down the length of my body. By the time he looked me in the eyes again, I could almost feel the heat radiating from him.

“Besides, we’ll have to get you some different clothes before we come back tomorrow.”

I gaped at him. “Uh, Jason…” I murmured, fumbling for words and shaking my head in astonishment. “I don’t do that kind of work. I’m more on the business and paperwork side of things.”

His grin broadened. “Not for the next few weeks. Kyle said you’re my new helper.” He smirked good-naturedly.

Crap.

Well, I guess I need to have a few words with my dear brother.

It was almost six in the evening by the time we finished our errands. After traveling to nearly every hardware store within a thirty-mile radius and making four trips back to the new building to unload our purchases, we had managed to cross off everything on our list. What we had not been able to get in stores, we had special ordered with deliveries to come in the next few days.

“Would you like to stop for dinner?” Jason asked, glancing over at me from the driver’s seat of his large black Dodge Ram 2500.

The sound of the diesel motor filled the interior of the truck. The smooth leather seat seemed like it might swallow me whole, but I was really enjoying the ride. There was something to be said about a hot man and his truck. It was a heady, eye-catching combination.

I was utterly exhausted. However, I’d had a wonderful time with Jason today. In all honesty, I wasn’t quite ready for it to end.

“Sure.” I smiled kindly at him. Then, I pointed ahead of us. “There is a place up here on the left that has really great barbeque ribs, if you want to stop there,” I added.

“Ribs?” Jason said with interest. “Don’t gotta tell me twice.” He laughed.

I guided him in the right direction, and after he made the next left onto Tyler Street, he turned into the parking lot. My phone beeped, and I started digging through my purse to find it. Gail had sent me a text.

Hey, girl! How’s the workweek going? Have you let that hot and sexy hunk kiss you yet?

I texted her back.

NO! Working together, remember? Going out to dinner. Text you later. ;)

My phone beeped again with Gail’s reply.

By your curt reply, I’m going to assume that you’re eating out with Jason. Deny it all you want, girl, but that man has his eyes set on you. I want details soon! ;)

I slipped my phone back into my bag. We exited his truck and walked up toward the building. Jason held the door open for me, and I entered first. Jimmy’s Baby Back Ribs was pretty quiet since it was a weeknight.

A young teenager gestured toward a front window table. Jason and I took our seats across from one another as our waiter approached. He quickly started his speech about the current Monday night specials.

Jason lightly rested his forearms between us on the wooden table as he politely paid attention to the young boy. My gaze, however, was all on Jason. Even under the yellow dim lighting, Jason’s eyes were bright, reflecting his mood. My heart rate sped up while my mind memorized every delectable inch of him. My eyes moved to his broad shoulders and then swept down the length of his chest.

Suddenly, his eyes met mine, trapping me in his stare. A slow, deliberate smile tugged from the corners of his mouth. The look in his eyes told me he knew I had been watching him. The air sizzled between us, and I could not tear my gaze from his. From the corner of my eye, I saw the waiter looking back and forth between us as if he must have missed something.

After what felt like forever, the young man broke the silence by clearing his throat. “Miss, what would you like to drink?” he asked considerately.

My attention snapped to him. “Oh, um…a house merlot, please.”

“Of course. Would you like to order now? Or should I come back in a few minutes?” he questioned.

“Give us a few,” Jason answered, keeping his gaze on me.

The waiter nodded and quietly excused himself, leaving us alone.

My pulse was now thrumming with such force that I wondered if Jason could sense my wild thoughts.

The waiter returned with my glass of wine. Jason had apparently ordered a cold beer when I was silently admiring him with my eyes. I had no idea why my body was reacting this way to him. I worked with construction men every day, all day, and I’d never been so turned-on by just sitting a few feet away from one. I was beginning to think something was wrong with me. Maybe I needed to ignore the whole white-picket-fence search and take him to my bed. It had been way too long since a man had his hands on me.

“I would give anything to know what you are thinking about right now,” Jason said in a mischievous deep and husky tone.

I could hear the lust in his voice as I took a sip of my merlot. I continued to swallow large mouthfuls. Suddenly, I felt extremely hot in here. I was beginning to think this restaurant was in dire need of a few fans. Once I realized I could not hide behind my glass forever without being obvious, I gradually lowered it to the table.

In an attempt to divert our conversation to a safer topic so that we could keep things professional, I asked, “So, what time do you want to start tomorrow?”

“I’ll pick you up at seven again,” he answered before taking a pull from his beer. He deliberately set his drink back on the table. His thumb ran along the side of the bottle as if he was in deep thought. “Nice try, but it won’t work,” he added with a smirk. “So, are you going to tell me where those thoughts of yours were just a few moments ago?”

I shook my head. “No,” I muttered.

His eyes darkened with challenge, making him look ridiculously hot. The effect took my breath away. He leaned a little closer while his eyes lowered to my lips, and then he looked back up again. Desire for him surged through me. My mind fought against my body as my insides tightened with need to feel him closer.

“Are you always so stubborn?” he asked in a suggestive tone.

His piercing blue eyes bore into mine. He looked as if he was trying to figure me out.

“Yes,” slipped past my ever-missing filter.

He unleashed a scorching grin. The look made him utterly irresistible. My body begged me to climb over the table and kiss him senseless. I wondered if his mouth would be as soft and luscious as it looked from where I was sitting.

“What would you say if I asked you on a date?” he drawled, shocking the hell out of me with his candor.

Shit.
It was much easier to dance around each other than avoid a direct question.

“I would have to say no.”

He raised his left brow, perplexed. “But you already agreed to ride on my bike,” he countered.

“I agreed to a friendly ride,” I responded while trying to keep the invisible line drawn between us straight in my mind.

We needed to make sure our professional relationship stayed all business. This was going to be so much harder than I’d originally thought.

My plan will work if I can manage to keep my emotions and my body in check.

Jason shook his head from side to side, chuckling softly. “Friendly?” he asked, making direct eye contact with me for a second time.

His eyes were keen and hot. The influence it had on me was overpowering and mouthwatering.

“The way you were just looking at me a few minutes ago was anything but friendly,” he retorted, throwing me for a loop.

“We can’t date,” I blurted out, laying all the cards on the table.

Our situation would be much easier on both of us if I could make him understand where I was coming from.

A hint of amusement glowed in his eyes. “Why not?”

“Because you’re my boss. We work together. That’s a line I don’t cross—ever,” I said, regretting every single word even though they were true.

“I’m not your boss. Kyle is,” he answered simply.

I stared at him, feeling confused.

“Kyle made that part clear from day one. You would remain
his
employee. I’m not sure on all the technical aspects of it yet, but that point was very apparent,” he explained while regarding me with serious eyes.

“Oh,” I replied, trying to process the unexpected news.

Kyle and I had not had a chance to go over those details since he had been so busy with the wedding.

“Does that change your mind?” he asked.

The look in his eyes was indecipherable, but I thought I saw a sliver of hope in them. It made me wonder why he would want to date me. I did not picture myself as his usual type. He was beyond gorgeous, and I was much more…average. And to top it off, I was pretty much married to my job.