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I only came here to be too busy and slightly unreachable from my mother, but I’ll have to face her and return to Paris eventually.
She pats my hand as she stands, interpreting my lack of a further answer correctly. I don’t want to talk about it, and she respects that.
After I see her out, a restlessness fills me. Lauren doesn’t seem as outgoing as Aubrey. From the little I’ve seen of the two friends, I’ve picked up on that. Still, having Lauren here in the capacity as someone who could be a friend, not a client, made the cabin seem less lonely.
To escape the reminder that I have no one to rely on for company or companionship, I head outside. With the sweeping vistas and wide-open scenery here on the mountainside, I should feel smaller. Like one speck of a person in such a vast, large world, but it helps.
Or he helps to stave off some of this loneliness. Sawyer is hard at work down below, and when I get as comfortable as I can on the deck that overlooks the area where he’s working, I’m reminded that I’m not entirely isolated after all. It’s a small thing, but I’ll take it.
With a sweating glass of ice water, I do my best to ignore the heat of the sun. My headphones block out the annoying noise of their equipment, and with them as background noise and company, I find it quite workable when I’m no longer alone or restless. Between the fabric sample book I do have and the notes from talking with Lauren, I’m soon lost in sketching more in my book, scheming options of what I could do when I get the materials to work with and make her dream dress a reality.
The only problem I discover is that Sawyer is also feeling the heat. He’s so sweaty he’s working shirtless, and it’s becoming harder and harder to ignore him. My curiosity intensifies, and the temptation to stare is more difficult to ignore.
He’s just doing his job. Dalton’s words from last night trickle through my mind, and I try to double down on doing mine. Each time the cocky man catches me looking, I frown and focus again on my sketches.
It’s a losing battle, but I can’t bring myself to go inside and deprive myself of seeing him out there. I don’t know if it’s the age-old magnetism of seeing something attractive and struggling to look away, or the deeper desire not to feel so alone in this cabin with so many faults and odd flaws.
Either way, I’ll do my best to avoid thinking about exactly why I can’t keep my eyes on my own task. It’s one thing to admit to being curious about Sawyer, but it’s something else entirely to confess that he’s too hard to ignore.
Chapter 7
Sawyer
My father remarried when my older half-brother, Jason, was twenty-one. A year later, I was born, then a year after that, Kevin was born. When Dad passed away, it would’ve seemed logical to split his construction company into threes, but Kevin was already in school to be a teacher, and he had no desire for the industry anyway. As such, Jason and I each received half of Dad’s company while Kevin got a smaller inheritance not connected to his company. Jason retired a few years back, giving me his shares, and with all of it, I’ve turned it into an even larger mega-construction company. Work has been good. Jobs have been steady with the ups and downs of the economy. I could retire from working with my hands and showing up with my crews every day, but I’m not ready to go sit behind a desk day in and day out. I’m not sure that lifestyle would ever be for me. I’d miss out on the glorious sunshine and beautiful outdoors.
And, per the last three days working on Dalton’s property, I would have missed out on one certain sexy girl from Paris who can’t keep her eyes off me.
It looks like she’s recovering well from her jetlag, because despite the distance between her up on that deck and me down here with my crew, I can see how fresh and rested she is. For such a fancy woman always dressing to the nines, even way out here in the wilds, she doesn’t wear much makeup. Perhaps I’ve been doing my fair share of checking her out, too, if I could notice how free of cosmetics her face is. I’d own up to it if anyone were to ask. My crew has been giving me shit for glancing at her as it is. More than once, Barry caught me peeking in Claire’s direction. Other than shrugging and smiling, I haven’t said much about it.
How could I not notice her? Her narrowed gaze on me felt like a hotter ray of heat than the sunshine blaring down. I don’t know if it’s just a case of sixth sense and knowing someone is watching me or what. I’ve dealt with that plenty. Working in the residential construction field, I’ve had to complete numerous jobs in homes or near them, where people can hawk over me and my crew. Out here, though, I figured it would be less visited.
And she’s not even supposed to be here. Since Dalton told me the little he had about his cousin who, was more like a baby sister, I’ve wondered what her story is. What could be so bad in her life that she would want to stay out here before this end of the property was truly ready for guests?
It’s not simply a sixth-sense feeling of being watched, though. It’s the way she’s looking at me that makes it hard to look away. In the few seconds when I meet her gaze, before I can smile knowingly and catch her red-handed for ogling me, she’ll stare with so much raw lust that I have to refrain from growling. Then, when she meets my gaze and realizes she’s caught again, she’ll scowl. That expression only eggs me on, so I’ve taken to upping the ante of this challenge. I don’t normally take my shirt off when I’m working a job. Yeah, it’s hot, but sometimes having at least one layer on helps for the sake of comfort and protection from the elements.
I should feel bad about teasing her, but I figure she’s able to go inside instead of hanging outside for a glimpse. That’s her own doing, and I can’t say I hate how she’s noticed me, not the rest of my crew. I relied on the manual labor of the job to keep me in shape, but hell, Tim over there is a meathead at the gym and busting his ass in the field. She has plenty of us to watch out here, but I can’t ignore how it’s only me who’s captured her eye.
When Friday rolls around, though, I’m glad to call it a week. As fun as it is to entice Claire to look at me, I’m beat. I stick around to help the guys wrap up the project for the day. Since I’m the one in charge, I take my time to ensure the job site is left to my expectations. The guys trail toward their trucks to leave, but I remain to check on just a few more things. Leaving a key in a piece of equipment is a mistake I’ll never repeat. A few years ago, a worker forgot a key for the tractor, and a teenager decided to have fun. No one is around out here, but still, I won’t take my chances and check that everything is locked up and disabled.
Satisfied that everything is secure, I go to my truck and open the door. An ice-cold beer is calling my name at home, and I can’t wait to shower. Before I can, though, strange footsteps sound behind me. I pause, one foot in the truck, and turn to see Claire. She’s wobbling through the gravel. That’s the cause for the scraping, unsteady pattern of noise. In heels again, she walks down toward me.
Dammit. She’s going to break her freaking neck walking around in those shoes. Doesn’t she have any common sense?
She lifts her face and makes eye contact. Another scowl, but not as severe. I’m the only one here, so she’s got to be coming for me.
I sigh and turn away from my truck, retreating to meet her before she really does lose her balance and scrape up that pretty skin. The denim cutoffs look cute, but they’re not worn in at all. And her blouse is so crisp and white it’s too, clinically clean to fit in with the scene.
“Looking for someone?” I ask, both in teasing and seriousness. We’re both aware of how she’s been making a habit of watching me work, but I have no clue why she’s seeking me out.
“You.”
I want to smile at how bold and honest she is.
“I’m…” She stops at the back of my truck, brushing off her arms as though daring the dust that might have landed there. “I’m…”
I lean against the truck bed. “I don’t have all day.”
She frowns. “I’m having trouble with some of the outlets in the cabin.” She crosses her arms and sighs after she gets those words out, clearly not happy about her situation.
