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“Did he see you leave your bungalow?” he asks, his eyes bright with alarm.
“Um.” I can’t be sure so I don’t answer.
“Shit,” he curses, swiping his palm down his face. I can see a plan forming behind his eyes as he stares back up to the van. “Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do. I’m gonna talk to that piece over there and tell him to stay the hell away. But if for some reason he’s hankering for a bust-up and shows his damned face here again, I’m gonna give you my number and you’re gonna dial me straight away. Then I’ll sort him out, pronto.” He looks down at me, his expression serious. “Is that okay? Does that sound alright to you?” he asks, his voice gentler now.
I’m a helpless damsel. I’m a trope from one of my own screenplays. But in this moment I don’t mind being a storybook stereotype.
I nod up at him, the urge to touch him so strong that I grip my fingers around the edge of the desk.
He nods back at me and then turns to fulfil his promise.
Somehow I feel as though this changes everything.
Chapter 6
Mitch
I shouldn’t care. She isn’t even mine.
But the thought of what just happened to her instantly made me flip the switch.
I trudge across the site so that I can throw down the haul of off-cuts and then I start to make my way uphill, towards the curve in the valley where Harper’s bungalow is set.
Clearly she can’t stay here alone anymore, not when there are random guys illegally trespassing onto the premises and scoping her out like she’s on the market.
My cheekbone twitches.Isshe on the market? I refrain from incriminating myself by looking back at her over my shoulder – not that I’d need to, seeing as the image of her is thoroughly burned into my mind. The soft sun-kissed wisps that gently frame her face. The long delicate fingers that tentatively brushed my arm.
I roll the muscles in my back, trying to forget about our fleeting moment of contact. Did that even happen? I glance down at my bicep as if I’m expecting to see a poker-red burn mark, but it’s just business as usual. I shake out my wrists and try to shove the soft scrape from my mind.
As I work my way over to the van and its unfortunate driver I mentally catalogue a way to extrapolate Harper from living on site.Or,my brain suggests,a way foryouto stay closerto the site, and therefore prevent any further unwanted incidents.
Obviously it would be… potentially uncomfortable to move into the bungalow next door to her. I’m classifying the place as one-hundred percent hers and I’m not about to encroach on her womanly space. I’m not here to patronise her or tell her how to live her life. I mean, she can take care of herself, as a twenty-eight year old woman and all.
My subconscious snickers back at me.You keep reminding yourself of that, buddy.
Maybe it would be better if I could just temporarily relocate somewhere nearby for a while…
The van door swinging open is enough to pull me from my thoughts. Thank fuck. I’ve got some energy to burn.
“Hey man, how’s it hanging?” he says. I’m met with a knowing grin and a uniform that sure as hell doesn’t have the nameColesonwritten across it.
“Hey. You got a permit to be here?”
His bravado falters for a second and then he re-masks and shrugs. “I was just scoping out the situation.”
“And what situation would that be?”
He nods down to the valley. “That’s one big project you’ve got going on.” He slides his eyes back to mine. “With such a small team.”
Why is it so hard for people to keep to their own turf? Speaking of off-cuts, that’s what this guy’s after. Pine Hills is a bells-and-whistles cherry pie and he’s after a slice all for himself. I check the words on the side of his van and it nudges to a distant memory. I’ve seen his name around but he doesn’t have the kind of reputation that I’ve spent years building for myself. Which means he’s either looking for a freelance job on my crew or he wants to take over the job entirely.
Neither of which are on the cards for him.
He notices my silent appraisal and he shifts on his seat, wiping dirty palms down his jeans as he starts feeling increasingly awkward.
Which brings me back to exactly why I’m over here.
There’s no way to tactfully say this without getting straight down to the point.
