Page 19 of Small Town Sizzle

“Mom had started renovations on the place. She had some big plans about all of it. It kind of got lost in the shuffle, especially with us being shorthanded.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Restore order.” He shrugs with a chuckle. “You’ll figure it out when you get there.”

He leaves and I shake my head.

That doesn’t sound promising.

Twenty minutes later, I’m standing in the middle of a construction site at the youth center, staring at the blueprints Ethan shoved at me as I walked out of the building.

He told me he needed help. What he didn’t tell me was that the entire place was a mess—walls half-torn down, tools scattered everywhere, and no clear plan in sight. Mom wanted to expand the building and add things on, making it more spacious with more amenities. All of that was hidden when we came here after the funeral.

Because we were shorthanded and I had a crew of guys who worked overseas with me who were also off for a few months, I extended job offers for them to work with the state side of our company. We were ahead five more guys now, at least, and I knew that they were all hard workers that I could count on.

Leave it to Ethan to drop this in my lap a freaking mess. Some things never change.

I hear footsteps behind me, and I turn just in time to see Maya. I let out an irritated sigh. She’s gorgeous, but that attitude of hers leaves a lot to be desired. She’s wearing a flowy but fitted dress with a floral pattern. Her hair is piled up on top of her head, and she’s wearing a pair of black framed glasses that make her look like a sexy librarian.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mutter under my breath.

She doesn’t notice me at first, too busy talking to someone on her phone as she strides onto the site like she owns it. When she finally looks up and sees me, her eyes widen for half a second before narrowing.

“You,” she says, her tone somewhere between disbelief and annoyance.

“Me,” I reply, crossing my arms. “What are you doing here?”

“I work here,” she snaps. “What are you doing here?”

“Fixing the disaster you call a building,” I shoot back.

Her jaw tightens, and she takes a step closer, her eyes blazing. “Listen, I don’t know who you think you are, but this ‘disaster’ happens to be the heart of this community. It was your mom’s pride and joy, and she’d be devastated to hear you describe it like that. So maybe try showing a little respect.”

“I’ll show respect when you start following building codes,” I fire back.

For a moment, we just glare at each other, the air between us crackling like static electricity.

“This is going to be a problem,” she mutters, more to herself than to me.

“You’re telling me,” I reply, shaking my head.

She takes a deep breath, clearly trying to regain her composure. “That was like the corniest line I’ve ever heard, by the way,” she says with a roll of her eyes.

“It was,” I chuckle a few seconds later.

“I should have realized this was a possibility when Laura said you were sticking around. I guess I just didn’t picture you in the construction business.”

“What business did you think I’m in?”

“I thought you were the poster child for the douchebag Olympics.” She shrugs easily as she turns to look at the blueprints.

“Excuse me?” I ask.

While it was meant to be a burn, her comment was kind of funny, and I struggle to mask the smile that’s tugging the corners of my mouth.

She turns around and flashes a smile. “I thought you were like an uptight accountant or something. You weren’t exactlydressed like a construction company owner from Hicks Creek. You and Ethan seem like you’re from two different worlds.”

“I guess we kind of are,” I mumble under my breath.