Page 33 of I Choose You (Wilder #2)

Reid

“Claire is doing her job, and she’s doing it damn fucking well.

Any setbacks that happen in construction—and there will be some—are not Claire’s fault or responsibility.

They are mine. And I have a team of people here all working our asses off to get this project done on time and, more importantly, to the best standard of work. ”

“Thank you for the tour, but this conversation doesn’t involve you,” the douche fucker said.

I saw red, and I had to flex my fist to keep from decking this guy.

“The fuck it doesn’t. If you’re concerned about timeline or budget, that involves me. Claire and I are working as a team on this, everything from flooring to windows to entryway doorknobs.” My spine stiffened, creating an even larger height difference between us.

“I’ll be speaking to my employee now. You can go,” Andrew said, as if that was going to matter to me.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I growled at him.

“Reid,” Claire called. “It’s fine. Just go. ”

My eyes swept over Claire before darting back to Andrew. I gave him a hard stare, but if Claire wanted to handle this on her own, that was up to her. I didn’t like it though.

“If you need me, I’ll be right out here.”

Claire just nodded, so I turned and walked out of her office.

I wasn’t going to go far though, just in case she needed me.

In the next room over, I took over the furniture refinishing from Dale, keeping close to the adjoining wall.

Andrew’s voice carried more than Claire’s did, but I couldn’t make out what either of them was saying.

It hadn’t even been ten minutes before Andrew stalked away, leaving the library behind him.

“What the hell is his problem?” I asked Claire, making myself at home in her office.

“Good question. He definitely seemed really hung up on this project. He must be under a lot of stress right now.” She worried her kissable lip between her teeth, and my dick twitched.

“If he’s so worried about getting this done on time, he should stop giving you everyone else’s work to do.”

“It’s…” Claire’s gaze darted to my mouth, then slowly drifted up, locking with mine. “Fine.”

The air shifted around us. It was like a rubber band snapped inside me.

A chain reaction of snapping rubber bands.

My control slipped, but my resolve hardened.

I surged out of my chair, gripping the desk that separated me from her.

“You know what happened the last time you told me it was ‘fine.’ If you’ve forgotten, I’d be happy to refresh your memory. ”

Pink crept up Claire’s cheeks, though desire swirled in her eyes.

She told me no the other day. I heard her, loud and clear.

But there was something between us, a raging fire that burned through my veins.

She had to feel it too. I was going to get Claire to admit she wanted this too.

And with that one word, she already had.

She shifted in her seat. “I have to get to work. And so do you.”

A low growl escaped my throat, but I backed off. I was almost out the door when she called to me.

“And Reid…” I turned to look at her over my shoulder. “Thank you for standing up for me.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I winked at her.

I grabbed Dale and spent the rest of the day on the third floor. We had replaced the soft spot that Shawn found and evaluated the rest of the subfloor, finding a few more spots that I wanted to replace before the final flooring was installed.

“What’s up with you and Claire?”

We had been working in a comfortable silence for a while, and Dale’s question caught me off guard.

“Nothing.” Technically, that was true. I would have loved for there to be something up between us, but Claire had shut that down.

For now. Besides, it wasn’t anyone else’s business what had happened between us, and seeing as Claire was still in denial about it happening again, it wasn’t something I wanted to get into with my employee.

“She’s only passing through, you know.”

“I’m aware.” This conversation was starting to piss me off. “Like I said, nothing’s going on.”

“Good.”

“Good? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Dale just eyed me from where he was working on his knee pad. “Don’t jump down my throat. I’m just looking out for you. I don’t want to see you get hurt. Again.”

I knew Dale meant well, but I didn’t need him getting all up in my business. He had put up with a lot from me after the breakup. I got it. But whatever happened between Claire and me was our business.

“I’m not a little kid,” I grumbled.

My phone chimed with a new message. I was anxious to end this conversation with Dale and didn’t even think about who it might be before I checked it. Claire’s name showed in the notification box, and it instantly turned my bad mood around.

Claire: Jack Donovan’s masonry called me back. He can be here tomorrow to give us a quote :) Once he’s done with the inside, we’ll just need to pick which of the designs we want to go with for the exterior.

She sent an option one and option two. We had been going back and forth with the designs for the fireplace in the main reading room for a while. They were both nice and, more importantly, historically accurate. But one of them was simpler in design, while the other was more detailed.

Me: Which one are you leaning towards?

Claire: I’m not telling. You’ll choose the opposite just for the heck of it laughing face emoji

She would want the ornately designed one. I already knew that. She loved the character in the curved, sculpted wood and the details that handcrafted work left behind.

Me: Option 1

Claire: Seriously! That one was my favorite, too :)

Of course it was. I smiled to myself. I caught Dale’s look from the corner of my eye, but he could go and fuck right off if he wanted to say something. He didn’t, and neither did I. I pocketed my phone and picked up where I left off, laying new subflooring in place .

We finished the day and packed up. Richie and Shawn had already left. Dale clapped me on the shoulder before he took off too. He shook his head at me, but his small grin gave him away. He was worried for me, and I appreciated that, but this was my business.

I waited for Claire to finish up whatever she was working on, listening to her sing to herself as her fingers clacked against the computer keyboard. She must have thought she was alone because she started belting out the lyrics like she was performing in her own private concert.

My wide smile couldn’t be contained as I sat back and admired her. She radiated sunshine, even when she was by herself.

She came out a few minutes later and found me leaning against the makeshift table from our lunch earlier, my arms crossed over my chest.

“Holy hell! You scared the crap out of me. I thought I was by myself,” she said after jumping out of her skin.

“When have I ever left you alone here? What if the ghost attacked and I wasn’t here to protect you?” I smirked.

She rolled her eyes, and then they landed square on my chest before they dipped lower. My cock twitched, liking the attention.

“What are you doing for dinner tonight?” she asked, going for conversational.

“Are you asking me out?”

“No, I just thought no use in us both eating alone. Now that you’re not grumpy all the time, you can be good company.”

“Well, I know one surefire way to keep my grumpy attitude away,” I teased.

“Oh my God,” she huffed. “Looks like you’re going to stay grumpy, then.”

“I was talking about food. What were you talking about?”

She laughed loudly, throwing her head back. Fuck, I loved that sound. She laughed with her whole body, just like her smile. A real smile by Claire DeLuca could illuminate the darkest cave. And her laugh was like that first step into the sunlight.

“Follow me to my house. I want to shower, and then I’ll make us something to eat,” I told her. Her eyes widened slightly, and her brows rose. “What? I can cook.”

It was true that I didn’t cook often, mostly opting to eat out, but I could throw together some pasta. Maybe I’d call Sheila on my way home, see if she had any easy meal suggestions.

I pulled into my driveway five minutes later and waited for Claire to pull up right behind me. I was at her driver’s-side door before she had a chance to unbuckle.

“What a gentleman,” she crooned. “This still isn’t a date, you know.”

“I don’t reserve being a gentleman strictly for dates.

” She took my offered hand and stepped out of her car.

I didn’t give her any room, crowding her space as soon as she was out.

How could she still smell so good after working in a construction zone all day?

“And date or not, if I have an opportunity to put my hands on you, I’m taking it.

” Her tongue swiped over her lips, my gaze zeroing in on it.

Slowly, she pulled her hand from mine, her fingers dragging across my palm and trailing up my fingers. Her eyes locked on where we were touching. She swallowed hard and dropped her hand. “We should head in. It’s freezing out here.”

The signals she was sending were mixed as fuck, but that was fine with me. She wanted me, I could see it in her eyes, in the way her breathing turned shallow when we were alone. She could only fight it for so long, and I would be ready to listen to her beg for it when she finally snapped.

My house was warm and toasty. Claire and I both took our coats and boots off at the door.

“I’m just going to take a quick shower first. Make yourself comfortable,” I told her.

I showered fast, resisting the urge to wrap my fist around my dick, even with images of Claire’s naked body playing in my head, the smell of her perfume lodged in my mind.

Did I want her to come in here, strip down to nothing, and join me for some shower fun?

Fuck yeah, I did. Did I think it was going to happen?

Hell no. Unfortunately, I was right. She didn’t appear in my doorway, ready to tell me she was wrong and we should definitely hook up again.