Page 15 of Tempting Me (The Asher Family #3)

CHAPTER TWELVE

LUCA

Having a staff that works under you is great. It means shit gets done, but it doesn't mean that I get to slack off and do whatever I want all day long. Truth be told, right now, I wish I could just go back to sleep.

It’s just after seven in the morning and my body hurts. I’ve been working double time. During the day, I stop by different sites to check in with my guys, and at night— well, Shay has my full attention. The last time I was working this hard was when I was trying to build my business.

And it hurts.

I think my age is showing. Thirties is not old, but damn, some days it sure feels like it.

I take another swig of my coffee and climb out of my truck, grabbing my tool bag.

Dutton Richford called me last night, leaving a voicemail to let me know that one of the weddings they had got a little rowdy and someone punched a hole through the wall .

I could tell he was fuming from how slow he spoke.

The Richfords set standards for Lovers Lodge, and when a guest does not meet those, he’s never happy.

I get it.

If someone were on my property, I’d expect them to treat it with respect too.

The automatic doors open and I stride in, spotting Grace instantly.

I hold my cup up in greeting and make my way to her.

“Morning, Grace. Is your brother around?”

“Hi, Luca. It’s early for you.”

She crosses her arms and smiles.

“Yeah, but duty calls and I show up.”

She nods slowly and then her smile grows.

“What?”

“Nothing.” She shakes her head. “You seem different today.”

“It’s probably the lack of sleep. Your best friend keeps me up way too late and works me hard.”

At that, Grace erupts into laughter.

“I … that came out wrong.”

“It came out perfect, and I know what you meant.” She winks, then points at the office behind us. “He’s in there. Proceed with caution.”

“You got it.”

As I knock, waiting for Dutton to call me in, it occurs to me that I just held a conversation with Grace. There wasn’t an ounce of nerves or hesitation or … a spark.

I felt nothing but the way I do as if I were speaking to Quinn or Sadie .

Huh.

I know I already told Shay she didn’t need to hype me up anymore, but that just confirms it.

I’m not interested in Grace in any other way than as friends.

I’m not even fully sure why I asked her out at this point. My brothers were dating and they were happy, and I wanted it too, I guess.

You can’t force a connection with someone.

She was right to turn me down.

“Come in!”

I open the door slowly. Dutton is sitting behind a large mahogany desk, pinching the spot between his eyes.

“I’d ask if things are good, but the vibe in this room is painful, so I’m not going to ask that.”

“You’re friends with Brooke, right?”

I make a yikes face and volley my head. “I mean, I know her fairly well, and she’s good friends with Sadie and now Quinn, so sure, I guess.”

“Why is she the way that she is?”

I wait for him to elaborate, but it’s clear he’s not going to.

“Um, what exactly did she do?”

“A bride this fall wants to rent B’s Bakery for an entire day, and Brooke told me no.”

“Oh.”

I know I should have a better response, but it is her bakery. She makes the call.

“She’s the only person who tells me no as if it’s the simplest thing in the world.

And not to mention, all I wanted the other night was one of her caramel brownies, and she wouldn't even let me through the door. I have no idea how I pissed her off, but she’s not getting over it, and I …

shit, this is not why you’re here. Follow me. ”

He stands quickly and leads me to one of the reception halls. The hole in the wall—well, all three—are hard to miss.

“Why three?”

I wait for him to answer, studying him. He now has his hands on his hips, his glare set on the wall in question.

“Someone said they wanted to see who could make a bigger hole.”

I pinch my lips together so that I don’t laugh.

Instead, I cast my vote.

“It’s the middle one.”

“I agree. Now please fix it. We have another wedding tonight.”

“You got it.” I set my things down to get to work.

Dutton moves to leave, but then stops.

“I think we should have another boys’ night sooner than planned.”

I can’t help but grin. I knew they had fun.

“I’ll send a text.”

“Good. Thank you.”

I nod then do my thing fixing the wall.

People come and go, decorating for the couple of the evening. I let someone know that the paint still needs to dry, then I head back to the office to finish a few other things for the day before I meet Shay.

Shay.

Fuck.

Last night was … interesting .

In a roundabout way, we both admitted to having some type of feeling for the other. Yet, neither of us made a move to do anything about it.

Impressive restraint on my part, considering I’ve been wrestling with these feelings for a couple of days now.

It’s like one moment my brain snapped, and now that I know I like her, I crave her. Seeing her, hearing her, being near her. Which is insane. It’s not like I know what she tastes like or what she feels like under my fingertips.

I wish I did though.

As I drive down Main Street, I spot Shay walking out of one of the boutique shops. She’s got a plant tucked under one arm and a reusable bag that looks full in the other. Mrs. Whittaker is walking toward her, and Shay stops to talk as I slow to the one and only traffic light this street has.

My eyes never leave her as I wait to go.

But then the light turns green, and the moment my truck inches forward, Shay looks in my direction. She smiles for the briefest of moments and bites her lower lip as she nods at me.

Fuck.

If I thought last night was a test of my restraint, tonight is going to be on a whole new level.

I’m nervous.

I gaze out the front window of my truck at The Marina.

I can't remember the last time I was this nervous around a woman. Hell, even with Grace, I wasn’t nervous. I just didn’t know what to say.

Right now, I know a hundred things I could say.

I just don’t know how I want to say them or how I can say them without sounding like I’m some lovestruck fool.

Because let's be real here. Admitting to yourself that you have feelings for someone is one thing, but admitting to someone that you have feelings for them is really putting yourself out there. It’s risky. Now the ball is in her court.

What’s she going to do about it?

Does she even want to do anything about it?

What are my rules now?

I pick up my phone and stare at it, debating whether I should call Hudson.

He’d have advice for me. But really, Miles is the one I go to about this stuff.

I tap the contacts button and find his name, but then I click out and toss my phone to the passenger seat.

I don’t need advice right now. I need to go inside and get to work, let her lead the room.

I nod, as if I need the gesture to convince myself that’s what I should do.

Then I get out before I can second-guess myself anymore for the night.

When I reach the door, it swings open.

Shay is standing on the other side, and she gasps, stepping back when she sees me.

“Oh, hi.”

“Hi.”

“I thought maybe you weren’t coming.” She looks at her watch. “You’re usually inside by now.”

She looks at my lips, then at the floor before her gaze finds mine again .

It doesn't take me long to decide how I want to go about this.

I’m an open guy. I speak my mind. Sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn’t. But with Shay, I don’t want to be anyone but me. That’s who she’s been working with these last few weeks. That’s who she deserves right now.

So I let out a breath and say, “I was working up the nerve to come inside.”

Her gaze snaps to mine, and just like she did earlier today, she tugs that plump pink bottom lip into her mouth and bites it.

I think I growl, but I can’t be sure. This urge is new for me.

“I was afraid you weren’t coming,” she admits. “And I was going to come find you.”

My lips tug up, but I control it as her head tilts and she glares.

“Good to know,” I say.

She nods then rolls her eyes. “Let's get to work.”

It’s probably best.

This whole calm conversation where we don’t fight but we insinuate our attraction is getting me worked up.

I follow her into the main room, already loving the way we have reframed some of the walls in here. You can see the changes already, and even though it’s not done, I feel pride and a weird amount of cockiness knowing that Shay won’t ever be able to walk into the place without thinking of me again.

“I bought paint today so I could start on the hallways while you’re finishing the walls in the dining room.”

“I can help you paint if you want,” I say, spotting her paint brushes and trays in a corner. “I also have sprayers I could bring tomorrow to make it go faster. If we want this room done within the week, I think using our time effectively is smart.”

She stops walking and I bump into her.

“You really do want this place to be like it was when we were kids, don’t you?”

“I said I did, didn’t I?”

“Well, yeah, but you talk a lot.” She smirks.

Oh, we’ve moved from banter to teasing, huh?

“Everything that comes out of these lips is true, Shay. Haven’t you figured that out by now?”

“I am, yeah.”

Then she winks at me and keeps walking.

My heart jumps, as if I need to be alerted that she’s openly flirting with me.

I can’t help but grin as I watch her walk away from me.

“What if we went to look at the cabins tonight? I know there are ten of them, and with everything else we have going on, it will be impossible to finish them by the end of summer, but maybe we could knock out a few.”

“I could get more done if you let me work during the day.”

Silence.

I want to say more or ask about why this is still an issue, but I don’t.

It might be stupid, but it’s what she wants, so I’m just going to keep going with it.

“Yeah, let’s go look at them,” I say instead.

“Really?” She looks over her shoulder, and her face lights up. “Now? ”

I nod.

Her pace picks up and her hips sway faster.