Page 28 of Tempting Me (The Asher Family #3)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

SHAY

Watching Luca move around The Marina as if he belongs here just as much as I do never gets old.

Yesterday all the new tables and chairs showed up for the dining room, and Luca has been moving them in and the old ones out all day.

I finally caved after that day with his family and let him work anytime he wants. The town obviously knows—we may as well use it to our advantage and get things done.

I’ll admit, working during the day is much more effective. It also gives me more time with Luca.

This summer started stressful, but it’s turning out to be so much better than I could have ever hoped. The stress is still there since I don’t know the outcome of The Marina yet, but having Luca here helps.

Adding final touches in the dining room makes everything finally feel worth it, even if we still have the cabins to finish.

“To be honest, I wasn’t sure this moment would ever get here. ”

Luca looks up from where he’s screwing in legs to one of the tables.

“What do you mean? This place looks great.”

“I know it does, but last summer, I wasn’t so convinced.”

I move my paint bucket down an inch as I keep painting the walls where we added batten boards.

His screwdriver hits the floor with a plunk, and he grins, sauntering toward me.

“No. Stop. We need to finish.”

My brother and parents will be here next week, and I want the main building and at least three cabins to be officially done. Not nearly done, but done , down to the last detail. Part of me thinks that if Luca and I didn't end up fooling around every night the past few weeks, I’d be there already.

I’m not complaining, per se. I’d rather be behind schedule because I’m stupid happy when I’m with him than for the reasons before I hired him.

Still, I need this done. If it’s finished when they all get back to the States, then maybe they will take the news of me dating Luca better and wait until I can afford to buy The Marina.

I haven't decided how I’m going to tell them. I just know I need to tell them sooner rather than later, and somehow, I need to convince them that Luca didn’t steal from them all those years ago. It would be a lot easier to do if I knew who actually did it though.

My time to make a plan is running out.

Which is why …

“Stop,” I say and hold out my hand. “If you come any closer, we won’t finish this room tonight, and then I’ll have to get started early tomorrow. ”

Luca chuckles, but he stops.

He crosses his arms.

“How about we take a break, work late—with another break—and then I sleep over and we both get started early tomorrow?”

It’s a valid plan. One that does include a lot of working, but if he spends the night, there will be little sleeping and that affects the way we?—

“You’re thinking way too hard over this.” He moves closer.

“I just want it to be ready now.”

The grin he sports as he takes the last few steps to reach me melts my heart. It’s the smile he reserves just for me. I call it his I'm proud of you smile. The one he gives me when he wants to compliment me, but he doesn’t know the words to use.

“This place is ready, Shay. Trust me. No one even notices the small details you do. All they see now is the life you brought back to this place.”

He brushes the wisps of hair that have fallen into my face behind my ear.

“I’ve never felt more at home than I do standing right here, right now, with you.”

Home. That’s the exact vibe I want this place to give people.

A Hozier song comes through the speaker, and Luca plucks the paintbrush from my hand, sets it down, then pulls me into the middle of the room.

“Luca, we can’t just dance in the middle of the room. People will see us.”

“Well,” he says and leans in to whisper in my ear, “It’s a good thing most of this town already knows that I belong to you, isn’t it?”

It's so cliché, but his words make my heart swell. My eyes sting with unshed tears as I think about how, even after all we’ve been doing this summer, I could have let this man slip by me.

I reach up, my hand cupping his face as I press my lips to his.

I intend for it to be a sweet, gentle kiss, but as soon as I push to my toes, my body brushes his. He wraps his arms around my waist to hold me tighter and deepen the kiss. Then he spins me, bumps me into a table, and picks me up to sit on it. My legs open for him to stand between them.

“Ouch!” I say and pull back, reaching into his pocket to pull out his keys. I drop them onto the table then pull him back to me as if I’m starved. “Don’t lose them. We might need them in a few minutes to get out of here.”

He lets out a growl and kisses me as if I were his air. His hands are cupping my face, and mine are gripping his shirt, pulling it from where it was tucked into his jeans.

I know someone could see us, but I don't care right now.

Right now, the only thing that matters is?—

“Oh, fuck.”

My heart races at the unfamiliar voice, and I peek around Luca to see who it belongs to. We look at the door at the same time, both freezing when we set eyes on the man who fills the doorway.

My brother.