Page 13 of Bad Decisions & Back Roads

His eyes narrowed slightly.“Can I check the thermostat?”

My gaze—traitorous thing that it was—dropped briefly to his mouth.Firm.Unsmiling.And those distractingly perfect lips.Mortification hit instantly.My eyes flew back to his.Heat flooded my face.

I stepped aside so fast I nearly tripped over my own feet.“Sure.”

He brushed past me, bringing with him the scent of clean soap and something warm and masculine that made my stupid lungs forget how breathing worked.

Worse, he moved through the house like he’d been here before.

He reached the thermostat and clicked through settings before asking in a sharp tone, “So are you back to help your father fleece us with this asinine lawsuit?”

My head jerked up.“What lawsuit?”

Disbelief flashed across his face.“Right,” he muttered darkly.“What lawsuit.Convenient to forget.”

He turned abruptly and walked straight into me.His hands caught my waist on instinct.Mine landed on his chest.Solid muscle.Hard heat.Broad enough to make me feel small.Every inch of us pressed together.

His breath hitched.

Mine disappeared completely.

His eyes dropped to my mouth for a second, but that second scorched.The anger was still there.But it was tangled now with something raw.For one reckless heartbeat, I thought he might kiss me.

Instead, he jumped back like I’d burned him.He scrubbed a hand over his jaw and barked out a bitter laugh full of self-disgust.“Jesus Christ.”His voice came out ragged around the edges.“I’m here to fix an air conditioner, not—” He broke off, shaking his head.His eyes dragged over me once more before he looked away.“Whatever game this is, I’m not playing it.”

Heat crawled up my neck.

“I’m not—” My voice caught.“I didn’t do anything.It was an accident.”

I folded my arms over my chest, suddenly hyperaware of every inch of exposed skin.“Most people call before showing up before seven-thirty in the morning.”I pointed at my sleep clothes.“If you had, I could’ve made sure I wasn’t standing here half-dressed.Or better yet, made sure I wasn’t here at all.”

I let out a hard breath, humiliation curdling inside me.Then suspicion struck.My eyes narrowed.A horrible thought hit me.“You did this on purpose.Why else would the owner of the company be doing small potatoes house calls like this?”

His head whipped toward me.

I said, “This whole thing—showing up unannounced, catching me like this—was some twisted revenge fantasy so you could watch me embarrass myself.”My chest heaved.“You wanted to humiliate me.”

“I didn’t even know you were a tenant in Buzz’s place until you answered the door.”

“That’s hogwash.Everyone knows everything in this godforsaken town.”

“Which is why you pretending you don’t know about the lawsuit is stupid.”He stormed out the front door, letting it slam closed behind him.

I paced into Misty’s bedroom.Of course she was awake.She never slept much beyond five in the morning.

“What lawsuit is Timothy Hurst talking about?”I demanded.

“He’s here?”Misty sat up straighter in bed.“Timothy Hurst ishere?”

“He’s fixing the air conditioner.What lawsuit?”I shouted it this time.

“Well, you know Dad.He found some old piece of paper from somewhere that he claims gives him the right to claim the Hurst property is his.He’s also suing for all the lost profits for the past few decades.”She rolled her eyes.“So ridiculous.”

“What?”I felt weak and slightly nauseated.No wonder Timothy hated me.Well, even more than a grudge for breaking his heart eons ago could explain.I had to fix this.

I slid on my flip flops, marched outside into the rain, and went around the house to where Timothy had the side panel off the air conditioner.He was kneeling, mostly sheltered beneath the roof overhang, which kept him dry.

I, meanwhile, got soaked.