Page 36 of Between the Lines

“It’s okay to admit she’s attractive,” Matt calls from behind me, jogging to catch up. “You’d be blind to not think so.”

“Fine,” I blurt out, hands resting on the top of my head. “Yeah, Fia’s gorgeous. I’m not blind. But she’s more than pretty—and it’s not like that at all. She’s got a kid. I can assure you the absolute last thing she needs right now is for her boss to hit on her. That’s a line I wouldn’t cross.”

Matt just watches me—grinning in a way that makes it clear he doesn’t believe me, like he finds it a little funny, like he knows something I don’t but he isn’t going to say it out loud.

I don’t like it.

“I’ve never seen you get so worked up.”

“I’m not worked up,” I argue, ignoring my pulsing neck.

Matt throws his duffel bag over his shoulder and bobs his head. “Alright, alright. Well, either way, that was nice of you to help her.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I smirk, stealing a glance towards the guesthouse. My phone starts to buzz and I pull it out.

Matt says something else but I don’t hear it.

Fia: You forgot to update me on the house. Is everything okay? I can drive by after work. Or are the mold people there?

Then another comes through seconds later.

Fia: Wait, they aren’t tenting the house, are they? I feel like I need to go inside and see how things are progressing . . .

Biting my lip, I gaze up to the blue sky.

This girl is more tightly wound than I realized. She always held it together for the business, never texting me unless it was an emergency, but this is a side of Fia I’ve never seen.

“You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?” Matt pipes up.

I meet his curious gaze as he stands next to his truck.

“Sorry.” I wave my phone. “It’s Fia.”

Maybe I should just call her. Talk her down. The last thing Eddie needs is Fia busting in there in a panic. It’s not safe either.

Matt climbs into his truck, pausing. “Hey, you know Morgan and I started out as coworkers too.”

I just raise my eyebrows and walk away.

Even if I wanted to, there are a million reasons why dating Fia would be a bad idea.

Even admitting that I already care for that girl would be a dangerous, slippery slope.

14

Fia

My phone lights up, and I silence it again, sliding it into my pocket.

“Are you going to get that?” Halle asks, eyeing my vibrating pocket while she pulls herself up to sit on the coffee shop counter. It’s the afternoon lull at the end of our shifts, and I’m truly exhausted.

I groan, giving in, and pick up the phone. If I don’t, Penny will just continue to call.

“Hey, Pen.” I press the phone between my cheek and shoulder, wiping the wood-grain countertop, straightening each bag of display coffee beans.

“Sorry,” she says, breathless. “I know you’re probably still at work, but do you want to get dinner tonight?”

I blink, my face burning.