Rescuing the Bad Boy (Second Chance #2)(55)

“Yeah, well, I’m paying you both.” Donovan stuffed his legs into jeans and pulled them up, tossing the towel on the floor after his ass was covered.

He hadn’t gotten a bed for this bedroom yet, but he did find a blowup mattress. It was not comfortable, but ten times better than sleeping on the springy red sofa in the library downstairs.

“I appreciate you guys wanting to donate your time but I have money set aside to handle the house. No sense in being noble to a fault.”

“You know I would do it for free.”

Donovan slapped his friend’s shoulder. “I know you would. I’m not asking you to.” He reached for the T-shirt next and pulled it on.

“Fine,” Connor said. “I’ll donate what you give me to Open Arms. Those kids deserve better than their shithole parents.”

On that, they agreed. “Planning on making a sizable donation myself.”

Connor nodded, his lips pressed into a thin line. “My father called. Cabinet installation in Somerset.”

Somerset was a neighboring town, not far from Evergreen Cove. But Donovan knew the short drive wasn’t why Connor was upset. He was upset because his father had a way of mixing guilt and obligation like a cocktail and serving it straight up Connor’s ass.

“Hate to leave you high and dry.” Connor’s mouth pulled into a deeper frown.

“Do what you gotta do, man. You know the timeline.”

Hell, he knew Connor wouldn’t leave him high and dry. He was loyal. That loyalty likely the reason why Connor insisted on helping him. Without him, Donovan would be more behind on getting the house ready. And he’d already been stuck here long enough.

Sofie’s face flashed in his mind. If he hadn’t been stuck here, he would have missed out on yesterday. On this morning. On seeing her again, period. He pushed the thought away.

He had a job to do, and when it was done, he was gone. He may have agreed to do extra, to see the preparation for the charity dinner through, but after, he was going back to New York.

Distracting brunette or not.





Donovan had returned to the great room to work on the fireplace after he and Ant finished in the backyard. He’d heard Sofie on her cell phone earlier, her voice filtering into the hallway. Just as well she was working, he could use an excuse for a diversion himself. Thanks to a fresh heap of sexual frustration.

Easier to forget he had primal urges after having denied himself for so long. Now on the surface, they were proving harder and harder to ignore.

No pun intended.

On the bright side, the fireplace was coming along. The rocks he’d excavated at the quarry, and a few Evan had found, fit nicely into the design. So far Donovan had managed to reface the entire right side. Progress.

“Looks good.”

Sofie strode into the room and his breath caught in his chest. It had been a long while since anyone hitched his breath. Since anyone had taken him by surprise at all.

Just her. Just yesterday. When she let him kiss her, and then pulled her shirt off over her head in an invitation he hadn’t been able to refuse.

Do me?

There went the twitch coming from his pants again. He’d forgotten how much it was like having an untrained stallion running free in there. Horse out of the barn, it wouldn’t stay still.

Whoa, fella.

He pushed to standing and faced her, subtly adjusting himself as he did. “Gives me something to do.”

Besides picture you naked and under me.

“I’m done”—she pointed over her shoulder to the direction of the ballroom—“making the floor plan in there.” She pushed her hair off her face and wound it behind her ear in a nervous gesture. He liked that. A lot. He hadn’t been out of the game long enough to forget that when a woman touched her hair around a guy, it meant she liked him. Good news for him.

And Shadowfax, down there.

“I wanted to come in and…” She waved a hand in an uncomfortable gesture. Then she blew out a breath, her shoulders sagging. “Okay, I’m not going to lie about why I came in here.” She looked everywhere in the room but at him.

“I’ll bite.” He let the offer hang.

She didn’t miss his attempt at a cheesy joke. Tilting her head to one side, her mouth pulled into an expression more indecision than humor.

“I came in here to talk about what happened… on the washer.” She winced, clearly uncomfortable bringing it up.

Should’ve seen this coming. The big talk about how she didn’t want to keep doing what he knew damn well they both wanted to do. He’d let her have this discussion. Frankly, he owed her that. Talking her into sex wasn’t on his agenda this time around.

Ever again.

Didn’t mean he wouldn’t get in as many preemptive strikes as possible. “Did you sleep well?”

That threw her. She blinked a few times as he ambled over to her.

“Did I… y-yes. I did sleep well.”

In front of her now, he touched her face, knowing it would unevenly stack the deck in his favor. He tipped her chin and rested his other hand on to her hip. “Me too. On a shitty air mattress. In a house I hate. Have you to thank.”

Her brows bowed in sympathy. His Scampi. So f*cking sweet.

He let go of her, scrubbing his face before pulling both hands through his hair. He pushed it off his face, but it fell over his forehead anyway. “Hell, I can’t do this.”