The Rules of Dating(10)

Deek rolled his eyes. “It’s ten bucks.”

The guy put his hands on his hips. “It’s ten dollars I could be putting in the Botox-fund jar.”

Billie chuckled. “Goodnight, boys.” She yelled toward the lobby, “You go home, too, Justine! Lock up on your way out, okay, babe?”

“Will do! ’Night, Billie!”

The two men bickered some more as they walked out of the shop. Billie watched with a smile on her face before turning back to me. “What’s going on, Daddy-O? Did you fix Kaiden? Actually, maybe we need another name for that unit. Because Kaiden isn’t fixable.”

I smiled and held up the wires. “I think I might’ve found the problem. Won’t know until I rewire the thermostat, but these don’t look too good.”

“Alright, awesome. Because if it’s not fixed very soon, I might be peeling these jeans off and walking around in my underwear. They’re stuck to my legs.” She fanned herself. “I can’t take the heat.”

“Well, on second thought, maybe I don’t know how to fix it.” I smiled. “You want a hand with those pants?”

She laughed. “I’m an angry person when I’m hot. That first night you were here, I wasn’t even warm. So you might want to get that repair done.”

My mood had definitely improved after finding out Deek wasn’t interested in Billie. Now that it was just the two of us, she followed me to the back and sat down on the floor next to my toolbox.

“So what do you do all day, Mr. Landlord? You wear a suit. Are you in real estate as your full-time job?”

I started to twist the new wires to connect them to the old as we talked. “Nope. I’m an architect.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who’s an architect.”

I grinned. “Is it as exciting as you imagined?”

Billie laughed. “Definitely more.”

After the first wire was connected, I started to twist the second one, but when I touched the ends together, they sparked, and I got a little shock. Then all the lights went off. “Crap,” I groaned. “I blew a circuit.”

There were no windows in the back of the studio, so it was pitch dark. I couldn’t even see Billie.

“What can I do?” she said.

“Nothing. Hang on. I think there’s a flashlight in the toolbox.” Kneeling, I reached over to where I thought the toolbox was sitting.

“Ummm…” came her voice in the dark. “That’s not a flashlight. That’s a boob.”

“Shit. Sorry.”

She laughed. “Why do I have a feeling you’re really not?”

“Is someone projecting her fantasies on me?” I teased. “You know, when someone jumps the gun to accuse someone else, it’s probably because they’re guilty themselves.”

“So it’s me who isn’t sorry you just felt me up?”

“Look, I get it,” I continued. “I’m a good-looking guy, and you have needs. No judgment here. If you want, I’ll do it again—for your benefit, of course.”

“I think that little shock you took before the lights went out short-circuited your brain, Mr. Landlord.”

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”

Billie cracked up. “Did you just quote Hamlet to justify touching my boob?”

I finally pulled the flashlight from my box and held it up to my chin to light my face. “I took Saylor to Shakespeare in the Park last month. We both fell asleep on the grass. I think that might be one of the few lines I heard.”

“I think I have some candles in my supply drawer,” Billie said, struggling to her feet. “Can you walk with me to light the way?”

I followed her with the flashlight as Billie dug three candles out and placed them all around the studio. While she was lighting the last one, I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she looked in the soft glow. I wasn’t sure when I’d turned into such a wuss, but I wanted to take her out to a nice dinner with candles in the worst way.

She caught me staring and gave me a look. “What?”

“Nothing.” I shook my head. “Where’s your electric panel? We obviously need a reset.”

“It’s in the bathroom. Don’t ask me why they put it there.”

When I opened the panel, I was surprised to find actual fuses. I was able to reset the front lights in the reception area, but the ones in the back wouldn’t go on. I unscrewed one of the corresponding fuses and checked it out. “It’s blown. You wouldn’t happen to have any, would you?”

Billie shook her head. “Umm…no. Half the time I don’t have lightbulbs, and I’ve run a few doors down to Chipotle more than once to steal napkins when we ran out of toilet paper.”

I dug my phone out of my pocket. “Let me call Owen. His office is next to the new Home Depot that just opened. If he’s still there, he can pick one up on his way home.”

When I reached him, Owen had just walked into his office, so I’d caught him in time. That left Billie and me with nothing to do but sit around in the dark and wait for him to get back. But I was melting in these work clothes. “Owen should be here with the part in about twenty minutes. In the meantime, I have to take off this dress shirt. I’m roasting.”