Unexpected Rush (Play-By-Play #11)(12)

“This is fantastic, Barrett.”

He stepped out onto the oversized deck with her. “What? You actually like something?”

She laughed, and the sound of her throaty laugh shot straight to his balls, making them quiver.

“I’m only rough on the house as it is now because the more critical I am on the front end, the more kick-ass it’ll be when it’s finished.”

“I’ll have to trust you on that.”

She laid her hand on his biceps. “I told you to trust me, didn’t I?”

He liked the feel of her hand on him. He didn’t want to like it. “Yeah, you did.”

She squeezed his arm. “I’ll make this place amazing. But this deck? Other than needing to be refinished, I wouldn’t touch a thing about it. It’s incredible.”

“Yeah, it’s what finally sold me about the place. Being able to come out here at night and look out over the water is my perfect idea of ‘end of the day.’ ”

“Maybe you need a mini fridge in your bedroom so you can grab a cold one to take with you to sit out on the deck.”

He grinned. “Can you do that?”

She laughed. “I could, but I’m not putting a mini fridge in your bedroom.”

“Damn.”

“Come on, let’s look at the master bath.”

He followed her into the bathroom, another place that was a total wreck, but he liked the size of it.

She stared at it without saying a word for the longest time, then wrinkled her nose.

“What?” he finally asked.

She looked up at him. “Do you take baths?”

“No.”

She leaned against the counter. “I thought all athletes did that. You know, to soak their sore muscles.”

“I can do an ice bath at the locker room after a game. And there’s a hot tub outside if I need a hot soak. So no, I don’t need a bathtub.”

“Someday you’re going to get married and some woman’s going to want to take a hot bath.”

“Future Mrs. Cassidy can get naked in the hot tub if she wants a hot soak. That’s why you’ll make it all nice and private in that area, right?”

She pondered the thought. “I suppose.”

“Look at it this way. Let’s say it was you moving in here and you were creating this bathroom for yourself. What would you do?”

She looked over the bathroom again.

“What I really want to give you is an oversized shower against the wall there. You’re a big guy and you need that. But if I do that, it means eliminating the tub. I could push the wall out to the north and put in a soaker tub, but that would eat into your closet space, and I don’t want to do that, because a master bedroom needs a big closet. You’ll still have a tub in the other upstairs bathroom, so for purposes of resale I think you’re fine. You just won’t have a bathtub in here, which I think is okay, because you’ll have a monster shower. And I’ll put in a steam shower for you.”

“That’d be cool.”

“I thought so.”

“And if it were you buying this house and the master didn’t have a tub?”

She pondered again, staring at the existing tub/shower combination.

“I think I’d look at the obscenely large shower that was also a steam shower and fall madly in love. Because if I wanted a bath, I could either use the tub down the hall, or soak in the hot tub. And I’d rather have a super large closet, which I’m going to give you.”

He pondered the options she’d given him, realizing the decision was his to make. “Let’s do the steam shower.”

“Okay.”

They went back downstairs and she pulled up a seat at the existing peninsula in the kitchen. Barrett sat next to her, sitting quietly while she made notes.

Finally, she pivoted on the barstool and looked up at him. He was struck by the gut punch connection he felt when his gaze met hers, the liquid warmth in her eyes when she gave him a direct look.

It was damned uncomfortable, super hot and made him want to pull her out of that chair and onto his lap so he could touch her and put his mouth on her. But he couldn’t look away from her.

“I regularly work with several very good contractors. However, if there’s someone else you’d rather use, that’s fine.”

Her knees bumped against his leg. He swore she was doing it on purpose.

“I don’t have anybody in mind. I’m fine with whoever you recommend.”

“Great. I’d like to have Jeff Golan come over and do a walk-through, going through everything you and I discussed to make sure he can do everything I want done. I can do that without you being here, unless you want to be.”

He shook his head. “Not necessary. You know what I want.”

Her lips ticked up. “Yes, I do.”

That knowing smile again. She was killing him.

“Jeff will come up with an estimate of the costs. Since I’m the designer, Jeff and I will work closely together during the renovation and I’ll make sure the design elements stay on track. If anything comes up, I’ll stay in touch with you.”

He nodded. “That works.”

“Obviously you won’t be able to live here during the renovation, since we’re essentially changing every room.”