was why he was checking her out, and it was no consolation that he hated himself for it. Obviously she wouldn’t want to hear that. So, he tried to put himself in her shoes, which wasn’t easy since they were four-inch heels.
“I see where you’re coming from, Ellie, but I’ve been in the building business for twenty years. Fetching, carrying and learning the trade while I was in high school. In college they actually let me use tools,” he added, gratified when his self-deprecation earned a smile. “Eventually I started my own company in Southern California.”
“I thought you lived here in Blackwater Lake,” she said.
“I do. About two years ago I opened a branch of the business here.”
“Why?” She seemed genuinely interested.
To answer her fully would require him to reveal details about his personal life, and that was something he wasn’t prepared to do.
“This town is a diamond in the rough. Word is spreading outside of Montana that it will be the next Aspen or Vail. It has a lot to offer recreationally during the winter and summer. Clean air and water make it an ideal place for a vacation home or settling in for retirement. There’s going to be a building boom, and I wanted in on that.”
“So y’all are ambitious and career-oriented.”
“Yes.” Partly because he no longer had a family, and work kept him too busy to think about all he’d lost.
“Good. I feel the same way.”
He nodded his approval. “Already we have something in common.”
“I’m tickled y’all understand where I’m comin’ from.”
“I do. It’s nice to know we’re both on the same page.” And there was one more thing. “How about a drink tonight after work at—”
She held up a hand. “I need to stop y’all right there.”
Maybe if he explained. “It’s a McKnight Construction custom to buy the architect a drink on the first day of a new job. For luck. Call me superstitious.”
The corners of her mouth curved up, showing off dimples and the delicate shape of her lips. But the smile didn’t make her eyes sparkle this time. “I’m goin’ out on a limb here and say that y’all don’t often work with a female architect.”
“You’d be right. What gave me away?” he asked.
“Again—out on a limb, but I’m willin’ to bet that means y’all don’t usually flirt with your architect.”
“You’re wrong about the flirting. This is just me being friendly.” Did that sound as smarmy to her as it did to him? He really didn’t mean it that way. “It’s sort of like pouring a solid foundation that sets the tone for a good working relationship.”
“Yes. Until it’s not.”
“You’re saying the male/female work dynamic complicates things.”
“I am.” Conviction and determination made the Southern drawl even thicker. “You have my word that our working relationship will be just fine during regular business hours and won’t suffer at all for lack of alcoholic beverages afterward.”
The thing was, in theory he agreed with her, but in reality he really did buy a drink for his architect on the first day of a new job. Considering his strong reaction to Suellen Hart, he should have been grateful that she’d turned him down flat.
“Whatever you want.” He stood and started to walk away. “But for the record, Ellie? ‘No first-day drink’ means I am treating you differently.”
“Understood. And, Alex?”
He turned. “Yes?”
“I need to put something out there.”
“Okay.”
“I’m not being rude, just honest.” She took a deep breath. “Don’t let the short skirt and Southern accent fool you. I’m not anyone’s idea of a magnolia blossom. I don’t wilt or have the vapors. I’m smart and I can do this job as well or better than any man. And that’s what I intend to do. One bad experience can set a career back, and that’s not going to happen to me.”
Again. She didn’t say it, but the word hung in the air between them. Offhand he’d guess someone at work had hit on her, it didn’t go well and her professional reputation had suffered. Getting a good recommendation from the firm after that would be next to impossible and could account for the twelve-month gap in her work history.
“All right. Duly noted, Ellie.”
“Okay. Good.” She turned her attention back to the computer and tuned him out.
Alex returned to his corner and realized his hot female architect had finally arrived, but now his problem was worse. He needed a woman more than ever, and he made a mental note to take this itch away for a long weekend, somewhere no one knew him.
* * *
There were a lot of good-looking bachelors in Blackwater Lake, and Alex McKnight was number one on the list as far as Ellie was concerned. Her friendly-yet-professional facade had been sorely tested during these past two weeks, and she was looking forward to some fun. This wedding was shaping up to be just the thing.
Jill Beck and Adam Stone’s evening June ceremony was about to start. It was being held on the front lawn of their house, downstairs from the apartment Ellie was renting from them. She was sitting next to Liz Carpenter, the receptionist at Mercy Medical Clinic, who was pretty much the only person in town she knew other than the bride and groom.
“Is this seat taken?”
Ellie didn’t need a visual to know that voice coming from just over her right shoulder belonged to Alex McKnight. For the past two weeks the deep tone had been messing with her mind from nine to five. The rest of the time memories of it unsettled her. She looked up at him, and her breath caught.
If she’d been prone to having the vapors, this was certainly a vapors-worthy moment. In his dark suit, gray dress shirt, silver-and-black-striped tie, he could stop the world. Hers at least, darn it all.
His short, dark hair was neatly combed. Intensely brown eyes were fringed by dark lashes that made her think of hot kisses under a black velvet sky full of stars. She’d seen him at the end of a long day, several hours after five-o’clock shadow had set in, but no scruff was there now. His lean cheeks and strong jaw looked freshly shaven. She had the most absurd desire to touch his face, see if the skin was as smooth as it looked.
“Ellie?”
He was waiting for an answer to his question.
“Hi, Alex.” She forced herself to smile at him. “No, this seat is free.”
“Not anymore.” He sat beside her and his jacket sleeve brushed her bare arm. Any second she expected sparks to flash between them. He leaned close and said, “You didn’t have far to go for this shindig.”
“Just
