way he could. It didn’t get rid of his survivor’s guilt, but it made him feel useful. Mari was a kind woman who didn’t deserve what life had thrown at her; he hated to see injustice of any kind, no matter what form it took.
“Tell you what, let me see what my schedule’s going to be like the next couple of weeks. Maybe I can take care of a few things on the weekends, or some weeknights. Can I let you know tomorrow?”
Her head popped up and her smile did strange things to his insides, not to mention what was going on in his lower regions. He was glad she couldn’t see under the old table.
“Are you sure? I mean, if you decide it’s a no, I’m okay with that. You helped me more than enough today.”
He had a feeling it was going to be hard to say no to Mari, and this was just the start.
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING at her Bay Area office bungalow, Mari crossed her arms on her desk and put her head down. This was why she was swearing off men.
“I’m an idiot.”
“Hey, don’t be so mean to my boss. She’s a sweetheart.”
Mari lifted her head as her trusted assistant, Abbott, walked in and took a seat on one of the upholstered chairs in front of her desk. She was also her closest friend. One of the few people Mari could confess to about her crazy night with the Marine. The one where she’d put the poor guy on the spot and begged him to fix her house.
What was I thinking?
“Still an idiot. You won’t believe what I did yesterday.”
Her friend steepled her fingers and waggled her eyebrows. “Oh, this has got to be good. I haven’t seen you this bent out of shape since you broke up with the turd, which, let me remind you, was the best thing that ever happened to you. Do tell.”
Abbott had been joyous over the breakup with Gary. She’d always disliked him. If only Mari had listened to her friend’s warnings, she might have saved herself some heartbreak.
She told Abbott about what happened.
Her friend sat back and blew out a breath. Her brown curls in a righteous halo were piled on top of her head. “Wow! A true hero. What a great guy.”
Mari lifted her face to the ceiling. “I know, right? And you should see his abs. He’s hotter than any man has a right to be. That’s what makes what I did next so atrocious.”
Abbot’s eyes widened. “You threw yourself at him? I told you this not dating thing was going to backfire on you. Those hormones can only be caged without release for so long. And then, boom!” She slapped the desk and made Mari jump.
Her friend had a thing for the dramatic. “No. Though, I wish I had. It’s probably the last time I’m ever going to see him. He’ll probably move.”
Abbott leaned forward on her elbows. “Now I’m totally intrigued. Seriously, what did you do this time?”
“I asked him to be my handyman.”
If she hadn’t felt so bad she might have laughed at her friend’s confusion.
“Is that some kind of new kink? I’ve never heard of that. Does he show up in just a tool belt or something?”
“Wow. Come on, Abbott, do you ever think of anything but sex?”
“Nope. Not really. So what do you mean?” Abbott wasn’t supercrazy about commitment, either, but she also never lacked for a date. Her friend was the queen of love ’em and leave ’em. Mari had never been able to do that. Just have sex to have sex. In a way, she was envious of her friend’s ability to have fun without getting emotionally attached. It wasn’t that Mari was clingy. She just wanted something more than just the physical from her sexual partners. Not that it had worked out well for her so far.
She explained.
“Wow. You really are desperate.”
Mari frowned. “Thanks for pointing out the obvious.”
“So what did he say?”
“He was sweet. He said he’d think about it, but he added he was really busy at work.”
“So he gave himself an out?” Abbott asked. “Hmm.”
She nodded. Secretly, Mari had been a little crushed when Brody had said he was busy, which was stupid since she’d never believed he’d agree to her off-the-wall plan. “I think he was trying to get out of it gracefully, and he didn’t want to have to tell me to my face that I was totally crazy.”
Abbott leaned back. “So what are you going to do?”
“Well, I can’t afford to move. Though, I did consider it. Living with my parents again, well, I just can’t go there.” She was only half-joking. Part of her wanted to give up on everything and go home to Austin. Her parents would understand. Heck, they’d probably welcome her with open arms. It’d been more than a year since she’d been to Austin to see them. She was always too busy with the next project.
Strangely, given everything that had happened, she wasn’t sure she could handle being around them. Theirs was the standard to which she held all relationships—thirty years together and they were so in love with one another it was annoying.
Nope. She couldn’t handle being around that right now.
There was also the fact that she’d built an up-and-coming business in Corpus, and she wouldn’t give that up for any man. No matter how embarrassed she might be about her failed romance.
She’d have to stick it out and figure out how to hide from, or at least avoid, her oh-so-hot neighbor.
“So play it cool. Tell him you had too much sangria and it went to your head.”
She pursed her lips. “That might work. Or I could simply barricade myself in my basement.”
Her friend laughed. “Mari, we don’t have basements in Corpus. How about I come help you paint one of the bathrooms this weekend?”
“You want to secretly stalk the Marine.”
“True. But can you blame me? You make him sound so yummy. And he didn’t take his tacos and run when you propositioned him with the worst offer ever, which means he’s superbrave. Brave guys are so hot.”
Mari shook her head. “Don’t even go there. Though I might take you up on the offer to paint. That is if I can figure out how to get the drywall up. That stuff is heavy. I gave it a try in the dining room last night. By the fourth board I was in tears. I gave up and drank the rest of the sangria.”
“Oh, you are so sad. You make my heart hurt. Incidentally, Mercury is in retrograde and it affects everyone in a negative way. However, it’s going to get better. All of it. The house. The men. You’re just in a downturn.”
Mari didn’t know anything about how the planets aligned, but she definitely could use a bit of luck. “That’s pretty optimistic coming from you.” Abbott called herself a pragmatist, yet Mari had always
