he had a little free time today. She heard him curse when he entered the hallway, and a few more times as he went into each bedroom. Sarah didn’t respond. It didn’t take an engineer to know her remodel was in trouble.
He walked into the living room and cursed again. Probably at the windows. They were half framed. All the blinds had been removed, and Sarah was currently using sheets for privacy. She stared at the ceiling, trying not to think about the Swiss cheese roof above her. The roof would come later, if at all. She’d planned on giving the new buyers a roof allowance, like the real estate agent had suggested. Roofs were expensive.
A few minutes and several loud curses later, Matt rejoined her in the kitchen. She glanced at him briefly, then looked away when he shoved a hand through his honey-colored hair. She expected him to say I told you so or any one of a number of phrases he could have let loose with to prove he’d been right and she’d been wrong.
Instead, he pulled out a chair and sat shoulder to shoulder next to her, stretching his long legs out in front of him. For several minutes he didn’t speak, his arms folded across his chest as he stared at the floor.
Finally, she couldn’t stand the silence any longer. “How bad?”
His answer was to curse again and shake his head.
That bad. Sarah buried her face in her hands. “I’m screwed.”
“No,” he said simply. “Not if you’re willing to listen to me.”
“I already said I’m not—”
“Would you shut up and listen?”
She pursed her lips together and made a show of locking them and throwing away the key. If he had an answer to her predicament, she could at least hear him out. As long as it didn’t involve him working for free, she could be flexible.
“I have a proposition for you.”
The way those sensual lips said proposition had her wishing he were about to say something quite different than what he was probably about to suggest. Definitely not that they should get naked and test out her new kitchen counters.
“Yes?” she squeaked out.
“I’ll do the work in exchange for being able to rent the spare bedroom from you. This way, I don’t have a landlord breathing down my back while I look for another place to live. A win-win for both of us. You’re helping me out.”
Sarah couldn’t speak for a few seconds. She’d never imagined he would suggest living here. With her. But of course, this was no big deal to him. He was not picturing accidentally running into her coming out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around her naked body the way she’d been imagining in the few seconds since he’d mentioned the idea.
“This house has one bathroom. One.”
He grinned. “I was taught to share.”
“And how long do you think it will take to finish?”
He glanced up at the ceiling, then met her eyes. “Depends on the roof. But I’m thinking a month or two.”
“That’s about all the time I have left. And I was thinking of skipping the roof anyway.”
“We’ll discuss it.” He studied her. “This could work.”
It might work, but she hated the fact Matt was rescuing her again. She’d been an independent woman her entire adult life, but since coming to California this might be the third time Matt had stepped in. Second if she didn’t count the coffee incident. When she’d first come out to California a few months ago, after getting the news her father had died, it was Matt who had understood her grief. Not Stone. Matt who had acted as peacemaker between her and Stone. Matt who had listened to her ramble on for hours. Matt who had been such a good friend to her. He was a great guy, and she wished she didn’t feel a magnetic attraction to him. Life would be simpler if they could be buddies, and if she would never want anything more than that from him.
Fat chance.
Seated next to her, far too close, he waited for her answer.
“But you’ll only get at most two months of free rent before we have to sell the house.”
“That’s probably all I’ll need.”
“That doesn’t sound like enough for all your efforts. And then there’s the materials. The cabinets.” She sighed, not wanting to go on with the rest of the list and hear him curse again.
“I’ve got connections, and I can find a lot of the materials I’ll need for less money.”
“No.”
“Ah, hell, Sarah. Now you’re pissing me off.”
She smiled, stupid with the satisfaction she could make him feel anything at all. “But I have a counter proposition.”
He scowled. “Let’s hear it.”
She shifted her focus away from him and those piercing eyes to stare at her hands again. “I think you should be a partner with me in this. When I sell the house, I’ll give you a percentage of the profits I make.”
He studied her. “That sound fair to you?”
“It’s the only way I’ll do this.”
“You’ve already put too much into this house. Bought Stone out of his half.”
“And because of insane valley prices, the house has already appreciated in value since I did.”
“I could only take five percent at the most. And that’s after all your expenses.”
That didn’t seem fair, considering all he’d have to put into this. “I’m thinking twenty percent.”
He grimaced. “How about ten percent?”
“Fifteen percent, and that’s my final offer!”
The chair squeaked across the tile kitchen floor as Matt stood. “You drive a hard bargain. Backward. Fifteen percent, you stubborn woman.”
Sarah stood and followed him to the front door. “I’ll clear out one of the bedrooms so you can move in.”
“Leave that for me. I’ll be by day after tomorrow.” He shoved his aviator glasses back on.
And then he was out the door, leaving her to wonder how she’d ever get through the next two months without jumping Matt Conner’s bones.
THE IDEA OF living with Sarah already pushed boundaries Matt didn’t feel comfortable crossing. Taking money from her left him feeling disgusted for accepting her terms. But he knew Sarah would have this no other way.
Later, he’d try to find a way out of their agreement. For now, he’d take one challenge at a time. First challenge: find a way to live in close proximity
