"I'm not the type of girl to kiss and tell." She gave me a smug smile.
I thought about all the men she'd slept with and barely held in a nasty retort. "It's not mine," I repeated. "You better not break your sister's heart because you're jealous of her."
"I'm jealous." She laughed, but the sound was hollow.
"Yes. Sick green with it. She's got friends who care about her, a good job, and me." Maybe I wasn't a huge prize, but I was something Ivy had that she pissed away.
"I’m not jealous of my sister. I want her to be happy."
"Then you'll keep your nasty insinuations to yourself." I wrenched open the door and then paused, pinning her with a look of disgust. "You've been selfish all your life, and your sister, who loves you more than anything, has taken the brunt of it." She smoothed a hand across her stomach, the stomach that was supposedly holding a kid that could be mine. I tried to feel some fatherly excitement, but there was nothing. All the feelings I'd ever held for Ivy were dead. I didn't give a fuck that she was pregnant. "You're a liar and a cheat, Ivy. I don't believe you."
"It doesn't matter. Point is that you aren't the type of guy I want my sister with. She deserves better." Ivy dropped into the chair behind the desk and started sorting. "But you'll screw up, and she'll break up with you."
"What's the perfect guy for your sister?" I asked against my better judgment, angrily tapping my helmet against my leg.
"Someone real smart and artistic. He'd be close to her height so she wouldn't have to constantly be craning her neck to see his face." Ivy stretched out her chin. "He'd be a family guy, one that didn't already have kids with her sister."
The thought of Winter with another guy—any other guy—made me curl my hands into fists. I nearly broke the trailer doorknob off. "Funny how Winter has never once mentioned that she minds I'm taller than her. In fact, she's pretty damn happy that I can lift and carry…stuff."
"Probably because she doesn't want to hurt your feelings." She buried her head in the papers. The conversation may have been over for he
r, but it wasn't for me.
"I'm giving you an opportunity because I care about your sister and I want her to be happy. I've never had to fire anyone, and I don't want to start with you." I reached for the door and saw two guys walking toward the trailer. Throwing open the door, I called out to the guys.
"Come on in. Meet our new office lady. Ivy Donovan. She's single, guys." I winked at them and left the door hanging in the wind.
"Boss, you ready for the walk through?" Henry appeared at my side.
"Yeah."
"Got a headache?" he asked as I rubbed my temple.
I gave him a grim smile. "Gardening problems. Too much Ivy."
With a snort, he gave a nod of understanding. "That shit gets everywhere."
"You're telling me."
18
WINTER
I showed up at six to pick up Ivy. We were carpooling since Atra wasn't far from Finn's jobsite. I felt bad that I hadn't been here before, since I knew how important of a project it was to him. And I was worried. I'd talked to Tucker about it, and he said that a lot of people felt Finn would fail. He was too young and too inexperienced, and his uncle, the other half of O'Malley Construction, wasn't helping him. No one knew why, though, other than Finn's dad and uncle had fought about bidding for the project.
Given what I knew about the O'Malley mess, I suspected it had nothing to do with the project and everything to do with the O'Malley home life. But I kept that to myself. It was Finn's business, and no one else’s.
Finn was walking across the dirt-packed land toward the trailer when I drove up. He spotted me and immediately redirected his path to my car. I had to restrain myself from leaping out and running to him like some loved-starved teenager, even though that's how I felt inside.
Besides, watching him move, even walk, was a pleasure I didn't mind taking in. His long strides ate up the distance, and he was on me before I had enough time to appreciate the view.
"What are you doing here, sweetness?" He smiled, and my entire body warmed in response.
He leaned down and gave me a long, deep kiss that turned warm to hot in seconds. I forgot what he'd asked me, and when he released me, I tottered on my weak legs and smiled dumbly up at him for about five long seconds until his quirked eyebrow reminded me.
"Oh, I'm here to pick up Ivy."
"Right." He looked a shade disappointed but covered it well. Tucking my hand in his, he asked, "Want to see the project first?"