Brad didn’t buy it. “He’s a jerk. And I don’t like the way he looked at you.”
Sharon reached for her purse. “Don’t be silly. Let’s go home now and get some dinner. And we’re going to talk about why you were more than half an hour late.”
“I told you, it wasn’t my fault.”
“We’ll talk about it later,” she repeated, keys in hand as she moved toward the door.
“Jerry said last Friday night that he was going to try to take us out for pizza or something tonight. Didn’t he call?”
“He called, but I turned him down.”
“Aw, man! Just because I was a few minutes late?”
“I had several reasons.” She let him exit the shop ahead of her.
Brad muttered under his breath as she locked the door. Sharon sighed. It was going to be a long, stressful evening. The only bright spot in the past hour had been Mac’s unexpected visit.
CAMERA IN HAND, Sharon stepped through the front door of the Garrett house at just after five Tuesday afternoon. She had passed several vehicles leaving as she arrived, so she assumed work had ended for the day. Mac’s truck was still in the parking lot, alongside one other car she recognized as Trevor McBride’s.
Wondering why a lawyer was visiting a construction site, she paused just inside the front door at the rack Mac had set up to hold spare hard hats. She couldn’t help smiling when she spotted a brand-new, bright yellow hat at the end of the row. Neatly lettered across the front was the word decorator.
The hat fit almost perfectly when she settled it on her head. It made her feel very much like a member of the team—a feeling she was starting to enjoy. Somewhat proprietarily, she glanced around the entryway and into the front parlor, imagining how beautiful and welcoming this view would be once she finished her part.
Heavy footsteps on the temporarily reinforced stairs made her look up. Mac and Trevor were on their way down. Neither was wearing a hard hat—probably because the construction work had ended for the day. She studied them as they descended. Two very strong, attractive men, she mused. One dark and sleek, the other golden and slender.
She imagined there would be quite a heated debate among her friends as to which man was the most attractive of the two. As for her—well, she thought as she focused on Mac, there was really no question.
Trevor smiled when he saw Sharon. Mac didn’t smile, but there was a sudden gleam in his dark eyes that made her knees quiver for a moment. Because it seemed safer, she concentrated first on his companion. “Hello, Trevor.”
“Hi, Sharon. Nice hat.”
“Thank you.” She glanced at Mac with a quick smile. “It’s new.”
“Very fetching. Interesting place, hmm?”
“Very. I haven’t been upstairs yet, but I’m itching to reveal the potential of the downstairs.”
“It’s a bit of a maze upstairs, but there’s definite potential there, too. Mac just gave me a quick tour. I haven’t been in here since I was a kid and I was curious if the place looked anything like I remembered.”
“And did it?”
“Not much,” Trevor admitted. “But that was a long time ago.”
She laughed. “You make it sound as if you’re an old man.”
He chuckled. “There are days when thirty-two feels pretty old. Especially when I’m trying to keep up with my six-year-old son and three-year-old daughter.”
“How is your family?”
“Fine, thank you. I’ll give them your regards.”
“Do that.”
Trevor turned to Mac, who’d been waiting patiently while they exchanged pleasantries. Thanking him again for the tour, Trevor shook Mac’s hand, then explained that he had to hurry home to his family. Sharon and Mac were left alone in the house when Trevor closed the front door behind him.
“I was surprised to see Trevor here,” Sharon commented, just to fill the sudden silence.
“Trent said something the other day about Trevor wanting to look around the place before we changed everything. I sent a message for him to stop by anytime.”