Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

E mmerleigh

The frenzied pace we kept on the renovation was my excuse for ignoring the intrusive thoughts about Warrick swirling in my brain. Savannah and Pip were absolute rockstars, staying late last night and showing up before dawn today. The inspector was scheduled for late this afternoon and we weren't ready. Savannah was cutting long strips of baseboard outside. Pip was blowing texture on the wall with the hopper gun as I set up giant box fans angled toward each wall to hurry the drying process. When she finished with the ceiling, I would get the ladder and install the ceiling fan. I absolutely would not be telling Warrick that I was doing electrical work with the electricity still on. I'd shut it off for the most important part, but it was cutting a corner I wouldn't normally do if time wasn't so tight.

"Hey, boss, got a question for you." Savannah dropped off the baseboard for the back wall and brushed off her hands. She straightened with a devilish smile. "Is your brother single?"

I nearly choked. With all my furtive glances at Warrick last night as he interacted with my family like he'd always been part of it, I hadn't noticed my subcontractor sending her own glances toward my brother. I noticed Pip had paused, waiting for my answer before she kept spraying texture. I rolled my eyes. This might be the downfall of an all-female crew. Especially when our clients were hot, single men.

"Yep, all my brothers are single currently."

Savannah shimmied her shoulders up and down while Pip hooted a German word I didn't understand. I needed to get them refocused before Pip started in on more talk of wiener schnitzels.

"But he likes women who have a few pennies to their name…which we won't if we don't get this job finished in time." I gave them both the hairy eyeball before going back to assembling the ceiling fan. Savannah stuck her tongue out at me and we all laughed. I'd already told them about the bonus and the fact that I'd share it with them for helping me accomplish the goal.

My phone pinged in my back pocket. With Georgia at her last day of preschool before summer break, I couldn't afford to ignore my phone. What if there'd been another outbreak of lice? Or a fall off the monkey bars? Climbing back down the ladder, I slid my phone out of my pocket and groaned with annoyance. It was a text from Cayden.

Cayden: Check your email.

I didn't bother replying. Instead, I went straight to my email and saw the first message. It looked highly official coming from the county courthouse back home. Clicking on it, I saw that it was a summons to appear in court next month. A heavy brick of worry and anxiety took up residence in my stomach.

Pip bumped my shoulder, clearly reading my email from her tall vantage point. "I can make him disappear tomorrow. No body, no court date."

I shook my head, shooting her a sad smile. It was a tempting offer, but I was placing my trust in Warrick for this one. He promised me he had a good lawyer working on my case and I had no reason to doubt him. He always went above and beyond.

Huh. Look at me. Trusting a man.

"Warrick's got it." I put my hand on her arm. "But thank you. That means a lot."

We got back to work and didn't lift our heads until thirty minutes before the inspector was scheduled to show up. Somehow, someway, we'd finished. The paint was still drying and we'd made a huge mess that needed cleaning up, but the room was finished and ready for final inspection.

Pip put her heavy arm over my shoulders and squeezed me into her so tightly I wasn't sure I could breathe. Savannah flanked my other side, the tools around our waists clanking together. All three of us gazed at the room.

"We make a good team, boss," Pip choked out, reaching up to swipe at her ruddy cheeks. Savannah sighed and laid her head on my shoulder.

For fuck's sake, I felt myself tearing up too. These women had done the impossible and without a single complaint. Exhaustion and hormones made for a weepy moment here and there. "You two are getting a raise. I don't know how but it's happening."

"Just take us with you to the next job. And the next. You're a great boss," Savannah said sweetly.

"Uh-oh, the sisterhood of the traveling tool belts is at it again," came a deep voice from behind us.

We disbanded and the women began to clean up as I walked over to Warrick, who was leaning against the doorway. I'd literally nailed in the trim twenty minutes ago. I'd have to paint it later. The inspector didn't need to check a paint job. Warrick looked amazing as usual, but this time, he wore a black collared shirt with the Levi's I'd gotten him.

"You going somewhere?"

Damn, I wanted to reach out and pull him in for a kiss. After that one night together, we'd been careful to avoid touching with Georgia and now Anton around. Could a woman become addicted to a man after one night together? I was still so confused about everything between us. The marriage was temporary, and while I was slowly starting to trust Warrick, believing that we might have an actual relationship was absurd. So stupid of me to jump into bed with him. I didn't exactly have a lot of experience in that department, which meant I wasn't equipped to keep feelings detached from the act.

He reached out and tugged me into him, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

"Oh, careful! I'm all sweaty."

His chuckle was a deep rumble. "Just how I like you."

I jammed my finger into his ribs but he just yelped and squeezed tighter.

"We're going to the Blueball Summer Crawl tonight, remember? Anton is getting dressed now. I'll go pick up Georgia so you have time to shower and change."

I disentangled from his arms. I'd completely forgotten about the carnival. "Okay, but I have to meet with the inspector first. Then I'll get ready."

Warrick eyed me with a knowing grin.

"What?"

"I was walking by earlier to check in on the progress. Heard what you told Pip."

A thousand inane conversations ran through my brain. "Uh, what part?"

"The one where you told Pip that you trusted me with the Cayden bullshit." He ran his hand down my arm and then interlaced our fingers, toying with the plain gold band on my finger. "Means a lot you're finally trusting me. And to answer your question, yes, the lawyer called me about the court date. He's ready, but he's also firing off an offer to drop the whole thing before it gets to that point. "

I tilted my head, fingers clamping down on his with worry. "What do you mean?"

Warrick was staring at my forehead. "I, uh, have some things up my sleeve to flush out his real reason for all of this."

"Warrick…" I warned. "Do not do anything stupid. I have four brothers for that."

He grinned and let go of my hand. "I know, but it's time they let me take a swing at that guy. They got their turn already." Then he winked and sauntered off, calling over his shoulder, "Wear something pretty tonight!"

I put my hands on my tool belt and glared at him. "I only have one dress."

He didn't stop as he turned the corner and disappeared. "Not anymore!"

I shook my head, wondering what that man was up to now. I could barely keep up with my business and a five-year-old. I couldn't babysit a grown man.

Plus I was starting to like his surprises.

Pip and Savannah helped me clean up as much as we could. They left right as the inspector pulled up. He was a gruff older man who didn't say much. My nerves were shot and I followed him around like a puppy dog. He didn't miss a damn thing, that was for sure. He finally took a pen to the paper on his clipboard with a flourish and then tapped the page.

"All good, Ms. Slaywright. Nice work."

I let out the breath I'd been holding. "Thank you so much."

He left, whistling under his breath, and I sagged against the wall. I closed my eyes and allowed myself just a few seconds to feel proud of myself. To bask in the glow of a job well done. And to get a teensy bit excited about that ten thousand extra dollars.

Warrick popped his head around the corner and rapped his knuckles against the wall. "Shower, woman." He winked at me. "I knew you'd get it done." And then he disappeared again, not sticking around to see the smile that spread across my face. At his praise. And his belief in me .

Single moms know how to shower in record time, so I put my mom skills to the test and washed my hair, shaved half my body, and rinsed off soap in under five minutes. Thankfully my hair air dried to its naturally straight appearance, and given the heat index out there, it would dry fully before we got to the carnival. That left getting dressed.

I threw open the closet in the guest room, expecting to find the boxes of sewing material that had been in there when we moved in. Except the boxes were gone and clothes hung from the rack. Clothes with tags on them. Clothes that weren't one hundred percent cotton and easily washed and dried or tossed out if Georgia got a particularly bad stain on one. I ran my hand over a bright yellow blouse. Shit, it felt like silk. I'd never owned silk. My calluses alone would snag on the smooth material and ruin it.

I pushed that shirt aside to see the rest, coming to a section of all sundresses in a variety of colors. I picked one in a bright blue, pulling it off the hanger and testing the material. It was gorgeous with little white flowers all over it, an empire waist, and a flirty skirt that hit a few inches above my knees. Grabbing the tag still stuck to the side, I nearly swallowed my tongue. Paying well over three digits for a simple sundress was asinine. I rubbed the material between my thumb and finger. It was so soft though.

"Ugh!" I twirled around.

I laid it carefully on my bed and slipped into one of the bras and underwear that had appeared in my dresser last week, eyeing the dress. It was so gorgeous and it was in my favorite color. The feminine part of me that hadn't cared about my appearance in years reared its head, wanting to see Warrick's face when I came out wearing that dress. With a quick movement, I yanked off the price tag and threw it in the closet. Maybe if I didn't see it, I could forget that astronomical number. Sliding the dress over my head, I smoothed it into place and turned to look in the mirror over the dresser .

"Holy crap," I whispered to my reflection. I swallowed hard and tilted this way and that. I didn't look like a contractor. Or a frazzled mom. I looked like the old me, before Cayden and Georgia. But also more mature. I looked like a gorgeous woman about to go on a date with her fake husband who was quickly becoming someone she couldn't live without.

"You ready, Em?" I heard Warrick call from down the hall.

I jumped, grabbing lip gloss and heading for the closet for my flip-flops. Except they weren't in my closet. They'd been replaced by shoeboxes that had the tops off to reveal heels, sandals, tennis shoes, and even slippers. I grabbed the tan sandals and slid them on my feet, realizing from the fancy upside-down T on them that they were designer. And well out of my price range. I shook my head and blew out a breath. This lavish spending was an argument for another day. Tonight I just wanted to celebrate finishing the job on time.

Racing out the door, I slicked on the lip gloss and tried to finger-comb the snarls in my hair. Georgia, Anton, and Warrick stood by the front door, my daughter between them, holding each of their hands. I slid to a stop and tried not to let that mental image burn into my brain. She looked so happy with her uncle and her Wa-wy beside her.

"I'm ready. Thanks for waiting."

Warrick reached for me with his other hand and tugged me to his side. The look in his eyes said he appreciated this dress very much, but he also looked like he was remembering what I looked like without clothes on. Every inch of my skin heated. "We'd wait a lifetime."

He held my hand the whole way into town, our hands on my thigh as Anton and Georgia kept up the conversation in the back. Anton had always been good with Georgia. It killed me that he didn't have kids of his own, but whenever I brought the subject up, he shut me down, saying keeping track of all of us siblings was enough work for him.

When we got to the carnival, cars were packed in the lot, but Warrick found a space along the back row, bouncing his tires up on one side of the curb. He shot me a lazy grin. "See how this big ol' truck comes in handy?"

I snorted. "Could have fit without going up on the curb if the truck was a little smaller."

"Where's the fun in that?" He glanced in the back, seeing Anton occupied with helping Georgia out of the truck. He lowered his voice. "Plus I get to come around and put my hands on you to help you down."

I waited until he got out of the truck to fan my face. It felt like Warrick was determined to flirt with me tonight. Considering what we'd done a few nights ago, and the fact that this job was officially done, we'd have to talk about where things were between us. I didn't like uncertainty, especially when it concerned my daughter. But tonight felt like a night to just relax and, for once, I was going to let myself.

"Let's go have some fun, shall we?" Warrick asked after he opened my door and held out his hand.

I put my hand in his and smiled. And if I accidentally dragged my body down the front of his as I slid out of the truck, it was all in the name of having fun. Warrick's heated gaze never left mine. Nor did his hand. We walked right into the town carnival holding hands and smiling like a real family.