“I see it,” she said, blushing.
“Notice anything strange about it?” Harrison was practically glowing with smug anticipation.
Lainie stared. She’d assumed the small boat—the catamaran—was grounded on the front yard, but now that she really looked at it, it seemed to be rocking up and down. She followed the black patch of “yard” towards the road, and saw the light from the streetlamp playing on it.
“That’s all water! So, what, the house is on stilts?”
“And here I thought I’d get the fun of explaining it to you,” Harrison said, groaning. He walked ahead, beckoning to her. “See—there’s a small lagoon here that goes back from the road. Easy to see in the daylight, but not so much at night.”
“Can the catamaran—uh, the cat fit under the road? I mean, the bridge?”
“With the mast down, sure.”
“And the house doesn’t float away on the tide?”
“Not recently.” Harrison’s teeth caught the light as he smiled at her. “This was my first build after I finished my apprenticeship. The house had come off its foundations in a big storm, so my boss, Mr. Mackaby, tasked me with getting it fixed up to the owner’s satisfaction.”
Harrison leaned on the stone wall at the edge of the road above the lagoon. It was clear he was proud of what he’d achieved. Lainie slipped in beside him, standing just close enough that the hem of her coat brushed against him.
“I imagine if you owned a boat, being able to moor it right at the front door would be pretty ideal,” she said.
Harrison’s face was in shadows, but his hazel eyes caught the light, gleaming gold. “My boss agreed. Which is a good thing, because that was his house.” He paused. “His daughter lives there now, with her husband and the kids. So I better hope I did a good job, or he’ll come back and haunt me.”
“Still getting annual work reviews from beyond the grave? Ouch.”
“Well, if it does happen, I’ll just have to make sure to keep his ghostly attention on Marcie’s house, and not his old workshop. He’d really blow a gasket if he saw what I’ve done to the place.”
“Oh?” Lainie was intrigued. Harrison spoke about his old boss with such fond respect, she was surprised to hear he had gone against his wishes.
“Yeah.” Harrison looked sheepish. “It’s meant to just be a workplace, but I spent so much time there the first few years after I took over, I ended up moving in. Boss always liked to keep work and home separate, but…” He shrugged.
“I know how you feel. I can’t count the nights I would have rather pulled out a cot bed and slept under my desk than hauled myself all the way home,” Lainie said. “Mind you, I expect you’re less likely to get stuck in the middle of a subway breakdown here than back home.”
“We have very few subway breakdowns here, true,” Harrison said solemnly. “Not having any public transport helps, of course.” He paused. “Would you like to see it?”
“Your workshop?” Lainie bit her lip. Is he saying what I think he’s saying? “…Now?”
Lainie glanced sideways at Harrison. He was staring wide-eyed out at the lagoon. A look of faint horror spread across his face, as though he’d just realized what he’d said and was desperate to reel the words back in.
“I mean… Oh, God. That came out all wrong,” he said, sounding mortified.
“It came out wrong, but you did mean to say it?” The words came out before Lainie could stop them. Now they were both blushing.
A warm glow kindled inside Lainie, overriding the hot blush of embarrassment on her cheeks. She turned so she was looking at Harrison straight on. No more sidelong glances.
The streetlamp was behind him, lighting up the stretched fabric of his shirt and his broad, powerful shoulders. Somehow, the knowledge that he’d built those muscles from manual labor, not hitting the gym, made them all the more attractive to Lainie. He seemed solid, strong and reliable. His slight self-consciousness only made him more attractive, like he didn’t realize how good-looking he really was.
The light backlit his brown hair, and the strip of tanned skin between his hairline and collar. That top button was still holding out. Lainie itched to pull it free.
And why not?
Hadn’t he basically just asked her back to his place?
Harrison turned toward her, and the light hit his face. His eyes were bright and searching, staring deep into her own. Had he been watching her watch him, when his face was in the shadows?
“Yes. I did mean what I said, even if I didn’t mean to say it quite like that,” he said softly. Hesitantly, he raised one hand and brushed a loose strand of hair behind Lainie’s ear.
“I thought small-towners were meant to be conservative about this sort of thing,” she teased, her light tone masking the buzz of anticipation racing through her veins.