Chapter Two
Keegan
Always heard the sayingI hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave.Before I laid eyes on Kady Bartlett, I never gave it much thought.
Now I think of it every time I watch her sweet ass sashay down Main Street. It’s a view I stop to watch every single chance I get since the first time I laid eyes on her three months ago. Something about her drives me completely mad, unlike any woman I’ve ever met. Not that I met her before today—when I royally pissed her off.
Can’t say I hate pissing her off, to be honest.
When I said that stupid shit about her sugar daddy, those lilac eyes blazed up at me and my dick sure took notice. I mean, he took notice of her when I first saw her strutting out of her shop. My crew had just rolled up to start work on a new site when she first caught my eye.
With vivid detail, I can recall it all. It was the first cool day here, but I couldn’t tell once I saw her. Long legs and that perfect peach of an ass filled out leather leggings and sexy heels. Beneath her little turtleneck, her perky tits looked soft and round. I remember tearing those clothes from her—in my own mind, at least.
Before I had a chance to say something—if I’d worked up the courage to talk to such a knockout—I saw her laughing. I felt that sound in my chestandin my cock. But she was laughing with another man. A man who looked like he was worth a million bucks and who she gazed up at like he was her fucking hero.
“Morning Keegan, how’s the build going for you?”
Blinking from thoughts of the woman I can’t have, I focus on the mayor as he heads up the stairs. Grinning, I pretend I didn’t just screw up by letting Kady get her request in before me. I’ll have to hear enough about that later when I tell my partner, Oliver.
“Going good, Marshall. I just filed some paperwork for new permits. How’s the wife?”
Kissing ass won’t hurt my chances of him passing mine instead of hers, I guess. Too bad my ass kissing is nowhere near on par with Kady’s charm—I've seen it in action. She could charm the birds from the trees—or the pants off me, if she wants. And the fact is, I let her beat me to filing paperwork.
“Good, good. Hosting a big to-do this weekend with Ms. Bartlett, Mr. Elliot, and a few others. Will you be there?”
Huffing at the offer—and the idea of seeing Kady with that prick for an entire night—I saymaybe. I tell him good day and to let me know about those permits and head to my truck. Blaring some Sam Hunt, I pull from the curb and head for the site.
Oliver won’t be happy once I update him about our permits. He’s been saying for weeks I’ve been distracted. We both know why—it's that firecracker I pissed off and we both know it. I deny it, of course, because nothing distracts me from work.
We partnered with Gabe Holmes, a Hollywood hotshot with money to burn and good intentions. Eight months ago, he started some renewal projects here after giving nearly all of his hometown Crystal Cove a major facelift. Our first task: sprucing up Main Street.
A few months after we started work on an anchor bookshop, a diner opened next door. Bite is unique—it has limited hours, offers gourmet meals at diner prices, and has a constantly changing menu. It’s a perfect complement to the bookshop.
As the song on the radio talks about showing off a new romance to an old lover, I laugh at the irony. Calling that rich prick Kady’s sugar daddy was a bullshit move. I don’t like the guy, sure, but it’s not her fault. It’s my own damn fault I feel how I feel about him.
I hate him because I ain’t him, basically.
Slamming the door on my truck, I’m wondering how I explain my screw up. It’s no huge loss—we'd hoped to expand the footprint of the bookstore by taking over a small empty space between our site and the restaurant. Honestly, Bite could make better use of the space. Not sure if my partners will feel the same way though.
“What’s up, brother,” Oliver calls me from my thoughts, leaning against the doorway of our work site, “you look fit to be tied. Have anything to do with our neighbor?”
Oliver tips his head towards Kady’s place and I grunt. Lately, my moods seem to have an awful lot to do with her. Even if I won’t admit it. If I in fact deny it when he calls me out about my obvious obsession. I claim to him and my crew that her joint is a bother to our work. It’s no bother and neither is she.
“Nothing good, man.” I grumble as I go meet him. “Sweet ass next door beat me to the punch,” I grumble, eyes flicking towards her door in hopes of a glimpse of her.
“Did she now? It’s funny...I recall someone mentioning that about three weeks ago, or am I wrong?” Oliver grins as I shoot him a glare.
Both he, Gabe, and his partner Brady talked about filing all the needed permits at our last meeting. I said I’d handle it because I usually do. Oliver questioned later if I could, given my recent distractions. He also said he was sure she would beat me to the punch because she wants to expand.
He knows this because he actuallytalksto her. While I ignore her and brood about her and her fancy fuck boyfriend, he’s friendly and polite. It’s how we were raised, after all. Our mothers taught us to be good men who treated people right and usually, I go out of my way to do as I was taught.
“That girl has gotten to you something awful, man,” he chuckles as he bites loudly into an apple and follows me in.
“That girl has donenothingto me. Except irritate me. Get in my fucking way during an important build. And show off her fucking sugar daddy.” Still grumbling, I fasten on my tool belt and throw my hair into a tiny man bun so I can fit a hardhat on.
Turning when I hear his mocking laughter over the sounds of ongoing construction, I glare at him. I almost join in, it’s so ridiculous. I am too irritated at my failure to see the humor in it. If I didn’t love him like a brother, he might get my fist in his face.
We grew up together in Florida and struck out on our own right out of high school. We spent our youth making bad choices and getting nowhere before he took the lead and started our business. At first, it was just us working as lowly contractors on little jobs around our small town. Soon enough, with his charm and my work ethic, it became something substantial.