Even though Blue couldn’t see her as she drew back her shoulders and put on her most solemn face, she did it anyway to strengthen her resolve as she typed a text that she hoped would very gently set him straight. After work, but this is REALLY to fix my oven. The one I cook with! Thank you! See you around seven?
She set the phone down and stepped into the shower, determined not to think about his blue eyes or the way his biceps flexed every time he moved his arms. Her mind drifted to when she’d arrived home from work yesterday and found Blue bending over his toolbox, his jeans stretched tight across his hamstrings and formed to his perfect ass. Her nipples hardened with the thought. He’d been the man she’d conjured up in her late-night fantasies since last summer. What did it hurt? He’d never know. She closed her eyes and ran her hand over her breasts, down her taut stomach, and between her legs. She may not have time to date, but a little midnight fantasy could go a long way…
Chapter Two
SWEAT POURED OFF Blue as he carried the wood he’d just torn out of the second-floor bedroom down the stairs and into the late-afternoon sun. It had been a mild fall so far on Cape Cod, and as thankful as he was for the moderate temperatures, working on the second floor of a cottage without air-conditioning had him wishing winter would peek its head over the sandy stretch of land. He tossed the old wood into the dumpster and wiped his brow with his forearm, gazing out over the property he’d purchased weeks earlier, the Bowers Bluff Lighthouse and its keeper’s cottage. Bowers Bluff was a mile-wide, eight-mile-long, dune-ridden peninsula on the north side of Cape Cod and the perfect location to one day raise a family.
Blue had fallen in love with it the first time he’d seen it two summers ago with his brother, Duke, a real estate investor. They had planned on jointly purchasing the property and renovating it to be used as a restaurant, but the more time Blue spent there, the more he became attached to it. Eventually he gave in to his love and told Duke of his desire to purchase the property himself. Duke, being the eldest of the six Ryder siblings, had been supportive and understanding, as always.
Blue had been working day and night renovating the cottage, until Lizzie Barber’s kitchen was damaged and he began splitting his time between the two properties. The renovations on both were coming along nicely. And as a bonus, he was able to see Lizzie almost every day, at least for a few minutes. Lizzie was a sweet bundle of seductive energy. Her personality lit up the room, and Blue had a feeling that if she’d ever give in and go out with him, they’d find out that the friendship they enjoyed was just the tip of the iceberg. But Lizzie had turned him down more often than the sun set. That, however, didn’t deter him. The more often she turned him away, the more he thought of her—and the more he wanted to make her his. Blue believed in following his gut, and his gut—and his heart—continually drew him to the petite, perky woman who could drive him crazy with a single smile.
He stood in the doorway of the cottage, admiring his hard work. He’d refinished the hardwood floors, renovated the kitchen, removed the old paneling, and installed drywall and decorative moldings on the first floor. With the first floor complete, the second floor seemed like a breeze. Everything about the old place already felt like home, despite the fact that he’d grown up just outside of New York City. Unlike most of his siblings, he had never felt drawn to city life. His family had visited the Cape when he was just a boy, and his love for it had stuck with him ever since.
He pulled out his cell phone to check the time. He was meeting Lizzie at seven to fix her oven, which he was sure was just a ruse, given that he was already renovating her kitchen and she had a brand-new oven. With any luck she’d finally come to her senses and would agree to go out with him. Every time he asked her out he was met with the same responses—she didn’t have time to date or she didn’t want to chance ruining their friendship. They did have an incredible friendship, but hell, wasn’t that how people got to know each other before dating?
Before heading back inside he noticed he’d missed two texts. That wasn’t surprising. He was in the habit of giving his full focus to the quality of his work and letting everything else fall to the side.
The first text was from his younger brother, Cash, who was a New York City firefighter. He and his fiancée, Siena Remington, a world-famous model, were finally getting married next month. Siena was the sister of another of Blue’s friends, Kurt Remington, a bestselling thriller writer who’d married Leanna Bray last summer in a quadruple wedding with six of their other friends here at the Cape. It was at their wedding that Blue had met Lizzie for the first time.