Forever Summer - Melody Grace Page 0,23
wash! Put those fire hoses to good use. Who wouldn’t want to see the Cape’s finest stripped down and soaped up?”
“There are women on the crew, too,” Noah pointed out, amused.
“So, equal opportunity ogling!” The women laughed.
“Look, you don’t have to get naked or anything, but it would be fun,” Mac said. “Besides, didn’t you say the guys deserved a taste of their own medicine, getting you stuck with the job?”
Noah considered it. He could just see the expression on the chief’s face when he informed them that it was their duty to get lathered up—for a good cause. “A cookout-slash-carwash it is, then,” he announced, figuring it was useless to try and resist his half-naked fate. “Spread the word.”
“Oh, this word will spread itself,” Poppy said, still laughing. Then she spotted something behind him. “Evie!” she called out. “Over here!”
Noah turned. Evie was ducking through the crowd towards them, cheeks flushed pink against her rumpled curtain of dark hair. She was wearing jeans and a simple embroidered blouse, but even with her hair falling loose from a braid—and a sprinkle of something he was pretty sure was sawdust on her cheek—she was still the most beautiful woman in the room.
So much for keeping his hormones in check.
“Hi,” she said, greeting them all with a sunny smile. “Wow, it’s really a crush in here.”
“It’s the place to be on a Friday night,” Stella said with a grin.
“You mean, the only place to be,” Mackenzie cracked.
“Hi Noah,” Evie added, shooting him a quiet smile.
He nodded back.
“How are things at the inn?” Poppy asked, making room for Evie on the bench beside her. “Are you at the fun part yet?”
“Sure—if by ‘fun’ you mean ‘basic plumbing.’” Evie gave a sheepish grin. “This morning I basically wound up giving half the construction guys a peep show.”
Noah choked on his beer.
Evie. Naked.
Dear Lord.
“You OK there?” Mac asked, smirking.
“Fine,” he said, his voice strangled.
“Mitch and Eggsy decided to replace the bathroom windows,” Evie was explaining. “Only they forgot to mention it to me before I took my shower. I don’t know who was more embarrassed,” she said, covering her face with her hands. “Poor Eggsy nearly had a heart attack, seeing me in the altogether.”
“I’m sure he did.”
Noah jumped to his feet. “Let me get you a drink,” he said quickly, and headed for the bar—away from Evie and images of her bare, naked body.
But as he tried to catch the bartender’s attention, he felt someone move in beside him.
“I thought I’d order some food,” Evie said with a friendly smile. “I’ve been living off snack bars and toast back at the house.”
Pull it together, Noah.
“You can’t go wrong with the burger,” Noah managed to say. He flagged down Riley and ordered for the both of them. When he turned back to Evie, she still had that smudge of sawdust on her face.
He gestured at her cheek. “You have something—”
“Here?” Evie swiped, but she didn’t get it, so Noah reached out and gently wiped it away himself. Like any helpful friend would do.
“Thanks,” Evie said, with a roll of her eyes. “I swear, the dust gets everywhere in that house. Cooper promises they’ll be done sanding and stripping soon enough, but I have to shake like a wet dog every time I walk out the door.”
Noah chuckled. “When I was in college, our plumbing broke, so we actually did get hosed down like the filthy animals we were.”
“So you have plenty of practice for the carwash, then?” Evie asked, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
“You heard about that?” Noah groaned. “Already?”
Evie smirked. “It’s all they’re talking about.”
Noah shook his head, smiling. “At least they’ll save me on having to promote the damn thing.”
“You’ll have lines around the block,” she said. “It’s a good thing you have such a big hose.”
Noah raised an eyebrow, amused.
“You know what I mean!” Evie spluttered, her cheeks flushing even more pink.
“I do,” he replied, grinning. “And you’re right. People say it’s the biggest hose in town.”
Evie threw back her head and laughed. “If I had a dollar for every man who’s told me that—” she said, with a playful smile on her face.
“You’d be rich enough to buy the next round?” Noah asked, enjoying their easy banter.
Then he saw a familiar face across the room and came back down to earth with a bump. Marisa Sanders had just walked in, and she immediately sent him a flirty wave.
“What is it?” Evie asked, turning to see what he was looking at. “She’s