She Loves Me (Harmony Pointe #3) - Melissa Foster Page 0,30

you going to wear your tool belt? I have a thing for hot women in tool belts.”

She wondered what—besides her seeing him naked—had happened today that had turned him into a flirt machine. Then the answer dawned on her, and it finally made sense.

“You ended up taking those pain meds, didn’t you?” She hoped so. Then she could blame all this craziness on them.

“What do you think?” He winked and grabbed two paper grocery bags, slipping the handles over his fingers. He hung the remaining bags from his other hand.

I think you look hot as hell carrying those heavy bags all cocky and one-footed, maneuvering with the crutches like a pro. She grabbed her toolbox and headed inside without answering.

Sophie was digging through the grocery bags in the kitchen when Piper entered the room. She set Sophie’s book on the counter.

“Thanks. Can you tell Aurelia that Uncle Harley said I could sleep over on Saturday?” she asked as Harley hobbled through the front door.

“Sure. I’ll text her,” Piper said, avoiding Harley’s gaze as she walked upstairs. She had a feeling she’d set a new record for the fastest drywall patches ever made.

She found Jolie sitting on her bed looking at her phone. Piper set down the toolbox and supplies and knocked on her open bedroom door. “Hey there.”

When Jolie looked up, Piper walked in and handed her the diary. “I got you this at the bookstore.”

“Thanks.” Jolie fidgeted with the heart-shaped lock.

“I had a diary when I was your age.” She sat on the bed and said, “It was nice to have a private place to write things down and get them out of my head.”

Jolie’s eyes remained trained on the diary as she asked, “What kind of things did you write about?”

“I wasn’t really into boys at that point, so I think it was mostly stuff that I was upset about, like fights with my sisters or if I wasn’t allowed to do something or go someplace. There were a few mean girls in my classes, and I remember writing about them, which was a good thing because otherwise I probably would have said or done some not-so-nice things.”

Jolie’s lips curved up.

“Hey, listen. I’m not very good at knowing the right things to say, but if you ever want to talk about what your mom’s going through, school, or anything, I’m a pretty good listener.”

Jolie’s gaze hit the diary again. “I’m good, thanks.”

Piper knew a dismissal when she heard it. She pushed to her feet and said, “Okay.”

“Thank you, anyway,” Jolie said as Piper collected her tools.

Piper headed into Harley’s bedroom feeling good. She’d gotten an extra thank-you, which she counted as another win. She might not fail this test after all.

As she passed Harley’s bed, she remembered that damn towel slipping off. She gritted her teeth and walked into the bathroom. Harley’s masculine scent assaulted her. When will this nonsense stop? Her eyes swept over the holes in the wall and the curtain rod leaning against the shower wall. The image of Harley naked and soaking wet slammed into her. She closed her eyes against the assault, but that made it even worse, like she was watching him on a big screen.

We could put those sucking skills to much better use.

Her eyes flew open. She needed to flick that switch off. Stat!

What had he done to her? She’d always been able to flirt with any guy and forget him three seconds later.

She told herself to focus on the work she needed to do. She would get lost in the project and shut out the world, like she always did. It was a good plan. An excellent plan. She set her toolbox and the bucket of supplies down and started organizing her tools, but then she remembered the way he’d swept her against him right there in the bathroom earlier that morning, rooting her in place with an enticing look in his eyes. She struggled to push the feelings and images away, but Harley was inescapable.

She sat down on the toilet lid, breathing deeply, wondering when Harley Dutch had become louder than the rest of the world.

Jiggs trotted into the room holding his leash in his mouth and dropped it at her feet.

“Are you kidding me? You’ve been home with Harley all day and you want me to walk you?”

Jiggs rested his head on her lap, gazing up at her with his big, dark, pleading eyes.

“He trained you to do this to me, didn’t he?” She sighed and hooked