soap operas. Or some local business owner sneaking shots behind his cash register.
“Handsome, huh?” I mocked, matching her false smile with a teasing smirk of my own. At one time, I knew how to hook a woman. Flirting had landed me my ex-wife, but I didn’t waste my time with thoughts of Lisa. And I would never flirt with Rita Kaplan. She will not hold my heart, be sweet on me, or anything other than be a pain in my ass.
To top it all off after that meeting, I find Rita as the supervisor on the job where I’ve been stationed the following day. It’s some restorative justice bullshit where I right the wrongs of the things I’ve done. I’d believe in it more if I thought I’d done something wrong that needed to be righted.
On that note, I finish my coffee, enjoying the subtle noise of a busy café around me while I sit in solitude. I’ll never take for granted being alone again, and while I’ve longed for decent company, I’ve grown accustomed to the silence. However, when a dark-haired beauty enters and orders the most complicated drink I’ve ever heard, I decide she’s the company I might like to keep. At least, for an hour or two.
3
Rita
“The couch thief,” I snap as Jake Drummond reports for work at Building Buddies, my passion project, the next day. The not-for-profit organization builds homes for those in need in the Vermont-New Hampshire area. It’s a program I’ve been dedicated to for over a decade and remain committed to in memory of my father, who stressed the need to give to others less fortunate. When I was ten, Dad taught me how to wield a hammer and work a power saw as we built my tree fort. As I grew older, I used my skill set to devote time to this worthy cause.
As a part of the Building Buddies commitment to helping others, we take on workers needing re-acclimation into society from hardship, namely the prison system or drug rehabilitation centers. We offer manual labor, which provides tangible completion of a project, allowing our recruits to see what they’ve done for someone else. The hope is production gives former inmates a sense of accomplishment. In addition, we teach trade skills that can lead to jobs in construction, landscape, design, and utility services. It gives me great pride to be a member of the board and an active participant in the building projects themselves.
I’d heard of Jake Drummond before I met him at the site. We’d been prepped as to who he was. Prison sentence for arson. Prior work as an electrician. We didn’t allow prejudice to mar our selection. We also didn’t want to form preconceived notions, so we don’t inquire further into a person’s backstory. If said person wanted to share his history, we listened, but it wasn’t a requirement. He was here to do a job in an effort to rebuild himself while constructing a home or facility for others. It was a fresh start at a new future, not a flashback to his tainted past.
Unfortunately, I had a niggling sensation about Jake, and it counteracts the tingling feeling between my thighs when I look at him. The arson conviction alone raised hackles on my neck. However, giving second chances is the cornerstone philosophy of Building Buddies, so I ignored those fine hairs tickling my nape. The lacking warm-fuzzies began after our first introduction, where he dismissed the beliefs of Alcoholics Anonymous while attending the meeting I chaired. The final straw was sitting on my couch at the Busy Bean.
“I’ve been called worse,” he teases in reference to the couch-thief accusation. “Blanket hog. Pillow thief.” He gives me that smirk of a grin at the bedding references, and my face heats. Instantly, I imagine him naked under blankets or with his head on a pillow facing me. I do not want to be attracted to him, but I recognize that I am on a physical level. I cannot deny a handsome man being handsome, but I do not like his attitude. He knows he’s good-looking. The dimples alone prove it, not that I can fault the dimples, but still, his smile reeks of sex and sinful things. Too bad the scent is overpowered by his attitude that stinks like burnt coffee and poor decisions.
“Huh.” I ignore him, glancing over the day’s spec sheet although I’m unable to focus enough to read a thing. Jake’s nearness distracts me. In reality,