Red Hot Obsessions (122 page)

“I think she knew it was a bad situation to begin with, but bullheaded as she is, she stuck with it, hoping Kelly would work out.” Fletcher picked at the coaster beneath his beer. “What I don’t get is why she didn’t just hire you in the first place.”

Yeah, well… “Doesn’t really matter now.” Josh snatched up the fresh beer as soon as Heather put it in front of him. “In the end, she made the right decision—she hired me this afternoon.”

“No kidding?” Fletcher grinned, the stupid bastard. If he had any idea the thoughts that had gone through Josh’s mind, he’d be throwing punches instead. Though, if they were gonna get technical about it, Josh should’ve been the one to kick Fletcher’s ass years ago. If only the guy hadn’t fallen so hard…

“I start cleaning up Kelly’s mess tomorrow.” He gulped down a third of the bottle in one swig.

“You have no idea how glad I am to hear that.”

Dumbass. “Wish I could say the same.”

“Come on, man. She’s a great girl. She needs someone who’ll do right by her and you’re that guy.”

Josh snorted and downed the rest of his beer in another two swallows. What Carissa needed was a contractor who didn’t think about “doing” her six ways to Sunday every time she smiled or cocked her leg just the right way. And unfortunately, knowing himself better than anyone else, Josh was positive he wasn’t that guy.

But he was a professional. And he never, ever got involved with clients. Which was how he knew he could pull off this job without doing something stupid.

He’d definitely have to take up jerking off again, but he would not, in no uncertain terms, ever touch Carissa again.

***

“I booked you a room at the hotel for the weekend of the wedding. One with a jacuzzi, you know,
in case
.”

An assembly line of wedding invitation parts spread out before her on the coffee table in Maddie’s living room, Carissa arched an eyebrow at her best friend. “In case what?”

Maddie winked above the frame of her horn-rimmed reading glasses. “In case you wanna score a hot tub romp with one of the bartenders or maybe one of Dan’s college friends. You got my messages that Andrew’s coming to town tomorrow, right? I totally need you there. To help balance out the hormones and whatnot.”

“Sorry, I’m packing.” Carissa stuck an address label on an envelope and moved it to the finished pile. “And besides, you know I’m not a suit kind of girl.” Give her a man in a ratty ball cap and a pair of Levi’s any day, but Armani or Brooks Brothers? Not so much.

“Please?” Maddie’s stuck out her bottom lip and sniffed like a toddler. “I’m only asking for a few hours of your time. I think we’re grilling out. Nothing serious. Though you might want to break out that new lingerie again. You know—”

“Just in case?”

“Yes!”

The grin on her friend’s face was far too eager for Carissa’s liking. And frankly Maddie’s ‘balance the hormones’ requests usually didn’t work out so well. The night Maddie had left her to the wolves, aka Josh? Case in point. Not that it had been all bad, of course. Or
any
bad, for that matter. In fact, she’d rather enjoyed the way he’d nibbled and bit. And the way he’d worked that wicked mouth on her, licking and—

Whoa!

Where the heck had that come from? Swiping up her iced tea, Carissa greedily gulped down half the contents. Obviously, spending nearly all day with the man at the flip had done something to her brain cells. Warped them. Made them delusional.

Of course, he
had
been wearing that stellar pair of ass-hugging jeans. And he’d shaved.

God.

“Hello?” Maddie’s fingers danced in her line of vision. “You feeling okay?”

“Yes. Sorry. Just distracted.” She got to her feet and padded to the kitchen to refill her glass. Maddie followed behind.

“Understandable. You’ve had a rough week.” She pulled open the freezer and retrieved a box of cheesecake bites. “You definitely deserve one of these. Or five.”

They stood in silence for several fabulous minutes, leaned up against the kitchen island, noshing on assorted flavors of the decadent dessert.

“Oh my, I need to buy these for home.” Snatching up one last piece, Carissa popped it into her mouth and moaned. “They’re almost better than sex.”

Maddie snorted. “Then you’re having the wrong kind, sweetheart. Try the mocha. It’s absolutely better than sex.”

Both women fell into a fit of giggles and Carissa laughed so hard her stomach hurt. “Oh, Mads, I need a man. Bad. In fact, if I don’t get laid soon, I’m gonna buy stock in this company and then you’re gonna have a fat maid of honor.”

Maddie pursed her lips into a goofy frown. “I don’t care if you get chunky. But I definitely don’t want you to be sex-deprived. Honey, you really need to meet Andrew. He’s not the stuffy lawyer type at all. In fact, I think he might surprise you.”

Carissa stuck her tongue in her cheek. “With his penis piercing, you mean?”

“Hopefully.” Maddie winked and Carissa laughed again.

“God, I am so pathetic. Even if he and I did hit it off, I’d probably botch it up. I can’t even carry on a conversation with a man without it going all haywire.”

“That what happened with Tony?”

Carissa’s gaze jerked to her friend’s. “You know about that?”

“Well, yeah. I watched you two flirting away and I was totally doing the happy dance when you left with him, but then Dan said he saw Tony tearing out like a bat outta hell. What went wrong?”

“Wait…Dan
saw
him leaving?”

“Saw, heard…I don’t know. But I take it you weren’t with Tony or we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“No, I wasn’t with him. He…wasn’t feeling well.”

Maddie lifted an eyebrow.

“He’d been drinking.”

“Ah. I’m surprised you didn’t give him a ride home. You know, the whole drinking and driving thing.”

“I offered, but he…ended up changing his mind." She avoided Maddie’s gaze, wishing, not for the first time, that she hadn’t gotten so wrapped up in the lie-by-omission that had been her single serving of the woman’s future brother-in-law.

Maddie was like a sister and there weren’t many things Carissa withheld in all of the two-plus decades they’d been friends. But she hadn’t wanted to share her night with Josh with anyone. And not because she’d regretted what they’d done or was ashamed of her uncharacteristic behavior, but because everything about being with him had been so amazing. Hands down the best sex she’d ever had and holding tight to those memories had made the encounter seem even more special.

In hindsight however, she realized how foolish she’d been to think he might’ve felt the same. Obviously she’d just been another notch on the Marine-cum-contractor’s utility belt.

By the time she’d figured that out, Maddie’d begun pushing her, as the new girl on the block, to investigate all the male offerings River Bend had to offer. Reed had topped Maddie’s already-narrowed list.

It was all history from there, and how the hell could Carissa ever explain
wittingly
getting involved with the best friend of the man who’d given her the most incredible orgasms
ever
? Granted, she hadn’t intended for Reed to be more than a friend, and Josh had never given her any indication he’d care who she dated, but still…

If Josh hadn’t been Dan’s brother, coming clean to Maddie would have been much less complicated. But Maddie cared about Josh, even if he did annoy the hell out of her. Heck, everyone loved Josh. And they loved Reed the same. And Carissa was just the horrible woman who screwed both friends, one after the other.

Sure, that kind of thing happened all the time in small towns where the selection of potential love interests was limited. But it wasn’t her. And it wasn’t Josh and it wasn’t Reed. And it wasn’t the kind of thing she wanted to be known for in a community where she hoped to someday be adored just as much. God knows, she didn’t have that kind of affection and support back home anymore.

Out of nowhere, tears began to sting in her eyes and she hurried to hide them, but not quickly enough.

“Oh, honey, don’t cry.” Maddie wrapped her up in a snug embrace. “I didn’t bring it up to upset you.”

Carissa shook her head and pulled back, swiping at her cheeks. “It’s just so much lately. I’m fine. Really, I am.”

Maddie’s eyes widened, realization dawning. “Sunday will be ten years. I can’t believe I forgot. Oh, sweetie, I am so sorry.”

She smiled even through the tears. “You knew my mother just as well as I did, Mads. She’d have us running laps around the football field if she saw either of us moping around, feeling sorry for ourselves or for her.
‘Cheerleaders don’t cry, girls—they smile. No matter how badly it hurts.’
”

“Oh, God.” Maddie’s simultaneous burst of laughter and tears filled up the room. “I can totally hear her! We should go for a run. In memory of Ms. Cindy.”

“Nah, I did that this morning. And every other day this week.” Carissa waved a hand in the air and dabbed at her face with a napkin. “Besides, I really am fine. I was thinking I’d go visit and plant some new flowers by her grave in a few weeks. When things with the flip get back on track and I’m all moved.”

“And I will absolutely come with you. My own mother would shoot me if I didn’t. And about this weekend? Forget it. It was insensitive of me to even ask.”

Carissa sucked in a slow, thoughtful breath. “No, I think I’d like to tag along. If for no other reason than the distraction. Otherwise I’ll sit home and watch sappy movies. Or worse, go slave away at the flip.”

Maddie perked up. “Really? Because I think you’re gonna like Andrew.”

About that… “How certain are you that he’s, you know, bejeweled? And how exactly does that works with a condom?”

Maddie’s squeal gave Carissa goose bumps. “I have no idea. Let’s Google it.”

Chapter Seven

Nope, he was
definitely not
that guy
.

Josh wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and rose slowly—very slowly—from his crouched stance near the sink in the flip’s kitchen. He hooked the tape measure onto his tool belt and cursed the erection he’d had since Carissa, the little vixen, had arrived earlier in a pair of miniscule white shorts and a pale blue tank top that looked like it’d be hard pressed to fit an eight-year-old.

How the hell he’d ever thought he could pull off working for her without cutting off all circulation to his brain was beyond him. Clearly, he’d already been oxygen deprived when he shook her hand and made the deal.

“So, what do you think?” She strolled in from the living room where she’d been cleaning up. Leaning against the counter, she picked drywall from beneath her fingernails and the white flecks of dust in her ponytail stood out in contrast to the brown smudges on her arms and legs. The dirt almost matched the chocolate brown lace playing peek-a-boo beneath the strap of her top.

Even filthy, she was sexy as hell.

“Josh?” she prompted, looking up at him expectantly.

Yeah. What’d she ask him again?

“Uh,” he stuttered, scratching a hand over his hair. He needed a break. And not a long one. Two minutes alone in the bathroom would do the trick. Tops.

“They’re not salvageable, are they?” A line creased her forehead and she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. Her concern snapped him back into reality. Her flip. His job.
Not
his dick.

He cracked his neck, pulled open a drawer, and pointed to a blackened corner. “That’s mold.”

Carissa propped her hands on her hips and muttered a curse under her breath. “But a drawer can be replaced, right? We’ll just have to reface it to match.”

He opened the cupboard below the drawer and pointed again. Then another and another until she closed her eyes and growled.

“This can’t be happening! Wouldn’t Reed have noticed those spots during the inspection?” she asked, her hands curving around her forehead in frustration.

He shrugged. “If it was there then, but my guess is it started when Kelly’s guy broke the water pipe. Must’ve got wet and then with this heat…”

“It’s not that bad though, right? I mean, if it’s relatively new, it can be cleaned, can’t it? Bleach or something?” She looked up at him, wide-eyed and hopeful.

“Maybe, but the mold isn’t the only problem. The whole sink area needs to be replaced because of the water damage and I’d like to replace the floor in here too, from the joists up. In order to do that, the cupboards need to come out. And being as old as they are, they’re probably not going to sit well reinstalled. Then there’s the issue with this layout. It doesn’t flow at all.”

“I don’t care if it flows.”

He flashed a rueful smile. “Yes, you do. Nine times out of ten, the kitchen is what sells a house.”

“How much is this going to cost?”

He’d already mentally run the numbers and they weren’t pretty. “Ordinarily, I’d custom design the kitchen, but that’s not a possibility here. And I refuse to go half-ass and buy off the shelf at Home Depot. Most of that crap isn’t square and, in the end, we’d probably be better off reinstalling the old cupboards.”

“Please tell me there’s another option.” She frowned, looking so damn adorable with that pout on her face.

“I have a friend at a little family-owned store over in Hastings. I don’t work with her very often because she’s so far away, but she does a hell of a job and she’s always good for a deal.”

Carissa nodded eagerly. “Enough said.”

“I’ve already taken some measurements. I just have to call her to set up an appointment. I imagine you’ll want to come along, since it’s your money being spent,” Josh said, hoping against hope she’d pass.

“Absolutely.”

Of course. Just the two of them. Alone in a vehicle for two hours one way. Friggin’ perfect. “When’s good for you?”

“I live and breathe this house right now. I can go whenever.”

Josh inclined his chin. “Good. Hopefully we can get there early next week. That way we won’t be rushed with a last minute installation. I’d go tomorrow, but I volunteered to courtesy drill with the unit in Omaha this weekend.”

“Sounds good.” She gave him a small, sincere smile, then reached out and squeezed his hand. “Thank you again for doing this. You’ve obviously got a full plate.”

Josh glanced down to where their fingers touched and nodded. “You don’t need to keep thanking me. I got it.”

When he lifted his gaze back to hers, her smile brightened. “I just want to make sure you know how much—”

“Well, well. Already things around here look better than the last time I dropped by.”

Both Josh and Carissa started at the sound of Fletcher’s voice near the front porch. Carissa jumped away as the screen door slammed shut and their friend crossed the threshold with his requisite clipboard in hand.

She shot a questioning look to Josh.

“I asked him to drop by to verify permits.” Though now he wished he hadn’t, seeing as he was still half hard.

“Oh. I didn’t think of that.”

Josh lifted a shoulder as Fletcher made his way into the kitchen, his button-down shirt rolled up to his elbows and his Cartier watch catching rays of sunshine streaming in from the open window. With his product-styled blond hair and khakis, Josh wondered, not for the first time, what the appeal had been for Carissa. Style-wise, he and Fletcher were polar opposites.

You were the one-time, bad boy romp, remember? Clearly, not her preferred type.

Fletcher curled an arm around Carissa’s shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “Good to finally see you in a pair of capable hands, angel.”

The back of Josh’s neck began to burn like he’d spent a day on the lake with no sunscreen. Would he ever be able to stand in the same room with the two of them and not feel like he carried around a sign that read “I balled your girl and I wanna do it again”?

“Good ole Josh.” Carissa chuckled lightly, her head tipping to the side and holding his gaze. “Always saving my butt.”

Fletcher flashed an inquisitive grin. “That so?”

Josh pulsed his jaw and snuck a sidelong glare at the woman who seemed intent on getting him strung up by the ‘nads his second day on the job.

She pursed her lips cleverly. “Remember the road trip to Lincoln? The Shinedown concert? When Staff Sergeant Hudson here flashed his military ID and sweet talked that female trooper out of giving me a speeding ticket?”

“That’s right!” Fletcher threw his head back and howled. “I thought for sure she was going to arrest him just so she could get him alone in her patrol car.”

Josh fidgeted with the tie on his tool belt and allowed himself to laugh as well. Fake it ‘til you make it, right? Besides, he remembered that night too, and it had been damn funny. He’d barely been home a month and the whole newly-returned-hero bit had proved to be one hell of an aphrodisiac for the ladies, including the tough-as-nails Nebraska state cop.

The only woman his hero status hadn’t seemed to affect however was Carissa. And he could only assume it was because of one—or both—of two potential reasons—the “been there, done that” effect or because she’d been too caught up in sharing his best friend’s bed.

“Good times, good times.” Reed shifted his clipboard from beneath his arm. “But let’s get down to business, shall we? It looks like everything is pretty much in order. I’ll just need to issue Tony a permit to take over the electrical.” He filled out the temporary permit and handed Josh Tony’s copy. “Let me know when he’s got everything up to par.”

“Will do.” Josh nodded his head and had just pocketed the piece of paper when his cell chirped. Ryan. Holding a finger to Fletcher and Carissa, he took the call. “What’s up, Ry?”

“We’ve got another situation.”

His blood ran cold. “What do you mean?”

“The stained glass for Henry’s study?”

“Which is in storage at the shop…”

“Right. It is. It’s just no longer in one piece.”

“You’d better be kidding me.” Josh scrubbed a hand down over his face. The imported Italian glass had cost over twenty grand and been a real bitch to get his hands on.

“Wish I was. We came over to pick it up for installation and found the lock on the stall cut.”

Motherfucker. “And?”

“At least they left the baseball bat behind. Might be able to lift some prints.”

“A friggin’ baseball bat? Jesus Christ.” Josh stalked toward the open kitchen window for air, sucking in deep breath after deep breath. Who the hell was doing this and why?

“I’ve already called the sheriff,” Ryan added. “He’ll be here in about five.”

“Fletcher and I’ll be there in twenty.”

***

“We’ll run the prints from the bat and the door through the system, but it won’t do any good at this point unless whoever’s out to get you has a record.” Mark Dunn, Tony’s cousin and the Cameron County Sheriff, gestured toward the storage stall where his deputy was hard at work with his dust kit.

“I’d really like to know what I did to piss this prick off.” Josh swiped a hand over his hair. He had a good reputation and, for the most part, he was a well-liked guy. The only real enemies he’d ever acquired, he’d left behind in the desert.

“Unless there are other contractors that haven’t come forward, it looks like he’s definitely targeting your business. Off the record, I’d say it’s either someone on the inside or someone who stands to benefit from all the damage,” Mark said.

Fletcher nodded. “My gut’s leaning toward an inside job, too.”

Josh shook his head. “No way. None of my guys would do something like this.”

“So far, it’s not happening to anyone else, Hudson,” Fletcher reminded him. “And how the hell did this jackoff get into the Henry site and now here so easily? Who the hell would have even known about the glass, except your men?”

An uneasy feeling stirred in Josh’s gut. He couldn’t imagine any of his guys sabotaging him. Every member of his crew took pride in their work. It was why he’d hired them and why he kept them on. He was good to them, too. They were paid well and their benefits were better than most.

“You piss anyone off lately? Deny vacation or a raise?” Mark asked.

Josh thought about it for a moment and came up with nothing. Everyone received a decent raise a couple months back and he’d always been flexible with vacations, since he had plenty of hands. And he understood the need for time off, too, since three years ago he’d needed an extended leave himself.

His mind went back to the wiring incident. Whoever sliced everything to shit had to know what they were doing. That had only been last weekend. The weekend of Dan and Maddie’s party.

When he’d broken up Carissa and Tony.

No way. No way in hell could Tony be behind this. His foreman had been more embarrassed than angry and, aside from a few awkward moments on Monday morning, he seemed to have completely forgotten the altercation.

Josh shook his head. “Nah, I got nothing.” It wasn’t Tony. It couldn’t be. It was such a ludicrous idea to begin with, he wasn’t about to make the matter worse by throwing the possibility at his cousin for consideration.

“All right.” Mark sighed. “But if you think of anything, you know where to find me. And if your insurance company decides to give you grief over the additional damage, I’ll have the reports in order by the end of the day.”

Josh shook the sheriff’s hand and let him get back to work. He and Fletcher sauntered back to his truck.

“This guy’s serious, bro. I hate to freak you out, but you gotta think of your other jobs too. The clinic. Carissa.”

Josh tensed. It hadn’t crossed his mind the perp might hit the flip.

“The house is peanuts compared to the other sites, so I’m sure it’ll be fine. It wouldn’t hurt to be cautious though,” Fletcher said.

“I’ll have Mark add a couple nightly drive-bys to the schedule.” He felt bad enough about Henry’s place being messed with, he couldn’t imagine how he’d feel if something happened to Carissa’s house. Especially with the eviction looming over her head.

“Things going okay with you two?”

Josh froze, his guilty conscience rearing its ugly head. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Things seemed a little tense when I walked in earlier. Though you’re both so damn thick-skulled, I can’t say I’d be surprised if you were butting heads already.” Fletcher chuckled.

“Just ran into an unexpected expense.” And a few inconvenient erections.

“I know I’ve said this before, but I’m damn glad you took over for Kelly. Rumor has it he roughed up a dancer in Grand Island a couple weeks ago. She didn’t press charges, but the thought of him working with Car…” Fletcher shook his head, an expression of disgust and concern crunching his features. “I would’ve killed the SOB if he so much as looked at her the wrong way.”

Josh craned his neck from one side to the other until it cracked. He shared his friend’s sentiments, but if Reed knew the way he’d been looking at Carissa, he’d want to kill him, too. Probably in a pretty tortuous manner.

Was that going to stop him enjoying the view? Probably not. No harm in looking, right?

Besides, the fact that Carissa had been his before Fletcher’s—if only for one night—still prickled like a horse hair at his conscience. He knew it was wrong to wonder what it might be like to have her again, but a small part of him couldn’t stop thinking he was somehow entitled to those wayward thoughts, the timeline considered.

Fletcher clapped him on the back. “There’s no one I trust more with her, Hudson. No one.”

Josh’s gut twisted into an impossible knot, reminding him that no matter how he tried to rationalize his crazy attraction to Carissa, nothing would change the fact that his best friend had loved her and maybe even still did. That Josh slept with her first couldn’t hold a candle in the wind to what Fletcher had given her.

That his own chest ached at the thought was something he completely refused to contemplate.