“I’m sure it’s not easy being Griffin’s younger sister. I bet he had you under a microscope for years.”

  She tilted her head at him. “Something like that.”

  He didn’t know what to make of that statement and let it go.

  He came here today to get some tile samples and price out things for his kitchen floor along with paint for the cabinets. He figured that wouldn’t cost too much and would spruce things up more. He didn’t care for laminate counters, but at least they were a basic gray and clean enough. His appliances didn’t match either, but again, not a need when they worked. Those were things he’d replace when they broke. Money wasn’t flowing for him like it did a lot of his relatives.

  He got by just fine. He was comfortable enough in life. But he worked a lot of hours for what he had too.

  “I saw your brother a few weeks ago at the casino and asked how you were doing. At least the sling is off.”

  “Griffin never said a word,” she said.

  He wasn’t surprised to hear that. “No reason he should.”

  “The sling has been off for a month or so. What a pain that was. I feel good as new, but I'm not stupid, as many think I am. I can paint with my right arm.”

  “That’s a roller with an extension on it,” he said, looking in her cart. “You need two arms to steady it.”

  “And my left one can hold the bottom fine.”

  “Or I can give you a hand if you need it,” he said before he could stop the words from coming out of his mouth.

  She lifted an eyebrow at him. “Aren’t you here buying stuff for your place or something? Or do you come here looking to pick someone up?”

  “Yeah, the hardware store is where all the hot chicks are,” he said, grinning, his eyes running up and down her. She had on black leggings and a sweatshirt long enough that it had to be a man’s. The sleeves were rolled up and it was well past her hips.

  Her chestnut hair was pulled back in a ponytail and not a lick of makeup was on her.

  She didn’t look anything like the sexy woman who drove his eye in at Eli’s wedding, but he found he was more attracted to her like this.

  “Glad to know I’m not fitting in then,” she said.

  She started to push her cart to another aisle, this one with paint swatches, and grabbed a few to look at. Shades of gray and blue. Things he’d go for himself.

  “That one is nice,” he said, pointing to a gray shade.

  “It is,” she said. “I’m leaning toward it for the bulk of the house. I’d like blue in my bedroom and maybe the bath. I need to get rid of the yellow. It’s killing me.”

  “Yellow?” he asked, shivering. “Bright like the sun?”

  “No. Like what you’d put on a hotdog. The spicy kind.”

  “Urgh,” he said.

  “Yeah. I thought I could live with it, but it’s been a month. I can’t do it. It’s got to go.”

  He watched her looking at the colors some more and then moving to the cans of paint. He was following along like a lost puppy and wasn’t sure why.

  “I painted my house with this brand. It’s good. Not too pricey and goes on easy. Dries fast too.”

  “I didn’t know you were a carpenter on top of a fireman,” she said.

  She did pick up the can that he suggested though after she looked at a few others. He was probably coming off as desperate standing here talking to her when she obviously had other things to do.

  He just couldn’t seem to get his feet to move away from her.

  “I’m a jack-of-all-trades,” he said.

  She went over to the counter now to get her paint mixed. “Hey, Alex,” Sean said.

  He’d been in and out of here enough in the past several months working on his house that most knew him. If they didn’t know him through his job or family name. “Hi, Sean. Looks to be busy in here today.”

  “Nice weather and spring around the corner. Everyone is itching to do some work on their house. And how may I help you?” Sean asked Jennie.

  “I need a gallon of this in blue and I’ll start with two gallons of this gray. I hope that's enough, but it’s a good start.”

  “It will be about ten minutes if you’ve got some more shopping to do,” Sean said

  “Want to help me look at tiles since I helped you with your paint?” Alex said.

  She turned to look at him, one eye shut this time. “Just because I went with the paint you suggested doesn’t mean you helped me, but I suppose it’s better than sitting here watching cans spin around.”

  He laughed at the way she’d said it and would take it as a win.

  They moved to another part of the store and he picked up a few tiles that caught his eye. Simple gray slate. “I’m replacing the floor in my kitchen. I like the look of this but am not sure of the shade.”

  “What color are the cabinets and counters?” she asked.

  “I’m going to paint the cabinets white. They are old and a maple color but solid. Paint and new fixtures and they will look fine and save me thousands of dollars.”

  “I’d do that same thing,” she said. “Why replace something if you don’t need to?”

  “My counters are gray and functional. Not what I want, but not a priority either. I’ve been fixing my place up for months so doing it in stages.”

  “How dark of gray are they?” she asked.

  “The same color as this tile,” he said of the one in his hand.

  “I’d go lighter than that if I were you. But it’s your house. You have to live with it. Maybe you’re a slob and they’d be hard to keep clean.”

  She bent down to pick up another one. A thicker plank that he liked the looks of better.

  “Not a slob,” he said, bending over to look at the specs of it. No way he’d admit that word had been used in a description of him before.

  “It’s cheaper too than the other one,” she said. “I’m always looking for a bargain, but honestly, this one is nicer. Just my opinion.”

  Being Griffin’s sister, Jennie needing to bargain shop seemed hard to believe, but she was right and this one was nicer.

  “I think you’re right. There isn’t enough here though and I’ll have to order it. It’s fine since I’m on shift tomorrow and wouldn’t have started it until later in the week.”

  “Could it be here that fast?” she asked. “I was under the impression things take longer to get to the island.”

  “They do,” he said. “I’m not in a rush though. I can get the paint for the cabinets and start that anyway. And you didn’t answer me—do you need some help painting today?”

  “It sounds to me like you need to paint in your own house,” she said. She was following him as he walked to get the paint for his cabinets. At least she wasn’t ditching him.

  “Not today,” he said. “It wasn’t the plan.”

  “Then why are you asking to help paint at my place if it wasn’t the plan for you to paint today?”

  She still hadn’t said no, so he was going to push a bit more. “It wasn’t the plan to paint at my place today. I didn’t say I couldn’t paint somewhere else if they wanted help. Or maybe some company.”

  “Back to picking up women in the hardware store?”

  “Is it working?”

  She laughed. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’m still here talking to you so I can’t say that is a firm no.”

  He found the paint he needed for the cabinets and grabbed that fast, then moved with her to get her paint.

  “Just in time,” Sean said.

  “Thanks,” Jennie said, taking the cans and putting them in her cart. They walked to the checkout and she put her stuff down. “Don’t you need to order your tiles?”

  “I do,” he said. “I was waiting for your answer.”

  Her order was rung up, she paid and then said to the cashier, “Do you have a pen and piece of paper there?”

  “Sure,” the woman said, handing them over.

  Jennie wrote something down and handed it to him. “If you want to. No obligation. Not even sure why I’m doing this, but there you go. Consider it an olive branch.”

  He grabbed the paper out of her hand and looked down at an address while she walked out.

  Damn. It worked.

  He paid for his paint, then ordered his tile at another counter, drove home fast and changed into an older shirt and jeans, then went to Jennie’s house before she changed her mind.

  Her place was a cute little cottage style similar to many on the island. He was guessing it was over a hundred years old or more but looked nicely maintained.

  He had no idea of her job or even her age, but she had to have some kind of money to own a home since he knew what they cost.

  He walked up the front porch and rang the bell, and the door was quickly opened by Jennie. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to come or not.”

  “I’d be crazy not to,” he said. “Not when you were so nice about the invitation.”

  She laughed and he looked around at the place. It looked like it was newly painted as it was, but the color sure did suck. “I can see why you want to get rid of this color.”

  “It’s horrible. It’s through the whole house. I can’t take it anymore. I wonder if it was on sale or leftover by the contractors or something when the house was updated.”

  “It’s a nice house,” he said, looking into the dining room. He could see part of the kitchen and it looked modern too. This place had to cost one hell of a penny. So here he was again, setting himself up for someone that he probably wasn’t good enough for.

  “It is. Not that I had much of a choice in the matter. It’s Griffin’s house. He bought it.”

  “Oh,” he said.

  “Not for me,” she said. “I told him no. Penelope says not many say no to him, but I do. I guess we kind of both won. I got out of my small apartment that I was lucky to get to begin with and get to live here. I should feel fortunate that I’m only paying the same rent as I was, but I feel as if I’m taking advantage of my brother.”

  “You said you had no choice?” he asked. Did this go to her comment about men telling her what to do all the time?

  “It’s not bad. Or not like you might think. Griffin and I just recently reconnected. He wanted me close by and, well, nothing was tying me to where I was. I decided to move here and got a job right away and lived at Atlantic Rise until an apartment opened up.”

  “It takes a long time to get an apartment on the island,” he said.

  “I kind of had an in,” she said, shrugging. “That bothered me too, but this one I didn’t feel so bad about.”

  “Griffin?” he asked.

  “Nope. I work for the retirement community. I’m a financial analyst.”

  “Ah,” he said. “So they would have made it a priority to get you a place to live.”

  That made more sense. He wanted to ask more about her reconnecting with Griffin recently but figured she was chattier than he expected and would let her talk and see where it led.

  “They did. Griffin told me the first of the year that he’d bought this house after I’d told him multiple times I didn’t want him buying me anything. He felt his get-around was to own it and rent it to me for the same price. I’d be crazy to say no, and though I’m sure you think I’m nuts for what I did with the fire, I’m really not. Drew and Bode need that apartment. I should know more than anyone, considering my job. It was a win for everyone.”

  “I’d say,” he said, looking around. “My place needed a ton of work. I’m doing it myself and it’s slow going but getting there.”

  “It means more when you do it yourself. And Griffin has no idea I’m doing this. He told me I could make any changes I wanted, but I sure the hell wasn’t going to tell him.”

  “Because he’d do it himself or pay someone to do it?” he asked.

  “Yep. I’m more than capable of painting a room,” she said. “You’re not going to tell him, are you?”

  “No,” he said. “But I’m sure he’ll notice when he comes over next time.”

  “He will, but it will be done by then. He doesn’t have a lot of time to come visit anyway. Not with his hours. I go to his house more to see my niece. I’m good.”

  “Then let’s get to work,” he said.

  8

  Wanting To Help Her

  Jennie wasn’t sure what she was thinking right now having Alex Bond in her house.

  She wasn’t one to fall for being picked up and didn’t think she had been.

  She was betting it had more to do with him wanting to help her. And though she didn’t need the help by any means, she was lonely and wanted the company.

  And the more they talked in the store the funnier she found him to be.

  She almost didn’t recognize him either in his everyday attire and no soot on his face, his hair combed and looking much less sexy than the day he popped her shoulder back in place in the heat of the moment. He’d been calm...until he hadn’t been.

  There was something about a hardworking man that appealed to her.

  She was basic and always would be. The wealth that her brother had made her uncomfortable. The wealth of the Bond family did even more so.

  But she knew Alex was from William’s side of the family and he was more her style. More her type. As long as he wasn’t shouting at her.

  Penelope could be chatty and she’d gotten all the information she needed about Alex without asking too much.

  That he was Mac’s brother so she was able to figure out what branch of the family he came from.

  He was laid back and funny, well liked by many, especially the women.

  That part she was reserving judgment on. Just because he was in her house painting with her, didn’t mean it was going to turn into them jumping into bed.

  Though it’d been a long time since she’d been in bed with a man and was missing it.

  More so since she’d woken up from some pretty sweaty fireman dreams with Alex as the leading man.

  On impulse she’d written her address down to see what he’d do and wasn’t surprised he’d shown up.

  “I hope I didn’t need to get primer,” she said now.

  “I think you’ll be good,” he said. “The gray is dark enough. Though this yellow is ugly, it’s not as dark as I thought it might be.”

  “If I have to run back out, I’ll do it,” she said.

  “Or I can,” he said. “But let’s give it a try first. You’ve already got the floor covered. Doing this room first, I’m assuming.”

  They were in her living room now. “Yep. It was easy to move the furniture in the middle of the room out of the way.”

  “And of course you did it yourself?” he asked.

  “Unless the house is haunted with ghosts that could make objects move then that would be a yes.”

  Alex laughed and picked a can up to shake it some more. Popping the lid, he grabbed a brush and dipped it in, then put it on the wall. “Seems to be good. Two coats would be perfect.”

  “Thank God,” she said. “If I can get the living room and dining room done today I’ll be happy. I can tackle the kitchen another day.”

  “Since you’ve got help, I bet we can get all three rooms done,” he said. “Your bedroom is going to be blue, right?”

  She turned to look at him. He had the tape in his hands and was marking around her windows. “I’m not worried about that right yet.”

  “I’ve got a steady hand if you want me to go around and cut the ceiling and floors and you can do around the windows. You can stand on a chair for that and I can be on the ladder for the rest. I’m pretty comfortable on a ladder.”

  “I bet you are,” she said. “That works for me. I do appreciate you helping me out.”

  “Which leads me to the question of why I’m here,” he said.

  He was climbing the ladder, then standing at the top of it. It was just a small one, but she knew she’d be unsteady on it and have to hold onto the wall.

  “Painting,” she said. “That isn’t some code word for sex.”

  He started to cough and she guessed she’d caught him off guard by being so blunt, but it’s who she was.

  “I didn’t think it was and wasn’t angling for that. I’m asking why you agreed to let me help you. You’ve proven that you do what you want when you want. That you’re a strong independent woman. You’re stubborn too and not just from being Griffin’s sister, but I’ve been on the receiving end of that. Yet you agreed to let me help you when you’ve only met me once. I also get the feeling you don’t let strange men in your house.”

  She sighed. “I didn’t think you’d ask so many questions but should have figured as much. I’m all those things you said, but I guess I’m lonely. I don’t say that to anyone else. Or haven’t. My brother would drive me insane if I did. No one needs to entertain me, don’t get me wrong. I’ve been on the island now for about nine months or so and...let’s say I don’t make friends easily.”

  “With your glowing personality and all, I find that hard to believe.”

  She laughed. There was no way around it. “Most other women don’t tend to appreciate bluntness so it’s hard to make friends, I’ve found. The truth is, there are only a few of us at work right now. Or in the offices. Everyone else is doing construction and work is the only place I’m around other people besides family.”

  “Are you working at the retirement community right now?” he asked.

  “No. I’m in their main office, but I’ll be there this summer. Once half the apartments are done, there will be a lot more staff there. Offices for those assisting the residents will be in the rec center and that should be completed soon. I can work anywhere, but I’m helping out wherever they need me at this point.”

  “You are around people in the office and see Drew and Bode,” he said.

  “I do, but it’s not like I’m hanging out with them. They are my bosses. The rest of the staff are older or married. There isn’t anyone single. I don’t know. I’m used to being alone or on my own, so not a big deal.”