Jack laughed. 'We do that too. But that's not all we do. My dad started this company 35 years ago, and my brothers and I have all been raised on construction sites. At some point, all four of us have done our time doing just about every task connected with building a house. My mom has a picture of me hanging in her kitchen. I'm 11 years old and I just dry-walled my first house. I'm covered in dust, but grinning ear to ear. I loved getting my hands dirty, even then.' He held out his saw-dust covered hands for her inspection.
All she noticed was that her mom was right about the size of his hands. 'Sounds like you enjoyed it, even if your dad was using you guys for cheap labour,' Lacey said with a grin, charmed by the idea of him as a junior handyman, following his dad around, soaking up knowledge and learning his destiny at such a young age.
'We only worked weekends and summers. It wasn't like we were home-schooled slaves or anything. And I enjoyed it. Still do. He just wanted us to learn the business. His philosophy was that we couldn't know if someone else was screwing up unless we'd done it ourselves, so we'd be better at supervising a build if we actually weren't talking out of our asses. He didn't put it that way, but that was what he meant.'
'He sounds like a smart man.'
'He was. He died a few years ago. Heart Attack.'
'I'm sorry. You must miss him.'
Serena interrupted. 'Jay, are you going to show us your masterpiece or what? Uncle Jack would have told you to quit wasting time and show the buyer what she came to see.'
'Yeah, yeah. You're right. I was just giving Lacey some background, and showing off a little. No harm in that, right?'
'Like your ego needs anymore stroking. I don't think so. Let's move this along. I have to get back to town in an hour, so that gives you twenty minutes to show us the highlights, okay?'
'Man, you are impatient. But twenty minutes is plenty of time. The place isn't very big.'
They were done with the tour within ten minutes. There really wasn't much to it at all. The cottage consisted of a huge open concept living area, a large bedroom with walk-in closet, and a ridiculously oversized bathroom with a glass-tiled shower big enough for an entire basketball team to share comfortably. Basically, it was over-the-top luxury done on a very small scale. And it was Lacey's dream place, but not out in the middle of the country.
'Do you live here, Jack?' Lacey asked as they walked back into the living area. She looked around at the small signs of life, like the take-out containers on the granite countertop, and the towels beside the sink.
'No, but I will when it's done.' He omitted the fact that he currently didn't really 'live' anywhere, though officially his address was the huge mausoleum they'd passed on the way to the cottage. 'After the floors, I just have the kitchen island to install and then I have to bribe Serena here to pick out some furniture for me, and I'm all set. Instant bachelor pad in the woods.'
'You'd like that wouldn't you, you old hermit,' Serena said, punching him in the shoulder. 'Living in the woods with no one bugging you. Maybe you should just buy a couple of ugly recliners and embrace your man-cave lifestyle.'
'Well, I am hoping to have a few very special guests,' Jack said, smiling warmly at Lacey. She looked away, but not before he saw the delighted little smile turn up the corners of her gorgeous mouth. 'So something more inviting than a giant TV, a Wii game console and a Lazy Boy would probably be more appropriate.'
'He's talking about his brothers' places,' Serena said in a stage whisper to Lacey. 'Each and every one of them is single and living the ultimate bachelor dream. Last time I was at Jason's, the youngest, there wasn't even toilet paper in the bathroom, just a stack of coffee filters sitting on the bathroom counter. Disgusting.'
Lacey laughed merrily and Jack was struck again by what a joyful person she was. He felt better when she was around than he had in years. Maybe ever. Even talking about his dad's death hadn't caused him to spiral into a black mood as was typical for him when the subject came up. Obviously, she had a positive effect on him. If he could just figure out a way to spend time with her without getting too emotionally attached, life would be so much better.
He knew he wasn't capable of anything serious. He couldn't even pretend he was ready for more than a physical connection with another woman after Deborah. It would probably be years before he could put the past behind him enough to really be willing to share his life. Maybe not even then. Just the thought of a traditional courtship made him panic. How could he go on dinner dates, make polite conversation and plans with someone new after what had happened? He couldn't do it. He just couldn't. It felt like a betrayal.
But sex he could definitely handle. Idly, he wondered if Lacey would be open to a casual relationship. Would he blow it if he suggested such a thing? Or maybe she was looking for something without strings too? Looking at her, he doubted very much that she was that open-minded.
He wasn't very good at guessing women's age, but he estimated her to be in her late twenties or very early thirties. But somehow her innocence seemed somewhat intact to him. Not virginal exactly, but definitely not experienced. Bold looks aside, she seemed unnerved by his attention, almost skittish. Like she wasn't used to men wanting her. Or she didn't believe that anyone could be interested in her. He couldn't quite fathom how she had escaped male notice. She was exotically beautiful, quick-witted, sweet, and beyond sexy. Everything a man like him lusted after, and yet she didn't seem to trust that his desire for her could be sincere. Either she had been living in a convent, or the only men she came in contact with had to be gay. That was the only way she could remain so oblivious to the effect she had on his gender, and especially him.
Her innocence both delighted and horrified him. On one hand, the thought of her with anyone else sent him into a jealous rage, so he would be relieved if she hadn't been with a lot of other men. But, if she was relatively inexperienced, it was unlikely she would want to be with someone who was incapable of any kind of emotional connection.
If he was really lucky, like lottery-winner lucky, then she would be innocent and adventurous. What were the odds of that? He was pretty sure this phenomenon never happened outside of really bad porn. But this was exactly what he needed at this point in his life. If there was even a chance Lacey could deal with his limitations and still wanted to explore her sensual side with him then he really needed to broach the subject with her. He would be kicking his own ass if she got away from him again.
Until Lacey had walked into that Open House he'd thought his libido was dead. But apparently it had just been dormant. Now that it was active again, his lust was like a constant hunger in him that refused to be ignored. He was used to keeping that side of his nature in check. Even while married, he had learned to repress it. But all his usual tricks, like cold showers and exhaustion, weren't working anymore. He needed to let the beast loose.
He was a deeply sexual person, but Deborah had not been an enthusiastic lover. She had barely tolerated his touch, and yet he had remained faithful, even when it was obvious that their marriage was over. He had pushed his body and mind to the limit of his endurance with work and exercise, and yet it would still be there. That need. He had hated that weakness in him. Despised his inability to control his thoughts and the way his mind would shift into a fantasy world of women, usually not his wife, when he was not diligent in repressing his impulses. He never acted on them, but his fantasies were vivid and he feared that they would take over if he ever gave them an outlet.
Man, would he love to play out some of those fantasies with this woman. He had many years of frustration to make up for. If only she was willing to buck traditional values and have some fun. He would do everything he could to ensure she didn't get hurt. They were adults. They could be honest about their needs and what they hopefully both wanted. He didn't see why they couldn't enjoy each other without getting too heavily involved. Now, if he could just figure out a way to bring it up without sounding like a complete scum-bag.
'Okay,' Serena said, looking down at her watch. 'This is what I propose. Just give me three minutes, and then take a day to think about it before you guys react, okay?' She waited for Lacey's vigorous nod, and Jack's impatient, 'move this along' gesture before she continued.
'Jay, you know that big old house on Elm you're currently working on? You were going to put a gatehouse sort of building out back, right? Well, I was thinking why don't we have it rezoned as two properties, and then we could build something like this for Lacey.' She spread her arms to indicate the cottage.
Jack couldn't help it. Serena's idea was ridiculous. He needed to interrupt before her big ideas got out of hand. 'Ess, you know that's not possible. When you brought her here to see the cottage, I thought she already had purchased the land for us to build on. What you're talking about is a very expensive piece of real estate. If the row- house was out of her price range, then your idea is way, way beyond her means.' He looked apologetically at Lacey.
