Read Online Let It Breathe by Tawna Fenske - Free Book Online Page B

than she intended, but she suddenly had very little control over her vocal cords. Or any other parts, judging from the way her body was responding to the sight of his arms in that snug T-shirt.
    “Thank you,” she finally stammered. “I can’t believe you did this. How long did it take?”
    Clay shrugged and set his cup down on the rough-hewn plywood. “Couple hours, give or take.”
    “You’ve been here since three a.m.?”
    “More like two a.m., I guess. Took me awhile to find the wood in the dark.”
    The old Clay would have made a joke about finding wood in the dark, but this Clay just pulled out a wrench and began tightening bolts. Then he gripped the edges of the bar and gave it a firm shake. Everything held steady, a vast improvement on the old bar.
    He looked back up at her and smiled. “It’s a little rough, but it’s sturdy. You can throw that tablecloth thing over it like you did the other one.”
    “I can’t believe you did this,” Reese stammered. “Let me get my checkbook—What do I owe you?”
    Clay frowned. “Reese, cut it out. We’re still friends, right? You don’t have to pay me for work you didn’t ask me to do.”
    “But—”
    “I did it because I wanted to. And because I didn’t want you to maim anyone with that other bar.”
    Reese pressed her lips together, unsure how to handle this. “At least let me give you something. Can I make you breakfast?”
    “That depends. Do you still make scrambled eggs that taste like mortar paste?”
    She smiled a little, not sure if it was the joke or the fact that she finally had evidence that she had changed at least a little in the past few years. “For your information, I took a bunch of continuing ed classes last year—mostly on wine pairings, but I did a cooking one, too. I’m now a perfectly adequate cook.”
    “In that case, I’d love breakfast.”
    “Good,” she said, moving toward the door. “My house is the little place right next door.”
    “That tiny building? I didn’t know that was a house.”
    “What did you think it was?”
    He shrugged. “I saw all the signs that said it was private property and not open to the public. Figured it was Axl’s bomb shelter or something.”
    Reese laughed. “No, this company called Idea Box makes these superefficient prefab homes that are really environmentally friendly. Perfect for someone living alone.”
    “Huh,” he said. “That’s not what I pictured you in.”
    The thought that Clay had pictured her at all over the last few years was enough to make her pulse kick up a notch, and she wondered what he’d imagined, exactly. “I’m reducing my carbon footprint. It’s eight hundred and fifty square feet, has bamboo flooring, energy-efficient appliances, contemporary cabinets, a built-in wine cooler, the whole package. Why? Are you going to pick on the construction?”
    “Not at all. I might pick on you for putting your home forty feet from your job.”
    Reese shrugged. “I like it. It’s a beautiful place, and it’s convenient.”
    “That it is,” he agreed as she opened the door and led the way inside.
    The home was designed to be tiny, but it looked even smaller with Clay planted in the center of her living room. Even her furniture looked miniscule.
    Reese stepped away from him, moving toward the kitchen. “The bathroom is over there if you want to wash up. I’ve got pesto and tomatoes—how about an omelet?”
    “Perfect.”
    “Do you like chicken apple sausage?”
    He grinned. “Remind me to build things for you more often.”
    He brushed past her as he headed for the bathroom, and Reese shivered at the heat radiating from his bare arms.
    She retreated toward the kitchen and began pulling things out of the refrigerator—cheese, eggs, orange juice. She opened the little container of pesto and frowned. Did pesto have alcohol in it? She couldn’t remember if this one had white wine as an ingredient, but did that make it unsafe to serve an alcoholic? She studied