Then suddenly she was flying or falling or floating. And his mouth was gone from hers. She felt the metal of the chair under her as he put her back with care.
She was panting and dazed. He looked…hungry.
“Scared the hell out of me, Mags,” he breathed. “Don’t let it happen again.”
She blinked up at him, trying to find her way out of the lust fugue.
He straightened and took a deliberate step back, shifting gears despite the impressive bulge in his shorts that she couldn’t quit staring at.
“Power washing’s done. I’ll get started on the next item on your list before the guys come back with the food. You’re in charge of the paperwork while you rest, ice, and elevate.”
He started for the doorway but then paused.
“Oh, and, Mags? If I catch you stomping around, trying to tackle some job you’re already paying someone else to do, I will tie you to your chair.”
LeafBritneyALoan: Maggie’s toe legit looks like it’s going to fall off. SO GROSS!
FlowerGurl4Life: OMG! The pics of Maggie with the little girl she met in town. Dying! The cutest! Maggie Nichols is the NICEST HUMAN EVER. Also so excited to see the first episode of the new house!
DaaaaaamnGirl: That toe is definitely broken. You need this new healing paste from Organiks For Life. It’s lifechanging. DM me for a sample!
18
For the rest of the weekend, Maggie followed physician assistant’s orders and rested, iced, and elevated. Besides giving the promised tour to Mateo, his wife, and Isabella from the restaurant, she’d used the unscheduled downtime to crack open A. Campbell’s first novel. Historical western fiction had never made it onto her To Be Read list before. But she’d found it entertaining all the same, even going so far as to put a plug for Sunset on the Horizon up on Instagram.
May began, and the cure to a Silas Wright Lust Fugue, Maggie found, was to never be alone with the man. To be fair, it wasn’t difficult, since he was still just as mad at her as she was at him. It had been over a week since their fight-kiss. And Sy’s stupid ultimatum.
They glowered at each other whenever the job required them to be in the same vicinity. Though Maggie wasn’t sure how much of it was mad and how much of it was a ridiculous desire to rip each other’s clothes off. Either way, it seemed safer to avoid the man.
Elton, Bitterroot Landscapes’ second-in-command, had taken over the daily walk-throughs, since his boss and Maggie couldn’t seem to get along long enough to not take a few swipes at each other.
Thanks to her jacked-up toe, she’d had a lot of downtime to think about all the wild and wonderful ways Sy could use those big hands and hard mouth on her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d ever been this hung up on a guy. They weren’t even dating. It felt like an out-of-control teenage crush. On steroids. In an inferno.
Even when he wasn’t on-site, she was thinking about him. It was fucking annoying. She wasn’t going to apologize to him for looking out for herself. Not even if an apology meant Silas would get off his high horse and into her pants. She had morals. She had ethics. She had…lady blue balls.
That afternoon, Maggie waved off the last of the tradesmen and debated whether she should shower first before heading into town to the inn.
The debate was put on hold when a yellow SUV crawled toward the house. Beyoncé carried through the open windows until the driver cut the engine and stepped out of the car.
She was fitness-model lean with a sassy, messy bob haircut. Athletic, attractive. She took off her sunglasses and eyed Maggie with curiosity. Then she squared her shoulders and approached.
“Maggie Nichols?” she asked.
“That’s me,” Maggie answered, leaning against the porch post.
“I’m Michelle.”
Uh-oh. Michelle as in Silas Wright’s ex Michelle?
“I dated Silas Wright.”
Yep. That’s the one. Well, this should be interesting. And hopefully not terrifying.
“What can I do for you?” Maggie asked.
“Don’t worry. I’m not here to hack you into pieces or hurl insults and tell you to stay away from ‘my man,’” she said, adding air quotes.
“Well, that’s a relief,” she said to Michelle.
“I was just dropping by to say thank you.”
People sure drop by a lot around these parts.
“Thank you for what, exactly?” Maggie asked.
“I know Sy’s told you about us and our on-again, off-again…thing.”
“He may have mentioned it.”