Patrick hefted his length of lumber, fit it into place on the side of the elaborate construction taking shape in the Rose Chalet’s main room, and held it steady while his brother hammered it into place. He tried to concentrate on the job at hand, looking at what he was doing rather than staring at Phoebe…but it was far from easy. She looked stunning today. Simply stunning.
Just like always.
Patrick didn’t care to make a secret of how he felt about her, but if one little joke could send her running off, what would openly staring at her do? Better to at least pretend to be focused on helping RJ, even if Patrick had been the one to volunteer to do it, simply to have a chance of seeing Phoebe again.
If she wouldn’t take his calls, what other option was there for him to see her?
“You’d better move your thumb out of the way,” RJ said, “unless you want it to become part of the chalet’s new look.” His brother made a pointed sound. “Are you listening, Patrick?”
Patrick managed to hold focus long enough to get the next few pieces of wood attached. He’d always enjoyed building projects, but as an architect, he rarely had a chance to do hard physical labor. As much as he loved his job, there was something about sweating over putting something together with his own hands that could never be entirely replaced. It was why he was so active, hiking and swimming and boating whenever he had the chance.
“Thanks for your help, but I can get the rest.” RJ said. “Why don’t you go take a shower in the back?”
Patrick followed RJ’s directions around to the back of the building. He took his time using the shower, trying and failing to stop himself from imagining what it would be like if Phoebe were there with him. Patrick had to turn the tap completely cold before finally stepping out and getting dressed again.
He knew he could have gotten together with her for one night. But one night—a quick, sexy fling—wasn’t what he wanted. He didn’t just want to get to know her body better.
He wanted to learn the secrets of her heart, too.
Patrick made his way back to the Rose Chalet’s main room, hoping the client had left so that he could get a chance to speak with Phoebe. But even though the bride-to-be was no longer in the room, the woman he couldn’t get out of his head was in the middle of a conversation with the music director.
“Are you going to be dancing at Marge’s wedding the way you did at the last one, Phoebe?” he was asking her.
“Why,” Phoebe asked, a flirtatious lilt to her voice, “are you planning on joining me, Tyce?”
“Is that an invitation?”
She laughed and said, “You know, Tyce, that sound system of yours just keeps getting bigger. Does any of it actually do anything, or is it all just there to compensate for something?”
“Agree to dance with me and you’ll find out.”
“So I’ll never know the answer, then?” she said before leaving the room and heading for the garden.
Beside Patrick, RJ smiled as he reached for a drill. “See what I mean? One big, happy family.”
Really? It didn’t feel like the kind of banter you got in a family to Patrick. No, what he had just witnessed seemed like straightforward flirting.
A burst of jealousy ran through Patrick and heat flashed along his skin. Phoebe deserved more than flirting with some guy she worked with. She deserved a man who could sweep her off her feet. She deserved romance.
Real romance.
Forever rather than a string of meaningless one-night stands.
“Hey,” RJ said, “if you’re heading back out to Rose’s property soon, could you pick up a few things at the nursery for our volunteer project tomorrow?”
Along with a couple of dozen other people, RJ and Patrick had volunteered to do some upkeep in Golden Gate Park’s overgrown areas. It was just the sort of thing their family had done together when they were kids.
Just like that, Patrick was hit with an idea for a date that could be a whole lot more fun than sitting around in a restaurant making small talk until he said the wrong thing. Knowing there was no time like the present, he made his way over to where Phoebe was clipping a few roses from the garden.
“Hello, Phoebe.”
Her cheeks were flushed as she looked up at him. Would he ever get used to how beautiful she was?
“Hi, Patrick.” She bit her lip. “I’m sorry I had to leave so suddenly last night. Good thing my building manager had already let my mother in by the time I got home.”
He worked to mask his surprise that her mother’s arrival hadn’t just been an excuse. Still, Patrick had the feeling that she’d been only too happy to leave the outdoor restaurant—and him—by that point.
“Is she doing okay?”
“I hope so. Her latest relationship didn’t work out, and—” She cut herself off and ran a hand through her hair, before forcing a smile onto her face. “I began to write up some ideas for Rose’s landscaping plans last night. I’ll try to get them to you in a couple of days if that’s all right.”
“That’s fine, thanks,” he said, not wanting to talk business with her right now. “RJ’s volunteer gardening group is landscaping part of Golden Gate Park and I was wondering if you’d like to come help out tomorrow afternoon.”
That wary look was back in her eyes. “So this would be you and me—”
“And about thirty other people,” he said quickly. “It’s a worthwhile project, and we could really use your skills. Having someone who really knows what she’s doing with plants could make all the difference.”
Phoebe hesitated and he resisted the urge to push her any harder to get her to agree. Doing that would just give her more of a reason to back away.
On impulse, he reached down to pick up a lone gladiola that was lying on the grass between them and handed it to her.
“I hope to see you there.”