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He was walking behind her. It didn’t matter that Charli could hear his boots. She would have known anyway. Every day that they worked together, which had been close to two weeks at this point, Charli had grown more and more aware of Bronson.
Ever since he’d cornered her during their first few days together, she had felt something shift between them. Truthfully, he’d never hidden his attraction to her. Bronson had said too many things and given her too many unsaid signals for Charli to deny it. Charli, however, had tried hard to hide hers in return. Despite the fact that his actions gave her a little thrill and heady feeling of power, she did all she could to keep from giving into the chemistry between them.
She had no desire to get attached to someone who wouldn’t be staying. And Bronson definitely wouldn’t be staying. His family and life were down in California and a long-distance relationship was at the very bottom of her priority list.
She grit her teeth, fighting her awareness of his nearness, as she touched up some of the corners that hadn’t gotten quite all they needed when they sprayed the house.
“Doing okay over there?”
Charli turned her head, but didn’t look at him. “Yep.”
“Need any help?”
This time his voice was right next to her ear and Charli just about hit the ceiling. “Oh my gosh, Bronson.” She turned and pushed against his chest. She definitely didn’t notice the firmness of his muscles or how his laughter vibrated through her, making butterflies take off in her stomach. “You’ve got to stop doing that.” He seemed to enjoy catching her off guard and it drove Charli crazy...mostly. She would never admit how much she enjoyed the attention.
Bronson’s smile was slightly crooked, which was made more visible since his looks were nearly perfect. It was absolutely charming. “Sorry,” he said, not looking the least bit sorry. “I couldn’t resist.”
“I think you say that every time,” Charli muttered. She did her best to glare at him, but it was hard with him still chuckling.
“What can I say?” He shrugged. “You’re beautiful when you pretend to be angry.”
“I’m not pretending!” Charli cried, even knowing that her cheeks were pink. It had always ticked her off that even with her darker skin tone, her blushes were still visible. It was a curse.
“You’re better than that!” he called over his shoulder as he headed back to his job. That was his favorite line every time she tried to tell a fib. He was annoyingly good at knowing when she was pushing the truth.
“Has it ever occurred to you that I’m exactly who I want to be? Maybe I don’t want to be better!” She scrunched her nose in his direction, then schooled her face when he poked his head back out the bedroom door.
He gave her a wry look, obviously having caught her face. “Again...you’re better than that.”
Charli huffed and turned around. She was all set to ignore him when her phone buzzed on the counter behind her. She set her paintbrush down and walked over, wiping any wet paint on her already stained pants.
Charli pressed the button to accept the call, then put it on speaker phone. “Hey, Caro!” she said, making sure not to give away the fact that she’d just been flirting on the job. “What’s up?
“Hey, girl,” Caro said, her sweet, Southern twang echoing through the empty room. “How goes the reno?”
“Pretty good,” Charli replied. She found her attention already waning from the conversation and began to look around for more spots she had missed around the kitchen. Even though all the cabinets had been taken out of the small space, there were still lots of corners to keep track of.
“I just wanted to check in and make sure you were coming to the bonfire tonight.”
Charli froze. “There’s one tonight?” She slapped her forehead. “I completely forgot.”
“How in this great green earth could you forget such a thing?” Caro scolded. “It’s tradition!”
Charli chuckled. “We only started doing this like two years ago, Caro. I don’t think that’s long enough to create a tradition.”
“It’s tradition to me!” Caro shouted.
Charli winced away from the phone. “Geez, princess, ease up. I’m sorry I forgot.”
Caro sighed long and loud. “Charli, I swear you’d forget your head if it wasn’t attached to your neck.”
“Caro,” Charli growled. “You’re being dramatic.”
Caro sniffed. “Fine. Be that way. I guess we’ll all just go have a good time without you.”
Charli rolled her eyes. “Give it a rest. I said I forgot, I didn’t say I wouldn’t come.” She paused and looked around the construction mess. “Well...maybe. I’ve still got so much to do here. We’ve been working late every night.”
“Surely you can take one night off?”
Charli tilted her head back and forth as she considered. “Maybe. It’s hard to tell. We’re making good progress, but I’m not sure taking a night off this early in the game is a good idea.”
“Honey, if you don’t come and bring that handsome hunk you’re working with, I’m gonna come out there and tell him that you’ve got a crush on him.”
Charli’s jaw dropped and she scrambled for the phone, turning off the speaker phone. “Caro,” Charli hissed once she had the phone on her ear. “You can’t say things like that!”
“Why not? It’s true.”
“I had you on speaker phone.” Charli enunciated each word very carefully.
“Oh, good. So now he already knows.” The smugness of Caro’s tone was easy to hear. “Bring him along.”
“What?” Charli screeched.
“Honey, if I lose my hearing from this conversation, I’m coming back to haunt you forever.”
Charli made a face. “What in the world does hearing have to do with haunting? That’s for when you’re dead and a ghost.”
“If I lose my hearing, I might as well be dead,” Caro snapped. “I mean, who wouldn’t feel that way if they couldn’t hear Mr. Handsome’s deep voice, amiright?”
Charli hung her head. “Caro, you’re killing me here.”
Caro laughed, completely unconcerned that she was driving Charli up the wall. “Just come and bring the hunk. If you don’t want him, at least let the rest of us have a crack at it.”
“I don’t think...” Charli’s voice trailed off when she looked up and her gaze clashed with a stunning sapphire blue.
“Charli? Hello?” Caro’s voice carried through the phone and into the room. The woman had a set of lungs, Charli had to give her credit.
“I’ll talk to you later,” Charli quickly said, hanging up the phone and stuffing it back in her pocket. “Hey,” she said with a small wave. The movement was followed by a wave of humiliation. How much did he hear? Please don’t let him have heard anything.
Bronson’s lips twisted in amusement. It looked like he was trying to keep from smiling as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Hey...whatcha been up to?” He twitched an eyebrow at her. “Got any plans this evening?”
Charli let her head fall forward and groaned. He’d heard it all.
*****
BRONSON MANAGED TO hold back his laughter, but he couldn’t seem to completely contain his smile. Charli, with her tough exterior and in-control attitude, had absolutely no control over her friend Caro. Bronson had met her at the candy store when he was new in town and he could understand why. Caro had appeared to be a pint-sized cup of fire. There was no way she’d fall in line with Charli’s rules.
The house was so empty of furniture and appliances that it had been easy to hear the girls’ conversation all the way down the hall. The part that had been particularly interesting was when Caro said Charli had a crush and Charli didn’t deny it. She’d tried to shut the candymaker up, but not once had Charli denied the accusation.
“Cheer up, Charli,” Bronson said, still smiling. He paused. “I think that’s a song or something,” he muttered.
Charli finally looked up and glared. “It is. It’s from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. And if you think I haven’t heard it a million times...you’re wrong.”
Bronson smirked. “Well, now you’ve heard it a million and one.” He rocked back on his heels. “But what I was going to say was that at least you have friends who want what’s best for you. It must be nice.”
“Sometimes it’s a little too much,” Charli grumbled, pushing a hand through her hair. She left a little streak of paint that stood out starkly against her rich, dark strands.
Bronson put his hand up and pointed to his head. “You’ve got something...” He motioned with his finger.
Charli frowned and raised her hand again, only to stop. “Like it really matters,” she snapped. “I’m sure I’ll be covered with stuff by the time we’re done here.”
“You’ll have to take a shower before you go to that bonfire.”
“Did you really hear the whole thing?” she asked, wincing slightly in anticipation.
Bronson’s lips twitched again as he nodded slowly.
“Ooh.” Charli put her face in her hands, then snapped upright again. “Look, you have to know that she wasn’t—”
Bronson put up a hand. “Don’t do it,” he warned.
Charli snapped her mouth shut. “Don’t do what?” She turned her head to the side and eyed him carefully.
Bronson shook his head. “You’re always trying to fib,” he said, tsking his tongue. “I can’t decide if you’re a pathological liar, or just too scared to tell the truth.”
Her eyes widened and her mouth opened and shut several times. “I... You don’t... You’re calling me a liar?” Her voice rose really high at the end.
Bronson nodded cheerily. “Yep.”
She stared again, as if she were shocked by his response. “How dare you!” she finally said, seeming to come back in control of herself.
Bronson shook his head. “Have you or have you not fibbed to me dozens of times over the last two weeks?”
Her cheeks turned pink, giving her away even as Charli tried to shake her head.
“You’re doing it again,” Bronson pointed out. He stepped closer to her. He couldn’t help it. The draw was just too strong. “Every time the topic of your feelings or...me,” the word came out deeper than he meant it to, “comes up, you clam up and run for the hills.”
“That doesn’t make me a liar,” she said, her voice weaker than normal. She was beginning to resemble that deer in the headlights again and Bronson knew he needed to tread carefully.
“What are you so afraid of?” he asked, taking another step. “Do you really believe that I’ll hurt you?”
Charli blinked and finally dropped his gaze. “I don’t know what you want from me,” she finally whispered.
“All I want is for you to admit that you feel the same pull I do,” Bronson said, matching her volume. “Even your friends are shouting it from the rooftops, so why are you so dead set on denying it?”
Charli had been surprising Bronson since they’d first met and her reaction now was no different. Her face crumpled and she turned away from him. “It would never work,” she said through her sniffles.
“Char...” Bronson breathed. He dared to reach out and rub a hand along her arm. “Just tell me what’s going on.”
She spun and he pulled his hand back, almost afraid she would snap it off. “What would be the point?” she asked, though her tone lacked any bite. “You live in California, Bronson. You want me to tell the truth?”
He nodded.
“Okay. I think you’re attractive, though I have no doubt you already know that. Every woman probably finds you attractive.”
“Well...not every woman,” Bronson teased. He smiled when Charli let out a barking laugh.
“It doesn’t really matter though,” she said, sobering slightly. “I’m not interested in a fling or a long-distance relationship.” Her glassy eyes met his. “I love my town. I have no intentions of leaving it. All my hopes and dreams are focused on things here.” She shook her head. “So I don’t see what giving into a little crush would do.”
“Little crush?” Bronson scoffed. “I think we can both agree the draw is more than little.”
“Still doesn’t matter,” she said, wiping the corner of her eyes.
“Charli, Charli, Charli,” Bronson crooned. He cupped her cheek and let his thumb explore the soft skin there. He’d been careful to touch her as little as possible. His attraction was too strong to play with and touching her would have made it nearly impossible to keep his distance. “First of all, we have no idea where a relationship between us would go. You’re jumping to conclusions.” He held up a hand to stop her rebuttal. “But I agree that it isn’t the kind of situation for a short-term romance. That isn’t my style either.”
He let his eyes roam lazily over her face, a masterpiece of lines and curves. “But don’t you think we’d always regret not testing it out?”
“You told my brother the kids came first,” she rasped. When her body swayed toward his, Bronson could tell he was wearing her down.
He nodded. “They do. Saving Fathers and Sons is my first priority. But that doesn’t mean I can’t find happiness along the way.” He smiled softly. “Truth be told, there’s been too little of it in my life.”
Charli’s brow furrowed and he reached his other hand out to force the wrinkles away. “You don’t really mean that, do you?” she asked. “You didn’t have a good childhood?”
Brons gave a noncommittal grunt. His childhood had been recorded by the media as his mother went through the last few years of her career. His adolescence had been spent watching out for her manic moods and depressions. As a youth, he hadn’t understood it all, but he did now. Any resentment he’d had from her death had turned into remorse. His mother had been ill and he was truly sad she hadn’t gotten the help she needed.
But now he was an adult, he’d found a good purpose in life, and he was doing everything he could to save that dream. His plan might not be perfect. He was just hoping it was enough.
Charli sighed and closed her eyes for a second before turning back to him. “Bronson?”
“Hmm?”
“Would you like to go to a bonfire tonight?”
His smile hurt with how much it stretched across his face. Daring to lean forward, he kissed the tip of her nose. “I’d love to,” he whispered. Next time, I’m aiming straight for the mouth. And I’m thinking tonight might provide the perfect opportunity.