Flirting With Disaster

“And I’m the expert.”

“No question about it,” Cord said.

“I’m in charge,” Josh added for good measure.

“Certainly,” Cord said cheerfully.

“Then my decisions are the ones that count,” Josh said with finality.

“It ought to work that way,” Cord agreed, his smirk still in place.

“That’s the way it will work,” Josh said.

“Unless Maggie has other ideas,” Cord said mildly.

Josh was more relieved than ever that he’d assigned her to the lunch detail. Maybe that would keep her out of his path, maybe even off the site entirely if she considered the insult grave enough.

“I don’t think it’s going to be an issue. I assigned her to make lunch,” he informed Cord.

Cord’s mouth gaped, as Caleb murmured, “Oh, brother!”

“How did she take that?” Cord asked.

“Not well, if you must know, but I didn’t back down.”

“Really?” Cord said, his amusement growing. “And you think you won?”

“I know I won. She’ll be fixing sandwiches, period.”

“Let me give you a friendly little warning, Josh. I’ve known the woman most of my life,” Cord said. “Trust me, her powers of persuasion were honed from birth. If Maggie wants things her way, you don’t stand a chance. If she went along with this assignment you gave her, it’s because she’s lulling you into a false sense of complacency. You’ll pay eventually.”

Suddenly Josh recalled the first discussion with Cord and Dinah about this house-building thing. He realized now that he’d asked all the right questions that morning in his motel room, but they’d been about the wrong woman. It had never been about him and Amanda O’Leary. It had always been about him and this Maggie person.

“She’s the reason you were so hell-bent on getting me to agree to build this house, isn’t she?” he demanded, glaring at Cord. “You and Dinah figured you’d toss us together and watch the sparks fly, am I right?”

Cord looked only moderately guilty. “You’d have to ask Dinah about her motivation,” he insisted. “Me, I just wanted to get the right man in charge of the job. I won’t even be around to watch the fireworks, assuming there are any.”

“There won’t be,” Josh said grimly. “I quit.”

“You can’t quit,” Caleb protested, looking horrified.

“I just did.”

“You’d run this whole project off into a ditch just because you’re scared of a woman you’ve barely even met?” Cord asked.

“No, I’m walking off the job because you and Dinah lied to me. You told me it wasn’t about hooking me up with some woman.”

“It’s not,” Cord protested. “It’s about getting a house built. Besides, you’re a grown man. You don’t have to hook up with any woman you’re not interested in.”

Josh regarded him with suspicion. “Then you and Dinah aren’t going to be standing around cheering from the sidelines, matchmaking every chance you get?”

“Of course not.”

“You swear it?”

“Cross my heart,” Cord said, sketching a very large X across his chest.

He looked sincere. He even sounded sincere. “I don’t believe you,” Josh said.

Cord looked wounded. “Have I ever lied to you?”

“Not about anything work related,” Josh admitted.

“About anything?” Cord persisted.

“I suppose not,” Josh conceded reluctantly.

“Okay, then, you have no reason to distrust me now.”

“You don’t worry me half as much as your wife does.”

“Understandable,” Cord said. “But Dinah won’t be around that much, either. She’s usually working at the TV station on weekends.”

Josh was only moderately placated by Cord’s reassurances. “In that case, I won’t quit.” He shot a meaningful look at both men. “Yet.”

“You’re not going to regret this,” Caleb said cheerfully. “It’s going to be a rewarding experience for all of us.”

Josh had his doubts. From the moment he’d met Maggie Forsythe, he’d known in his gut it was going to be a disaster.

4

There was something about a man in low-riding jeans and a tool belt, especially if he had rock-hard abs instead of a beer belly. Maggie sat on a stack of lumber in the shade of an old oak tree and admired the view as Josh stretched to hold a beam in place. Thanks to the typically humid weather, most of the men had stripped off their shirts hours ago. She hadn’t seen so much pale flesh and so many flabby bellies in years. Josh’s tanned, well-honed physique provided an absolutely fascinating contrast.

Then, of course, there was the remarkable fit of his well-worn jeans. Even her most recent bad experience with the male gender hadn’t robbed her of her ability to appreciate the sex appeal of a very fine derriere, even if this one did happen to belong to the annoyingly arrogant Josh Parker.

She was still irritated by his assumption that she was incapable of making a contribution more demanding than brewing coffee and fixing sandwiches. When she’d arrived today, dressed to work, he hadn’t budged from his original position.

“You’re assigned to lunches,” he said, his gaze unrelenting. Then, as if to deliberately taunt her, he added, “I like my coffee strong.”

She’d almost asked if he also liked it dumped over his thick skull.

But because she was here to help, not stir up trouble, she’d made coffee by the gallon and enough sandwiches to feed a starving army. She’d also vowed to set Josh straight about her capabilities before the day was out.

She’d done all of the renovations on the gallery when she’d first bought it. It had given her a deep sense of satisfaction to look around those cozy rooms and know that she’d turned the space from a shabby, deserted storefront filled with cobwebs into an upscale gallery. She’d painted every nook and cranny and hung every track light herself. She’d even replaced the crown molding. In fact, she’d become something of a whiz with her saw and miter box. Wouldn’t the superior Mr. Parker be stunned to know that?

She was debating just how to knock him off his high horse, when Dinah slipped into place beside her. Maggie frowned at her.

“I thought you were working at the TV station today,” she said.