It Started with a Puppy by Christy Jeffries

Author:Christy Jeffries
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-05-04T19:11:47+00:00

Chapter Eight

“What time did you say the window installers were coming?” Elise asked Harris on Friday as he stood on a ladder in the dining room of the colonial on Dawson Avenue. He was rewiring the electrical box to recenter the antique chandelier and she was holding his ladder steady.

The man might grumble about some of the changes Elise wanted to make, but he always let her take the lead. Kind of like how he did a couple weeks ago when they were making out—

“They’re not supposed to be here until next Thursday,” he answered, yanking her thoughts back to the present. “Why?”

Elise cleared her throat, trying to pretend she wasn’t still thinking about their kiss a couple of weeks later. “Because someone just pulled into the driveway with a truck and travel trailer.”

Without missing a turn of his screwdriver, Harris asked, “Is it a blue truck with a white-and-gray trailer that says Adventure Awaits on the back?”

Elise bent at the waist so she could peek out the open front door without letting go of the ladder. “Maybe? I can’t see the back from here. Were you expecting someone?”

“Not really. But my parents like to stop by unannounced every time they’re leaving or returning to Asheville from one of their trips.”

“They’re here?” Elise’s voice came out in a squeak and she backed away from the ladder, searching for the nearest exit route. “Your parents? Right now?”

Unfortunately for Harris, her panic had caused her to let go right as he was on his way down. By the time he got to the fourth rung, the aluminum frame began to wobble, and he lost his balance. Harris was able to jump free and plant both of his boots on the ground just as the ladder crashed into the wall, leaving a big gash in the fresh wallpaper sample Miguel had hung there an hour ago.

“Sorry,” she murmured right as someone called out from the porch, “Knock, knock.”

Ugh. She’d missed her opportunity to dart out the back before Harris’s parents could see her. As the older couple approached, though, Elise found that instead of her nerves twitching with anxiety as they normally would have, they were humming with anticipation. In fact, she was curious to know more about Harris Vega’s family.

Still. She wished the rest of the crew hadn’t already taken off early for one of the subcontractor’s bachelor party weekend. It meant she couldn’t blend into the normal chaos of the jobsite and observe things from a distance.

She hung back in the newly widened archway between the dining room and the entry as Harris met the older couple at the door. He hugged his mom first, then shook his dad’s hand before pulling the man into a one-armed embrace.

“I thought you guys weren’t driving home until next week...”

“Why aren’t you wearing the new shirt I sent you from Key West...?”

“I see you went with the cedar for the front porch...”

All three of them began speaking at once, quickly pinballing between multiple conversations at the same time.

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