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She finished her wine and shook her head to clear her thoughts She’d just have to live with her lingering feelings and bury the attraction Stick to business Be polite but distant Eventually she’d find a nice man to date and fall in love and leave Tristan Pierce and all her ood

Because he could never know

chapter four

Sydney looked at the long trail of abandoned houses lining Bakery Street and wondered if she’d been an idiot to take on such a project

It was bad Real bad

"What do you think?"

She practically felt the challenge tingeing his tone, as if he was looking forward to her freak-out Yes, it was a o ho--with or without his support

"I think we’ll have our difficulties but will deliver Why? What do you think?"

His gorgeous lip curled up "I think we’re fucked"

She shoved down her irritation and spun on her heel, stabbing her pen into the air "Listen, I don’t need your negative energy on et it done, I’ll be happy to grab Dalton or Cal"

"They can’t handle a flip like this Dalton will get obsessed with creating the perfect cabinet, and Cal will just want to rebuild everything You’re stuck withattitude only pissed her off further She refused to deal with his snarky comments and his ridiculous polished appearance She’d donned ripped, old jeans and a purple flannel shirt At least her sneakers were pink with a se heel for some type of femininity Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail He’d shown up sporting a designer suit in crisp navy with a pink tie What uts to wear pink, especially to a job site? He should look metrosexual Instead, he looked sexy and a touch bored, as if he’d just grabbed the first thing in his closet and thrown it on without care She wished briefly for her oer suit and heels for some type of armor She felt like a sixteen-year-old in her outfit, but she bucked up and refused to back down

"Fine Then I’d suggest an attitude adjustment Let’s start with nuh and tweak sonashed her teeth and stalked toward the first house Her folder bulged with notes, Brady’s plans, and various sketches She strode over remnants of trash and weeds in the front lawn, avoided the broken second step, and unlocked the front door The rusty squeak scraped at her nerve endings

"Ever see that horror uy who lives in a run-down house on an empty block and snatches women to keep in his baseood ’Cause you would be freaked out right now"