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He shook his head “Not since I was a little kid, and Marian hosted so But the house on Blackberry Hill is the stuff of legend in this town You’ll find everyone knows so about it The construction is in my wheelhouse, so to speak”

It was the second tiave Abby a little thrill and a jolt of apprehension She was the outsider here And while she was the owner of this … mausoleuht appreciate a stranger co over She was just a name on the deed She understood that in soed to the town, too Certainly it was part of the town identity and history

“So, what you’re saying is, don’t be surprised if soe in, boss me around, and then proceed to share his rather forceful opinion about what I can and cannot do with my property?” Abby asked with a pointed stare

To her completely “Exactly If that happens, you should also definitely listen to hi about Now, have you explored yet?”

She angled hiot here There hasn’t been ti besides dirt” She indicated her now dusty outfit to prove her point

To a slow perusal and she felt her cheeks heat beneath his scrutiny Not only was the house a mess, but Abby knew that after her earlier exploration, she was as well

Lifting her chin, she treated him to the sath of his faded jeans, past every button on his cotton shirt, and into his darkly handsome face She nearly shivered with pleasure If she looked in the dictionary for “rugged, sexy, and capable,” it would have a picture of Toive hiht his yumminess while she felt drab and dowdy in comparison

He put his hands on his hips, thethe irinned, displaying a mouth full of perfectly white teeth Abby was suddenly unsure if she was standing in front of the woodsrin was lethal It was the charht not be a pushover, but she discovered she wasn’t quite as immune to that smile as she should be

Abby sighed “I take it Jewell Cove is like any other small town? No privacy whatsoever?”

His dark gaze settled on hers “None whatsoever,” he echoed “Listen, Miss Foster … you knoell as I do that you can’t sell it the way it is”

“Who said anything about selling?” she challenged

“You’re going to stay here? Live in it? By yourself?”

He sounded so surprised she wanted to say yes just to enjoy his reaction But she couldn’t, not when she wasn’t planning on staying a er than was necessary She kneanted the job of fixing this place up and he wanted her to hire him on the spot Well, despite her earlier whiood sense hadn’t totally abandoned her

“I didn’t say that, either I realize it needs work, whether I stay or I put it on theher watch “Less than two hours I’d be foolish to make any decisions in such a short amount of time Rest assured, if I require your services I’ll look you up” She was rather proud of the tone that caanized but she wasn’t incompetent

Toot the cool-dismissal bit down cold”