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  Tracing a palm over his heart, he could almost draw back the feeling of her cheek pressed against his chest.

  He shook the memory from his head. He didn’t have time to dwell on the past anymore. It was time to go to work.

  Back in the main open office area, Beck set about removing the outdated wires. With the generator humming and his phone playing music, he made quick work of it.

  A Bruce Springsteen song came on, and Beck softly crooned along with the Boss about having a bad desire and being on fire. It was one of his dad’s favorite songs. Something about the familiar music put him at ease and into the zone.

  Beck was just crescendoing into the final chorus when a chuckle froze his hands and blood.

  “I see your musical tastes haven’t changed much.” Sarah stepped into the glow of his work light.

  He wiped his hands on his jeans. “A classic is a classic.”

  “So you used to say.” Her lips curved into a slow grin. “You always were an old soul when it came to music.”

  Beck couldn’t help but stare at her mouth, remembering the way it had felt against his own. The muscles in his stomach clenched painfully tight. Thoughts like those were going to get them both into trouble.

  Clearing his throat again, he gestured over his shoulder. “I almost have this panel knocked out.”

  “So I see.” She moved closer until she was within an arm’s reach. If he wanted, he could grab her and pull her up against his chest.

  If he wanted. And damn it all, he did.

  To keep himself from giving in to the impulse, he shoved his hands in his pocket. “I should be able to get this wall finished before dinner.”

  “Don’t let me stop you. Will it bother you if I work over here?”

  Not if she stayed at least three yards away from him at any given time.

  He shrugged. “You’re the boss.”

  She gave him a wry look. “I promised I wouldn’t get in your way.”

  “I didn’t say you were.” Pulling his hands back out of his pockets, he pointed to his toolbox. “If you’ll excuse me, I need that wrench.”

  “I’ll get it.”

  She grabbed the tool and offered it to him. Their fingers briefly touched. A jolt surged through Beck, bringing his whole body to life. Pulling away, like he’d been shocked by electricity, he took a step back.

  Ready to bury himself back in his work and pretend she wasn’t there, Beck couldn’t help but notice the way her chest rose up and down rapidly. Had she felt it too? The energy between them. No. He had to stop asking himself questions like that.

  Shaking his head, Beck stepped up on his ladder, determined to finish this project as soon as possible. Bonus or not, he needed to get done here. Fast. And after he finished, he’d put Sarah far out of his mind again.

  They worked in companionable silence for an hour. In that time, he managed to clear out the rest of the wiring in the wall. He also managed not to notice how her fingers flew across the keyboard of her laptop with the grace of a concert pianist.

  Well, he mostly managed not to notice

  As he was about to install the first panel of new wiring, Sarah cleared her throat.

  “Will it bother you if I make a couple of calls?”

  He was tempted to tell her the coffee shop across the street might be a better place but bit his tongue. In truth, he understood why she might hesitate to leave him on his own here. As she’d told him several times before, this company, this office, was her baby. A mother didn’t abandon a sick child when its temperature was still burning hot.

  Reaching for his phone, he paused the music. “Be my guest.”

  With a quick grin of gratitude, Sarah punched in a number and brought the phone to her ear. She exchanged a few pleasantries with the person on the other line. Then she launched straight into business.

  “I understand you’re interested in going to France, but I’m just not sure it’s a good fit.” She paused. “You’re right. There are plenty of English-speaking companies where you could work. But not knowing French might make your day-to-day experiences more difficult.”

  Beck couldn’t help but turn and stare. Just what exactly was this business Sarah was launching? He casually listened to the rest of the conversation, which only confused him more.

  When Sarah hung up the phone, Beck debated whether or not to ask Sarah what exactly GO would do. In the end, curiosity won out over his determination to remain aloof and detached.

  Sarah’s eyes lit up as she launched into a full explanation of the company.

  GO, she said, would serve as an exchange program of sorts. Only instead of high school or college students studying abroad, the company would link professionals and companies around the world for three months, six months, or a full year. While working for the company, the employee would also experience the local culture. The more she explained the company, the brighter her eyes shone in excitement.

  That hungry light in her eyes caused a warmth to spread in his chest. He had to douse it with water before it caught fire.

  “I always thought travel was overrated.”

  The light from her eyes was gone along with the burning in his chest. “How can you say that?”

  “People go on and on about how a trip will change your life. But you know what else can change your life? A movie. A song. Even a slice of pizza. And you don’t have to hop on a plane for any of those.”

  Anything that required boarding an airplane wasn’t worth it to him.

  “If you ask me, it’s just people always thinking the grass is greener.”

  There was ice in her eyes now. “Well, I didn’t ask.”

  It would be rude to push the issue anymore. Maybe that was what they both needed right now—a little rudeness.

  “You’ve figured out a way to monetize this whole thing?”

  She eyed him warily. “I have. The companies will pay a fee of sorts, and we have partners and advertisers who will sponsor social media posts along the way.”

  He snorted then.

  A ‘V’ formed between her eyebrows. “What?”

  “I’m just saying, it sounds a little flimsy.”

  That was probably too rude.

  Her eyes turned glacial. “It doesn’t matter what you think about my company. I’m not paying you for your opinions. I’m paying you to keep my server online.”

  He supposed he’d been asking for that. She was right. It wasn’t his job or place to criticize her. Even if it didn’t make much sense to him, it was her business, not his. Besides, she’d proven countless times in the past decade that her professional instincts were better than anyone else’s. She probably had another multi-million dollar idea on her hands, and she’d prove him wrong. Again.

  Sarah slammed her laptop shut. “You know, I think I’m going to make this next call across the street at the coffee shop. I’ll be back in an hour.”

  Tucking her laptop into her backpack, she rose to her feet and strode toward the door to the stairwell. Part of him longed to call after her. To apologize for what he had said. But he didn’t. It would be better for them if she kept thinking he was an ass. He could live with the guilt gnawing at his gut.

  Still, he found his mind wandering more than once as he continued the installation. The fire he’d seen in Sarah’s eyes while she’d been on the phone—the ice in them as she’d glared at him—were hard to forget.

  More than once, he found himself wishing she’d look at him again with fire in her eyes instead of ice.

  He was in trouble. Only time would tell just how deep in it he was.

  Chapter Five

  Sarah would say this about Beck: He did good work. As she stood in front of the wall that he’d completely rewired the previous evening, she could tell he’d put care and precision into building a state of the art infrastructure. Maisie had been right. He really was the best.

  Even if he was an ass.

  After he’d dissed the premise of GO and essentially called her a hack, Sarah
had taken a long walk around the block before spending the next half hour working at the coffee shop. It had kept her from saying something that likely would’ve shut down production and ended up costing her even more money with yet another bribe to get him to finish the work.

  It was strange. For all of his faults—and she was sure he had many—Sarah didn’t remember him being such a jerk. He might’ve hated her work hours, but he’d never been anything but supportive of her ideas.

  Maybe that’s why it had bothered her so much when he’d scoffed at GO.

  Maybe, just maybe, he might be onto something. For as much as she loved and believed in this venture, she’d already faced plenty of naysayers. There would be even more before it was all said and done. And maybe time would prove that the naysayers were right, and she’d completely missed the mark.

  Ugh. She’d love nothing more than to give Beck a good slap across the face for putting those doubts in her head. But they’d already made it through one night. In the name of giving her crazy idea its best shot, she could hold back her anger for a bit longer.

  Even if the pressure of keeping it in gave her a stroke.

  They hadn’t spoken more than a handful of words after she’d come back to the office the previous evening. It was for the best. She saw that now. Just like she saw Beck for who he really was: a jerk.

  The elevator doors slid open promptly at six o’clock. Beck rolled in with his cart, pausing for only a beat when he caught sight of her. Sarah might be wrong, but she could swear she caught a hint of remorse in his eyes. Maybe he felt bad for what he’d said.

  Then again, maybe she imagined that because she wanted him to be a good guy. It was like her brain needed to rationalize why she’d ever been hung up on him. Why she still felt drawn to him after how it had all gone south.

  He mumbled a greeting as he pulled the cart to a fresh section of the open wall. “Your contractors have been busy.”

  “We’re on a deadline.”

  His eyes flickered a little. “I remember.”

  For some reason, the intensity in his dark brown eyes made her stomach flutter. No. She wouldn’t let a pair of nice eyes dissolve any of her anger. And she was angry. Wasn’t she?

  “You good if I cut the power?”

  “Be my guest.”

  While he ducked into the utility room, Sarah settled into one of the open workspaces. Tonight, she’d brought her own portable lamp and an extra power source for her laptop so she wouldn’t be tempted to work any closer to him. It might not be the most efficient use of light or energy, but these were desperate times.

  With renewed determination, she opened her laptop and created a Wi-Fi hotspot. She put in her AirPods to drown out the soft sounds of his music and drilling as he worked. Before long, she was caught up in her own project.

  The first cohort of GO-ers, as she liked to think of them, were weeks away from starting their overseas assignments. Though most of her clients would work directly with customer support, she’d taken on a group to manage for herself. She wanted to be involved in every step of their process to smooth out any hiccups that might come up.

  That’s how she liked to work. She’d always been hands-on with LinkDigitals’s new products. She’d been the first person to download and use their ride-sharing app. She’d gone on a couple of dates when they launched XO On Demand.

  And now, even if she wouldn’t be participating in GO first-hand, she could at least be in the trenches with this first batch.

  She sent a link on applying for a work visa to the woman headed to Sydney.

  She provided a list of potential flats for the woman London-bound.

  She made a final plea to ask the woman going to France to consider picking an English-speaking country, or to at least take an accelerated course in conversational French.

  Sarah was writing another email to the employer in question when a shout from across the room drew her attention.

  Pausing the music, she pulled out an AirPod. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Beck called back, muttering something indecipherable under his breath.

  “Problem?”

  “Nope. It’s just a tight spot. I’m having a tough time fitting my hand in it.”

  That wasn’t surprising. These old buildings were full of little nooks and crannies. In fairness to the builders, none of them could have imagined a day when they would need to leave room for electrical wiring, let alone cable cords and the like.

  “Need any help?”

  “I’ve got it.”

  He’d all but shouted the response, and she masked a grin. Fine. If he were going to let his pride get in the way, she wouldn’t stop him. He could just toil around in the same spot for as long as he liked. It was his bonus.

  She replaced the AirPod and resumed her work. Every so often, Beck would mutter something, and Sarah would pretend she didn’t notice the way he was struggling.

  That was until he nearly lost his footing on the ladder. Once again, he jerked away, swearing under his breath. The ladder wiggled under the sudden shift in change and Beck grabbed hold before the ladder—and he with it—fell to the ground.

  Enough was enough. Shoving away from her workspace, Sarah stalked across the room and came to a stop next to the ladder.

  GO had already experienced enough setbacks for one lifetime. The last thing she needed was an injured contractor and a potential workman’s comp lawsuit on her hands.

  “Okay, Beck. You’ve proved you’re a tough guy. Now trade spots with me.”

  “I’ve got this.”

  “No offense—”

  “I hate when people say that. It’s like asking for a free pass to be rude.”

  She held up her hands. “Fine. Feel free to take offense. I don’t care. But we both know we’ll be here all night. My hands are smaller. Let me help. Please.”

  His jaw set again, but after considering a moment, he climbed down the ladder and gestured for her to go up.

  She flashed a quick grin. “Thank you.”

  He dropped a few small screws and washers in her hand. “It just needs to be screwed into place.”

  “Copy that.”

  She started up the ladder as he held the sides in place, keeping it from wiggling too much under her weight. “You’ll tell me what to do?”

  “Yep.”

  For the next few minutes, he held the flashlight steady and talked her through securing the tubes in the small crevice. A couple of times, she nearly lost her grip on the screw she was working into place. In this, at least, Beck had the good grace and manners not to give her a tough time. As though they were in some kind of truce, they worked together.

  Before long, she had only one more spot to affix. It was a bit of a reach. She briefly considered asking to move the ladder but thought the better of it. They’d made it this far. She could make this work for another minute. Climbing up one more rung, she reached out, extending her arm as far as it would go. Her finger worked quickly, and she did her best not to look down at the concrete floor below her.

  She gave the screw a final twist and let out a sigh of relief. She’d done it.

  Adrenaline pumping through her veins, she started her descent down the ladder. In her rush, she missed one of the steps.

  Time seemed to slow and speed up all at once.

  Sarah opened her mouth to scream or swear, but nothing came out. She scrambled to reach for something—anything—but her momentum and gravity pulled her to the ground.

  Beck spewed the expletive she’d so badly wanted to say. Reaching out, he somehow managed to grab hold of her, pulling her to safety, as the ladder crashed down on the concrete floor.

  As metal echoed against concrete, she let out a shaky breath and threw her arms around his neck. Her heart pounding in her ears, Sarah was only vaguely aware of his arms encircling her waist as he pulled her close. Her chest rose up and down, struggling to draw a proper breath.

  Setting her feet carefully to the ground, Beck kept his arms
around her, moving one hand up and down her back in slow, soothing strokes. When she could finally draw a breath—and blood no longer pounded in her ears—she caught the words of comfort he was murmuring. She could also feel the pounding of his own heart against hers.

  When at last, she felt able to stand on her own, she pulled back and glanced up at him. Fear and concern shone in his eyes. Her lips parted to speak, but nothing came out. Instead, her eyes fell to his mouth, only a breath away from her own. If she moved forward just one inch, they’d be touching.

  That nearly knocked the wind out of her all over again.

  “Thank you,” she said at last in a breathy whisper.

  “You okay?”

  “Thanks to you.”

  Taking another deep breath, Beck released his hold on her and turned toward his cooler. Digging through, he came back with a bottle of water.

  He screwed off the cap and thrust it into her hands. “Drink this. You’ll feel better.”

  She did as ordered and allowed him to guide her into a chair. He crouched down in front of her, still eyeing her warily.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  Or at least she was getting there.

  “Seriously, thank you.”

  He nodded. Then, hesitating a moment, he covered one of her hands with his. “I’m sorry about yesterday. I didn’t mean to shit on your picnic.”

  She let out a startled laugh at his choice of words. “That’s one way to put it.”

  “I was out of line.”

  Without realizing what she was doing, Sarah turned her hand over and linked her fingers with his.

  “You’re entitled to your opinion.”

  Even if it was wrong. She hoped it was wrong.

  “It wasn’t much of an opinion.”

  He stared down at their linked fingers, seeming to take a moment before speaking again. “You’ve always been able to see possibilities where no one else did. Don’t let a loser like me make you question that for even a minute.”

  “You’re not a loser.”

  “You’ve always been brave and unstoppable.”

  His words had her heart pounding faster again.