“My house? What do you mean my house?”

Linc should’ve known.

He should’ve known avoiding the matchmakers’ orbit last night at the reception wouldn’t guarantee he was safe.

“Don’t sweat it, bro.” Logan slapped him on the back as Linc sat at the island, choking on his favorite breakfast—a three-egg omelet and half a pound of bacon—Chloe shoved in front of him while his dad talked to them on speaker phone.

“Don’t sweat it?” He scowled at his brother who was finishing a quick breakfast with his wife before they set off on their tropical honeymoon, their suitcases already packed in the truck. “From what Dad just said, poor Ashley thinks he hired her to work on your house.”

“I never told her it was Logan’s,” his father insisted. “I just said I wanted to hire her to work on a house as a wedding present for your brother and Chloe.”

Oh, that’s different then.

Not.

“It was misleading.” Christ, the poor girl was going to be upset. Or worse, feel like she was obligated.

Hell, no.

“Perhaps,” his dad replied. “But I was just doing what you gave me the go ahead to do—hire someone to help speed up renovations and get you out of Logan’s house.”

“I meant a contractor, not Ashley.”

“I think she does great work,” Chloe said, opening a jar of jam. “You’ve seen the work she’s done for Hick and at her cabin. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

Yeah, except the temptation the sexy woman posed to his libido. “I know. I’m not questioning that.”

“Then what’s the problem?” his father asked.

“Yeah, Linc.” Logan broke off a piece of crust from his toast and threw it at him. “What’s the problem?”

He flipped his brother off when Chloe turned her back on them to grab the carafe from the coffee maker.

“If you’re talking about your claim that I misled her, I didn’t. What I told Ashley was the truth. The quicker your house is fixed the quicker you can get out of the newlyweds’ house. And that’s what I meant by my wedding present.”

Logan reached for the mug his wife refilled and laughed. “Man, Dad. Face it, you’re a conniver.”

“Grade A,” Linc added. “Did you come up with that yourself or did Uncle Alex help you?”

“What?” Their father’s incredulous tone reverberated through the kitchen. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Bullshit.

He echoed Logan’s disbelieving grunt.

“Of course I came up with it on my own.” Their father chuckled. “You might be the newly appointed vice president, Linc, but I’m still acting CEO and have been known to form an idea or two.”

Linc smiled. “Dad, anyone who ever questions your IQ deserves to have their IQ questioned.” That’s what made the man so damn dangerous as a schemer.

“Then you’ll have no problem taking my advice when I tell you to stay at Amity for the next few weeks.”

Now he laughed and held his twin’s gaze while twirling his finger at his temple in the universal sign for crazy. “As much as I love to goof off, I do have responsibilities as your VP. I can’t just take a vacation at the spur of the moment.”

Otherwise, hell, there were a few zip line excursions in the Caribbean he wanted to explore. And an Alaskan hiking excursion on his bucket list.

“Unless we’re activated,” his brother chimed in.

True. Never knew when that might happen.

“But bottom line,” his dad continued, “you should help Ashley fix your house.”

The coffee Linc tried to swallow went down the wrong way. He pounded on his chest while he coughed out a few curses.

Now he was helping the poor girl with the house?

Forget about her feeling obligated. She was going to hop on a plane and rush back to California three weeks early.

“I’ll have your secretary reschedule the meetings that can be rescheduled. It should free most of your days. Other than that, I’m sure the work that’s left can be done on your phone and laptop at home in your spare time.” His dad’s tone oozed casual schemer. “If not, then you can pop up to Austin for a day and take care of it at the office.”

Yep. Schemer.

Apparently his brother agreed. Logan smiled and shook his head. Linc shook his, too. Their dad had it all planned out.

“Chloe, Logan, you have a great time on your honeymoon.”

“Thanks, Dad.” His brother kissed his bride’s cheek and smacked her ass. “We will.”

“Yeah, thanks, Dad,” his sister-in-law echoed as she giggled.

It was a nice, honest, heartfelt giggle, like the one Linc managed to get from Ashley last night. The warmth he’d felt at that moment returned to spread through his chest. She’d sounded so…carefree.

A smile twitched his lips. He wanted more.

Perhaps a few weeks working side-by-side on his house would produce just that.

“And, Linc,” his dad continued. “Do your best to convince Ashley to work on your house. There was a happy gleam in her eyes when she agreed to help. I think she needs to do this.”

The line went dead before he had a chance to reply.

He was all for making her happy. It was definitely something he wanted. And there was no denying the woman could handle a hammer. As Chloe mentioned, he’d seen Ashley’s skill at Hick’s, as well as her cabin. She obviously took pride in her work, which meant she enjoyed it.

He chewed on a few pieces of bacon and contemplated the crazy scheme.

“Look, Linc,” his brother said as he carried his and Chloe’s dishes to the sink. “Don’t think about it as getting a wife to please Mom and Dad.”

Jesus, he just swallowed the damn bacon whole.

Chloe rushed over with a glass of water to combat his gagging. His brother, of course, continued as if he hadn’t just tried to kill him.

“Think about it as helping Ashley.”

“What do you mean?” he croaked.

“She comes alive around you,” Chloe answered.

His brother nodded. “For some reason, she responds to you. It’s like she’s known you her whole life or something.”

He swallowed his grunt down with another mouthful of water.

“Over-exposure to you will do her good, Linc. I know it will.” His sister-in-law grinned as she loaded their empty plates from the sink into the dishwasher, no doubt eager to get on the road. “Ashley comes out of her shell with you. I mean, I see a sparkle in her eyes when the two of you talk, or even glance at each other.”

She did?

“Over-exposure doesn’t mean your goods, though.” His snickering brother stepped closer. “We want her to stick around, not run off screaming.”

Linc hauled off and punched the jerk in the arm.

Then the doorbell rang.

“Ah, that would be your future wife…I mean your contractor now, bro.” Logan grinned, and was too damn far away for him to punch again.

Bastard.

Chloe opened the door. “Hi, Ashley. Come in. We just finished breakfast. Can I get you something?”

“I already ate, thanks. But I wouldn’t refuse a cup of coffee,” she replied, nodding to him and Logan as she sat on the stool furthest from him. “What time is your flight?”

Damn, she looked cute, wearing a gray T-shirt with a cartoon alien on it, under a purple zip-up hoodie, her hair in a ponytail, and a pair of jeans that hugged her sweet curves only slightly better than he could.

“We leave at one,” Logan replied, wrapping his arms around his wife, who leaned her back against his chest after setting a steaming mug in front of Ashley. “My cousin Cole offered up his company jet, so we’re leaving out of Houston.”

An excited blush filled Chloe’s cheeks. “I’ve never flown on a Lear jet before. I hear some of them even have beds.” She stilled. “Does your cousin’s have a bed?”

Logan kissed her head. “No idea, but you do know we don’t need one to join the mile—”

“Not something we need to know,” Linc cut in, extremely not interested in their sex itinerary.

A grin twitched Ashley’s lips as she sipped her coffee and glanced around. “Did your father already leave? He didn’t exactly give me a time. Just said to be here in the morning.”

“That’s not all he left out.” Logan snickered.

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

His brother’s gaze flicked over to him.

Ashley’s followed. “What’s going on?”

Linc set his mug down and held her gaze. “My father hired you to work on my house.”

“Your house?” She reeled back with a frown. “Not this one?”

He shook his head.

“Oh. I thought…I mean, I guess I assumed it was this one because he said it was a wedding present.”

Chloe stepped closer. “It is. Sort of.”

“Yeah,” Logan agreed with a smirk. “Getting Linc’s house finished, means getting him out of ours. Hence the present.”

Dawning lit her eyes. “Ah.” A grin twitched her lips. “I see. Guess it does cramp the newlywed style to have your brother around.”

Logan grinned. “Exactly. And speaking of newlywed.” He grabbed Chloe’s hand. “We need to get on the road, babe. Don’t want to keep the pilot waiting.”

And before Linc could get up to see them off, his brother ushered his wife out the door.

“They weren’t eager, or anything.” He chuckled and returned his attention to Ashley.

The house suddenly seemed very quiet, and very intimate with the two of them having coffee together.

Ashley cleared her throat and fidgeted with her mug. “So…what do you need done with your house? Is it around here?”

Surprise washed through Linc and eased the stiffness from his shoulders. She still wanted to help? For some reason it made him feel good. Real good.

“Yeah. When Mom signed the ranch over to me and my brothers, we already knew which houses we wanted.” Thankfully, they’d each wanted a different one. “Logan picked this one. Mac called dibs on the secluded cabin by the river.”

“The one Stef is staying in?”

He nodded. “We didn’t figure he’d care since he’s rarely here. Hell, he hasn’t been home in almost two years.”

“I’m sorry.” Compassion softened her expression. “That must be tough. I know the three of you were close growing up.”

The fact she even remembered that proved their time together must’ve stuck with her, too. It did funny things to his chest.

Turning to fully face her, he was unable to keep his lips from twitching. “Care to guess which house I chose?”

Her eyes rounded and mouth curved into a huge smile that lit her whole face. That was it. The smile he’d missed. Life sparkled in her eyes, and he vowed then and there to make it happen more often.

“Our house,” she replied. “I mean, the one we used to meet in.”

“Yep.” He grinned, his pulse still beating out of control at hearing her refer to his place as their house.

“Wait!” She jumped to her feet and stepped closer, setting her hand on his arm. “You mean that’s the house I get to work on?”

“Yep,” he repeated, but when he went to set his hand over hers, she released him.

“Sorry,” she mumbled before she sat back down on her seat a stool away. “I can’t believe I get to work on that house.”

Thrilled by her show of enthusiasm, he didn’t want to spook her, so he kept his expression neutral. “As soon as you finish your coffee, we can head over.”

With a nod, she reached for her cup and took a sip, then another longer one, before rising to her feet. “I’m done. Let’s go.”

Smothering a laugh, he followed her to the dishwasher to load his dishes, and a minute later, they were in his truck, driving toward the house where he taught her how to kiss.

God, she’d been so sweet, and eager to learn.

And to please.

Awareness ricocheted through his body and twitched his crotch to life.

Settle down, he silently scolded.

What the woman needed right now was a friend, not a lover. And he intended to be that to her.

He’d just have to deal with his libido in private.

Multiple times.

And hope to hell he didn’t go blind.

***

Excitement raced through Ashley like a long lost friend. It’d been so long since she felt something so positive and so strong. The closer Linc drove them to the house she used to wander through and fantasize about in her youth, the harder it was to keep the smile from claiming her lips.

“Tell me, what have you done with the place so far?” She turned to face him, not too out of her skull with happy thoughts of sheetrock and taping and painting to admire Linc’s incredible profile.

Damn sexy, too, in a sweatshirt the same shade of gray as his gorgeous eyes, the word Army stretched across a muscled and powerful chest, and a pair of jeans that fit his lean form with the right amount of cling to warm her insides.

And oh, Lordy…they’d been warm on more than one occasion the past few months. It’d become such a common occurrence she’d moved past feeling guilty or disloyal to Neil for appreciating Linc’s attributes a long time ago. No harm in looking, and lately, oh yeah, she most certainly looked.

A lot.

Part of her baby-steps process.

It was great to experience something good for a change. To give herself permission to ogle his fine form from afar and enjoy what it felt like to be human and alive, with a healthy rush of desire.

Besides, it wasn’t like she was going to touch him, or anything. Not unless they fell into another pool.

“I’ve already tackled the structure and exterior, and most of the rooms on the first floor, after all the electrical and plumbing passed inspection,” he replied, slowing down to turn onto the tree-lined dirt road she remembered well.

The same dirt road they used to walk down hand-in-hand, once upon a time. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought she’d be sitting in his truck, a decade and a half later, while he drove them to their house…

His house. The house was his, not theirs. Not anymore.

She needed to get her head out of the fog and back on her shoulders. Especially since she was about to break out the power tools again.

“…sheetrockers came in last week,” he said, bringing her mind back to the present. “So now it’s mostly cosmetic.”

Tile. Paint. Trim. Fixtures. The fun stuff.

“Look, Ash, you don’t have to do this. I hate to see you give up your final few weeks here working. You should relax and take it easy.”

“If I do any more relaxing I’m going to go batshit crazy,” she said without thinking. “I know I don’t have to do this, Linc. I want to do this. I need to do this. And believe it or not, this type of work does relax me.”

He kept glancing at her all the while she spoke, and apparently he believed her because he nodded and turned back to watch the road. “Okay, as long as you’re sure.”

“I am.” She was also touched, and had the warm sensation spreading through her to prove it.

After all these year, the guy still put her needs and concerns before his own. A rarity. She was lucky to have found it in two men.

“So, how does a lawyer know so much about construction, and can build more than a case?”

A smile tugged her lips at his pun. “Neil’s family,” she replied, happy to be at the stage where talking about her late husband no longer suffocated her in crippling pain. Only a few flickering traces showed up here and there. “They had their own remodeling company, and I used to help out whenever I had the chance.”

He nodded. “Well, judging by the work you’ve done around here, I’d say you were good at it.”

His unexpected praise increased the radius of the warmth still lingering in her chest. “Thank you. And thanks for trusting me with your house.”

There. She said it correctly. His house.

“Of course. As a matter of fact, you’re the only other person besides me I would trust it to.”

“Why?”

“From our many discussions in our youth. We were always on the same wavelength where the house was concerned. So…what do you think?” he asked, slowing down to pull into the driveway.

Ashley sucked in a breath that promptly caught in her throat. “Oh, Lincoln. It’s amazing.”

The second he stopped the truck, she got out and slowly approached the most beautiful two story house she’d ever seen. Everything was restored. The windows, roof, wooden siding. All of it, including the large, front porch running the full length of the house. It was straight out of her imagination. Right down to the hardware on the gorgeous wooden cedar double doors.

And the paint he chose for the house? It was the perfect shade between gray and green that complimented the cedar shutters, and reminded it her of his eyes. But she was betting he chose it so the house would blend in with the woods surrounding it.

“Who would’ve thought all those years ago that I’d actually own this place and you’d be here helping me fix it up?” He smiled a warm, genuine smile with no hidden agendas or expectations, and she responded with a smile of her own.

“I know. It’s crazy isn’t it?” She walked up the two front steps and turned to her left. “You kept it…”

Once again, she sucked in a breath as she slowly approached the refurbished porch swing where they’d first met.

“Of course,” he said, stopping at her side. “It’s as much a part of this house as…the porch itself.”

She got the impression he was going to say ‘you’. And although Ashley knew it was a mistake, she couldn’t stop herself from turning to look at him.

His gaze was warm and open, and pulling her in. “It’s my favorite part.”

All the air surrounding them suddenly seemed to disappear. Her heart skipped a beat like it had all those years ago. It was as if those years slipped away, stripping all the pain and worry and stress along with it, leaving her hopeful and full of anticipation.