He wasn’t even sure why it bugged him so much. So what if Maddie was angry? So what if she hadn’t looked him in the eye since the day they’d gone to Ann Hastings’ place to do that estimate? So what if she hadn’t picked a lighthearted argument with him in days?
Okay, well, maybe he knew why it bugged him. It was because he still had no idea what he’d done to make her so mad. He suspected it had to do with the wedding, but what had he done wrong? He’d just asked if she was going with one of her brothers. Was that really a reason to start a cold war?
Releasing a troubled breath, he picked up his coffee cup and took a long swig. All right, maybe he wasn’t done making amends yet. Truth was, he hated it when he and Maddie were on the outs. She was his best friend, not to mention a damn good assistant. All the clients loved her, probably because she was so quick to make people laugh. And she was so damn organized—she ran the office like a well-oiled machine.
His ears perked as the little bell over the front door chimed. He heard the door creak open, the sound of footsteps in the main room, and then Maddie’s apologetic voice drifted in.
“I’m sorry I’m late, boss. We got home late last night from Denver, and I slept right through my alarm this morning.”
She sounded so sincere that his anger quickly evaporated. Owen got to his feet. “It’s fine,” he said as he stepped out of his office. “Just don’t do it aga—” His vocal chords stopped working.
With a little smile, Maddie searched his face. “Everything okay?”
He gulped. Twice. Then blinked. Three times. But no, he wasn’t imagining it. Maddie was wearing a skirt. A skirt. It wasn’t short by any means, just filmy black material that swirled around her bare knees. Her arms were bare too, thanks to her sleeveless T-shirt, which was red and snug and clung to a pair of firm, high breasts. Oh sweet Jesus, he could see her nipples jutting against the thin bra she wore—and what had happened to her face? Why did her eyes look so enormous and why were her lips suddenly red and pouty?
His brain went on sensory overload. For a moment he felt disoriented, as if he were looking at a completely different woman, but no, this was Maddie. He recognized her brown eyes and the freckles and the amused expression she always wore.
“What have you done?” he choked out.
One slender brown eyebrow rose gracefully. “What are you talking about?”
He blinked again. “Why are you all dressed up?”
Nonchalantly, she gestured to her outfit and said, “Oh, this? I’m just practicing for the wedding.”
Confusion spun inside him. “Huh?”
“Charlotte asked me to be a bridesmaid, so I figured I should wear a skirt for the next few days, just to get used to it.”
“Oh.” He swallowed to bring moisture to his arid mouth. “Right, that makes sense.”
Maddie headed for the desk and walked around it, setting her purse on top of the laser printer. “So anyway, I’m sorry for showing up late. Like I said, we ended up staying in Denver longer than we’d planned and—”
“Did you do something to your hair?” he blurted out.
She wrinkled her forehead. “What? Oh yeah, I got a haircut. The wedding, and all that.”
Owen noticed that her hair was so long it hung halfway down her back. And she’d cut it? He wondered how long it had been before, but realized he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her without a ponytail. Now her hair was loose, a shiny light brown, and she’d layered it so that it framed her heart-shaped face in an extremely fascinating way. And why hadn’t he ever noticed how long her eyelashes were? Was she wearing mascara? And why, damn it, could he still see the hard peaks of her nipples?
A shot of lust jolted through him, shocking him into speechlessness. As his cock thickened beneath his jeans, Owen choked down a wave of mortification. Was he actually springing a boner at the office?
“Anyway,” Maddie said again, “I checked the company account today and the deposit from Ann Hastings came through, so—”
“I’ll be right back,” he cut in, his throat so tight he was surprised he managed to say a single word.
Before she could respond, he spun around and marched into his office, closing the door behind him. He sagged against it, taking a long, bewildered breath. What the fuck? He was harder than a damn two-by-four—all because Maddie had shown up to work in something other than jeans and a baggy T-shirt.
As his cock twitched relentlessly, he dragged both hands through his hair and drew in another breath. He was only reacting this way because he hadn’t had sex in a while. That had to be it, right? A pair of nice tits and long shapely legs would do that to a guy who’d been celibate for a few months. It had nothing to do with Maddie, or how startlingly hot she looked today. Because really, it was Maddie. His assistant. His closest friend. Of course he wasn’t attracted to her. He’d be an idiot if he was.
You’d be an idiot to lust over a hot chick?
He faltered, clenching his teeth. “It’s Maddie,” he hissed to himself.
Not that there was anything wrong with her. She was one of the most intelligent people he knew, she was funny, kind, patient. She listened to his complaints, made him clutch his side in uncontrollable laughter, watched football with him on the occasional Sunday. She wasn’t one of the women he played around with, and her friendship meant a lot to him.
Which was why he was determined to rein in this weird rush of desire. He wasn’t allowed to feel shit like that for Maddie Wilson.
Inhaling deeply, he raked his hands through his hair a few more times, just to release the frustration, and then he willed away his erection and left the office. Maddie was sitting behind the desk when he came out, her fingers moving across the computer keyboard while her brown-eyed gaze focused on the monitor.
Putting on a pleasant smile, Owen gave an overly casual tilt of the head and said, “What were you saying about the Hastings job?”
Un-freaking-believable.
Maddie could barely control the anger seething inside her as she slid out of the passenger seat of Owen’s truck and followed him toward the company’s latest job. Despite her not-quite-business attire, she’d worn a pair of comfortable black flats with the knowledge that they would be visiting the site. As they walked up the sawdust-covered path toward the log house up ahead, she resisted the urge to slip one shoe off and hurl it at the back of Owen Bishop’s head.
He hadn’t so much as looked at her since they’d left the office. It had been such a promising start—she’d had to fight back laughter when Owen had stared at her with wide gray eyes, as if he didn’t even recognize her. In that moment, she’d even glimpsed a flash of desire in those eyes. He’d liked what he’d seen, she was sure of it. But then he’d stormed into his office, and when he came out, he’d turned into an expressionless robot, treating her like a stranger, like a random employee he’d only hired a day ago.
And to think of all the trouble she’d gone to for that jerk. She’d spent three hours at the salon in Denver while Charlotte and Lexie teased her as they watched everyone poke and prod at her like a medical guinea pig. She’d gotten a haircut, endured a leg wax, bikini wax, eyebrow wax—God, so much damn wax—followed by a makeup-applying lesson, a mani-pedi, and then a two-hour shopping spree in which the two women had convinced her to purchase enough clothing to supply a Goodwill store.
The day in Denver had been tedious, but this morning she’d stood in front of the mirror for an hour, marveling over her reflection. She couldn’t believe what a good haircut, some makeup and revealing clothing could do for one’s appearance. She’d always thought herself to be kind of plain, but now she realized just how pretty she could be if she put some effort into it. The makeover had definitely done wonders for her self-esteem.
And the result?
Not Wow, Maddie, you look incredible.
Instead, she got Why are you all dressed up? And Did you do something to you hair?
She was still fuming as they approached the site, but th
e heat in her cheeks morphed to the kind caused by embarrassment as she received several loud wolf whistles when the guys on Owen’s crew caught sight of her. Cooper was the first one to comment, of course. Hopping off the ladder he’d been hanging from, he jumped on the grass and headed her way, his eyes glimmering with appreciation.
“Jesus, you look amazing,” he drawled.
From the corner of her eye she noticed Owen frown.
“Thanks,” she said lightly. “I’m a bridesmaid at Nate and Charlotte’s wedding, so I figured I need to look the part.”
Cooper didn’t take his eyes off her. “Well, you definitely look the part.” She thought she heard him mumble “potential” under his breath, and when their gazes locked and she saw the twinkle of amusement on his face, she realized she’d heard right. Fortunately, he didn’t say anything else. Knowing that he knew that she’d done all this for Owen only heightened her humiliation. But it was too late to do anything about it now.
Besides, her transformation from ugly duckling to swan hadn’t achieved a damn thing. Owen didn’t even seem to care.
“Why hasn’t the porch been sanded yet?” Owen barked at Cooper, glaring at the cedar wraparound porch of the house they were renovating.
“You said to focus on the roof first,” Cooper answered.
Owen frowned again. “Right. I forgot. Show me the progress you’ve made. The Graysons can’t afford another leak. The last storm nearly flooded the entire house.”
As the two men strode off, Maddie hid her annoyance. Owen was acting like she wasn’t even there, when normally he would have had her climbing ladders and peering into every corner, asking for her opinion about everything. Trying to control her anger, she walked over to the porch and smiled at two of the crew members, Wyatt and Pete.
“Hey, guys,” she said easily. “Nice job on the porch.”
She studied their handiwork, genuinely impressed with what they’d done. The old porch had been completely gutted, thanks to rotting logs and a termite problem that had cost poor Mr. and Mrs. Grayson a ton of cash. The fresh cedar glistened, awaiting sanding and varnishing, which she would have probably helped with if she wasn’t dressed like a Barbie doll today. She’d known the outfit wasn’t exactly work wear, but she hadn’t been able to resist wearing it.
She probably shouldn’t have bothered. She could shave her head and get a nose ring, and Owen wouldn’t even bat an eyelash.
“What’s the occasion?” Wyatt teased, his light-blue eyes darkening as he admired her outfit.
She shrugged. “Just felt like dressing up today.”
His gaze smoldered some more, and she felt a prickle of discomfort. She wasn’t used to these men seeing her as a woman. She was their buddy, the sarcastic tomboy who made them laugh. But Wyatt looked incredibly taken with her, which wasn’t a surprise when she stopped to think about it. Wyatt Killington was Cooper’s BFF. The two men went carousing every weekend, holing up in bars and cozying up to any female that caught their eyes. They were notorious lotharios, so really, why wouldn’t Wyatt appreciate the new view?
His obvious interest had her taking a closer look at him, and she realized he really was a good-looking man. He was her age, tall, muscular, with a head of sandy blond hair and cute dimpled cheeks.
“Seriously, you look unbelievable today,” Wyatt said in a husky voice.
She blushed again. “Thanks.”
“Hey,” he said suddenly, “what are you do—”
“Come on, Maddie,” came Owen’s sharp voice. “Time to go.”
She glanced over in surprise, just as he strode toward them. “Already?”
“The guys are handling everything just fine. We don’t need to stick around and supervise. Or chat,” he added, an edge creeping into his tone.
Maddie offered Wyatt a sheepish shrug. “Sounds like I’ve been ordered to get out of your hair. See you later.”
As she fell into step with Owen, she cast him a sidelong look and saw the hard set of his profile. He looked pissed off, but she couldn’t figure out why. She always chatted with the men on their crew, but today he seemed irritated that she had. Well, fine, let him be irritated. He’d been short and grumpy with her all morning, and he hadn’t even complimented her appearance. The appearance that she’d painstakingly altered for him.
They’d almost reached the truck when someone called her name. She turned around in time to see Wyatt hurrying over.
“Do you have a second?” he asked.
She looked at Owen, whose jaw was even stiffer now. “I’ll be in the truck,” he muttered.
As he stalked off, she faced Wyatt, curious. “What’s up?” she asked with a smile.
“I was just wondering if you had any plans for tomorrow night.” He raised his arm to move a lock of hair off his forehead, and she noticed how firm and defined his biceps were. “And if you don’t, how about drinks and billiards at Bishop’s Corner?”
Maddie’s smiled wavered. Was he asking her out? “Just the two of us?” she found herself blurting, then cringed at the idiotic question.
“Just the two of us,” Wyatt confirmed, his blue eyes twinkling. “Is that a problem?”
“N-no.” She cleared her throat. “No, that sounds like fun.”
“Cool.” Looking pleased, he took a step back. “Pick you up at eight?”
She managed a nod, trying not to shake her head as she watched Wyatt walk off with a confident gait. Had that just happened? Wyatt Killington was one of the hottest single guys in Paradise, and he’d just asked her out on a date. Well. At least her makeover had managed to catch someone’s attention.
A sharp honk broke through her thoughts. The bewildering pleasure that had been rushing through her body dissolved, replaced with a burst of aggravation. Did he really have to honk at her? Drawing in a calming breath, she headed for the pickup and slid into the passenger seat, turning to Owen with a frown. “What’s the rush?”
“I’d just like to get back to town,” he mumbled. “I’m meeting Nate for lunch.”
She rolled her eyes. “God forbid you keep Nate waiting for one extra minute.”
Owen started the engine and drove away from the Grayson house. He was silent for so long she thought he might have forgotten she was with him, but then he shot her a scowl and, in a gravelly voice, said, “What did Wyatt want?”
She clasped her hands together on her lap. “Nothing really.”
“It didn’t look like nothing.” His eyes narrowed. “What’s the big secret? I can’t know what he said to you?”
She huffed out a breath. “There’s no secret,” she replied in exasperation. “He just asked me to have drinks with him tomorrow night.”
Owen didn’t so much as blink, but the air in the pickup went cold. “And you said yes?”
“Yes, I said yes.” She paused. “Is there a problem with that?”
His eyes turned stormy silver. “Well, you know how I feel about employees fraternizing. It doesn’t make for a healthy working environment.”
A laugh popped out of her mouth. “Are you joking?”
“No, I truly believe in that philosophy,” he insisted.
Since when? She couldn’t remember Owen ever warning her about dating anyone on the crew. And his philosophy apparently didn’t extend to himself, because she clearly remembered him going out on a few dates with that woman whose bathroom they’d remodeled two years ago.
“It’s just drinks and a game of pool, Owen,” she said, laughing again. “I don’t think it’s going to cause any problems for Bishop Contracting. Especially since I don’t even work on the crew.”
He muttered something she couldn’t make out, then shrugged and said, “Fine, whatever. But don’t get your hopes up about this being some magical love connection with Wyatt. You know that guy is a total player.”
She swallowed a lump of offense. “I know he is. But he’s also a fun guy, and there’s no harm in having some fun, is there?”
“I guess not,” he replied, though
he sounded like it physically pained him to make the concession.
A silence settled between them, and Maddie spent the quiet time wondering what the heck was up with him. His rigid shoulders and deep frown told her that he was upset, but she highly doubted he meant his whole no-employee-fraternizing crap. If she didn’t know any better, she might think he was jealous that another man had asked her out.
But that was just crazy.
Chapter Four
The next afternoon, Owen strode into Betty’s to meet his older brother for lunch, a daily ritual for them. With Jake and Austin traveling all the time, Owen and Nate were the only Bishops who lived in Paradise full time, and they spent a lot of time together. The two of them were always worrying about their daredevil brothers, especially Jake. Owen was seven minutes older than his twin, but sometimes it felt like they were separated by years. While Owen had been content to stay in town and start his own business, Jake had enlisted in the army at eighteen, and for the last five years he’d been with the Rangers, taking on dangerous assignments and risking his life every other minute. Austin worried them too, though not as much. Their youngest brother was a photographer, constantly flying off to war zones and sometimes disappearing for months at a time. Austin had been AWOL for six months during his last gig, but he’d finally phoned in a couple of weeks ago, much to their relief.
Finding Nate in their usual corner booth, Owen walked over and slid onto the vinyl bench, already reaching for the menu. He hadn’t eaten breakfast this morning. For some reason his stomach had been in knots, and when he’d come to work, those knots had gotten thicker and harder once he’d seen Maddie. She’d worn a dress today, a loose yellow sundress paired with cute little open-toed shoes, and once again, his traitorous body had reacted.
“Hey, everything okay?” Nate asked.