She didn’t have a house anymore. There were outside walls and a staircase going to the second floor, yet little else remained.
All the interior walls were gone. There were still a few studs in place, probably to keep the second and third floor from collapsing. There were a few windows, she noted, wondering if she should be grateful. She could see clear back through what had been the kitchen. The flooring was gone, as well.
“Don’t panic.”
She heard Wade before she saw him. He came around from behind the stairs and grinned.
“I swear, it’s going to be fine.”
“I think I’m more likely to faint than panic,” Andi admitted. “I can’t believe how much you got done in a day.”
“Isn’t it great? All our other jobs got delayed for one reason or another. Our entire team was here doing demo.”
“Lucky me.”
She was too shocked to do much more than take in his long legs and broad shoulders. The man looked good in jeans, she thought absently, telling herself she would appreciate his easy good looks later. When her heart had started beating again.
“I feel violated,” she admitted. That morning, she’d had a house. Now there was little more than a frame. Where did it go?
He put his hand on her arm. “Think of it as a good thing. The sooner everything is gone, the sooner we can get it put back together. Isn’t there a medical way for you to relate?”
“Only if we want to talk about my house in terms of it being an infection that has to be cut out.”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Yeah, that’s not going to make me feel much better.” Andi dropped her purse on the bottom stair. “Is there more ripping apart to be done?”
“Just the part of the hardwood floor that has to come up. We’ll refinish it later.”
Andi knew they’d talked about saving the floor and reusing it in the attic. “I’m glad I wasn’t here to see the deconstruction.”
“It was loud.”
He sounded cheerful. It was probably easier when the home being destroyed wasn’t your own, she thought.
“Come on,” he said, motioning to the rear of the house. “Let me show you what we’re thinking about for the employee break room. If you’re still interested in the mini-kitchen.”
She followed him, her gaze dropping to his heretofore-mentioned butt. Laura was right, Andi thought, her gaze lingering. Wade’s was pretty darned nice. Must be all the physical labor he did in a day.
“We were thinking cabinets here, with a counter. Single sink, but a deep one, a refrigerator.”
He indicated where each item would go.
“Lockers on this wall and more storage under the window. That would give you a second, long counter if you have buffet-style work parties.”
“How do you know about work parties?” she asked, smiling at him. “Is there a lot of that in construction?”
“Sure. We like theme parties. You know, tropical getaway or a costume party at Halloween.” He winked at her. “My foreman likes to dress up like Marilyn Monroe.”
“Does he?”
Wade grinned. “We’ve done business remodelings before. It’s always a good idea to keep the employees happy, and the mini-kitchens are usually well received.”
“I like it.”
“Good.” He studied her for a second. “How are you settling in with Dr. Harrington? He driving you crazy talking about his son?”
“Does everyone know about that?”
“Pretty much. You should have seen the college graduation pictures from a few years back.”
“I’m doing well,” she said. “Everyone has been very friendly. I have lots of patients. There seems to be demand for a pediatrician around here.”
“Lucky for you. Did you always want to be a doctor?”
She thought about her family and how there hadn’t been much of a choice. “Pretty much.”
“Your parents must be proud.”
They were more disappointed than anything, she thought. But that was difficult to explain to people who didn’t know how she’d grown up. Those who weren’t acquainted with her family assumed that they thought she was smart and successful. She wasn’t going to admit to hunky Wade that when compared with what her parents and siblings had accomplished, she was something of a slacker.
“My mother would have liked me to be a surgeon,” she said, knowing that wasn’t exactly the truth. Her mother would have liked her to specialize even more than that.
“Someone needs to talk to her about her standards,” Wade said. “I have a daughter. She’s twelve. Right now she has a different career idea every week, but not once has she mentioned being a doctor. I’d sure be thrilled if she did.”
“She doesn’t have to decide for a while.”
“That’s true. She’s growing up too fast as it is.” His dark gaze settled on her face. “What’s it like to be the smartest person in the room?”
“I’m hardly that.”
“You are right now.”
She laughed. “You forget you rescued me from a wild bat. Being smart didn’t help with him. Or her. I didn’t get that close a look.”
“Me, either,” Wade said.
“Regardless, you’re my hero for that.”
“I like the idea of being someone’s hero. Remember that tomorrow morning when you walk downstairs and see all this. It’ll keep you from freaking out.”
Andi was less sure about that, but she would make the effort.
He glanced at his watch. “I’ve got to get home, but I didn’t want to leave until we’d spoken.”
“Afraid I’d run screaming into the night?”
“Just trust me on this, Andi. It’s going to get better. In a few weeks, you won’t recognize the place.”
“I do trust you,” she said, caught up in his words.
Oddly enough, she did trust Wade. Which made her an idiot. She’d trusted Matt and he’d left her standing at the altar. Not that Wade was like her fiancé. Nor were they dating. He was her contractor and...
“Andi?”
She blinked. “Sorry. I drifted.”
“I could tell. It’s sort of charming. Just don’t do it when you drive.”
“I’m very focused behind the wheel.”
He looked at her, as if he was going to say something else. “We should go out” would be nice. Or “I want to kiss you senseless and then make wild love to you” was an even better option, she thought hazily.
No, she reminded herself. She’d moved here to avoid the whole boy-girl disaster, remember? No men. Which meant no sex. Or at least no sex with anyone else. How depressing.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He would what? Oh, right. “Sure. Tomorrow. Have a nice night.”
“You, too.”
He smiled and walked past her. She gave in to temptation and turned to watch him go. Yup, Laura had been right, she told herself. The man had a very fine butt. In