Page 79 of Admittedly For Me

“Tori knows her design and is really personable with the clients. I think once she gets a bit more settled into country life, this will be a great place for her.”

“I’m excited to meet her. Savannah says they’re a lot alike.” I smile.

“Tori has a bit more bite than Savannah when it comes to proving a point. If Tori knows she is right about something and can back it up, she’s going at it full force.”

“Oh boy. And Rhett is the same.” A giggle sounds through my chest as I picture them arguing. “Have you needed to be the middleman?”

“Surprisingly, no. They’re both extremely professional at work and try to talk things out. They each control different parts of the project. Tori is just a neat freak and gets annoyed with Rhett’s tools laying around.” He clears his throat. “It’s almost like they want to avoid each other and me right now. Something is up, but I don’t feel like it’s them sleeping together.” I bite my tongue, feeling slightly guilty about the things I am keeping from him. “But if they argue at his farm, I wouldn’t know.” I yawn and try to hide it.

He makes a kissing sound through the phone. “Anyway, I’ll let you sleep. Sweet dreams, my love.”

“I’ll be dreaming of you.” I end the call, and to my surprise, I get a full six hours of sleep that night.

Chapter25

Ian

“Dude, you’re an hour late,”our buddy Tyler calls out as Rhett walks around the back of the house. “We ate already, but there’re burger patties if you want to throw them on the grill.”

“Yeah, I wasstarving,” Brielle, Tyler’s six-year-old daughter, yells from her trampoline.

“I, uh, got caught up with Tori.”Rhett avoids my eyes, and I instantly jump to conclusions. “We took on this side project two weeks ago for the next town over. We should be finishing up soon.”

“Caught upspoken in a suspicious tone?” I shake my head, glaring at him. “You better not have fucked her.”

“Language,” Tyler throws out in the direction of his daughter.

“Sorry.” I cringe, forgetting there are little ears present. “It’s not often we meet at your place with her around.”

“Well, my parents are on vacation right now, so I’ve had to shift work hours, and Savannah is busy with Tori tonight.”

“Man, Tori is a hot piece of…butt,” Dax pipes up. “City girl has those toned legs you only get from heels.”

“Savannah has toned legs, and she doesn’t wear heels,” Tyler mentions as we turn our attention to him. “I mean-I’m just saying, if someone works out…they have toned legs,” he stammers, eyes averting ours. “Look at all of us. We are all really fit because we work for it.”

“Dude, you need to get back in the dating world.” Dax chuckles, tipping the neck of his beer bottle toward him. “Savannah is my cousin, though, so keep those dirty thoughts to yourself.”

“There aren’tanythoughts.” Tyler shakes his head and looks over at his daughter.

“Back to Rhett, please,” I cut in. “Didn’t you say the project is wrapping up soon?”

“Yeah, a friend of mine wants part of a bakery redone.” Rhett sips his beer before continuing. “We have been pulling long nights, so if you’re able to make a few things for it, that would be helpful.”

“Sure.” I shrug. “It’s not like I’m sleeping much.”

“Tori has the color palette and layout. I’ll have her call you about the style and stain to use tomorrow.”

“I’ll build the stuff this weekend. Tell your friend to make some goodies for us.” It’s been a while since I ventured to the next town over, and I know a couple of places there have great pastries.

“Perfect.” He smirks and takes out his phone.

“What’s it like living with her?” Dax asks, throwing another burger on the grill for himself.

“She’s not in my house, but we share the balcony that leads to her attached living space. Miss California only watches the goats from afar, and when the chickens came near her and flapped their wings, her scream was blood-curdling.” Rhett assembles his burgers and shakes his head. “She’s pretty on the eyes, but there isn’t an ounce of country in her besides the cowboy boots on her feet and songs coming out of her radio.”

“And whenyoueventually get inside her.” Dax grins, eying me on purpose.

“Nah, I’m behaving with this one,” Rhett thankfully replies.