she get this nice-guy impression of him? Was she a friend or relative of a previous construction client? Is that why he thought she looked vaguely familiar? “Where did you hear about Loose Screws?”
Sliding off the end of the bed, she went to the dresser across from the foot of it. She grabbed a T-shirt and tugged it over her head. “I pulled a business card off a bulletin board in one of the downtown shops.”
She’d covered herself up for his sake, Thad knew. But the T-shirt skimming just south of her sex and her nipples pressing against the thin fabric were in some ways more erotic than having her stand naked before him. He focused on her face. “You don’t know any of the company’s past clients?”
“No.” She frowned. “Should that concern me?”
So much for her trust. Not that he could blame Lissa for rescinding it after what went down. He wasn’t a nice guy, but her behavior now suggested she was usually a nice girl. “They’ve all been happy with the end results. I can give you a list of references if you’d like.”
Her smile came back. “Not necessary. Like I said, I trust you.”
Damn big mistake there, giving that trust right back again. Of course, it wouldn’t matter in his decision making, since Loose Screws couldn’t afford to turn down this job. “My partners and I will fix your roof, on the condition you don’t say anything to them about what happened.”
“Oh. Okay.”
She looked chagrined, like she thought he was disgusted with himself for sleeping with her. Knowing the strange way most women’s minds worked, she probably thought he was put off by her fuller figure.
Hell, if she knew the truth….
She couldn’t know the truth, but he also wouldn’t leave her thinking the worst. “For the record, I want it to happen again, but it’s not going to. I need to keep my energy saved up for activities that pay the bills.”
“He was such a nice guy.” Legs dangling over the edge of the kitchen counter, Lissa lay back against the white and blue Formica and pouted at the water-stained ceiling. Thad had been gone more than an hour and she still couldn’t stop moping over his parting words. “All he cared about was my pleasure, Sammy. Just me. That has never happened before.”
“I always put your pleasure first when we were an item, so I’ll assume present company doesn’t count. As for lover boy, don’t you worry, honey, he’ll be here Monday morning wearing nothing but a tool belt and that suck-u-licious smile.”
She laughed. “You wish.” Sobering, she admitted, “So do I.” But the odds were next to zilch.
Thad had put her needs first for a short while, but his primary focus was on work. It proved what a nice guy he was, to tell her the truth of his priorities instead of dragging her into a relationship the way so many past jerks had done, Sam non inclusive. True to his word, Sam had always put her first, but that was years ago, back before he realized men were more his style.
As if to contradict the thought, Sam moved between her thighs. He bunched her ankle-length skirt in his hands, lifting the gauzy green material up and away from her legs and planting a wet kiss on her inner thigh. Lissa shot to a sitting position with the unexpected move and the flutter of arousal that accompanied it.
He grinned. “Sean’s not expecting me for another half hour. Would a friendly kitty lick cheer you up?”
“Probably. But I don’t have the time for it. I have another appointment with the Sugar Shack.” Liar. She had plenty of time before the meeting and, since she rarely worked more than a few hours on Saturday, had no plans to spend it in her basement office.
So why was she turning Sam down? He was a god with his tongue. Thad had been just as gifted, but then Thad wasn’t here, offering up his oral services.
Sam slapped her thigh. “You’re a terrible liar, Liss.”
She used to get wet from his love slaps. Even when he’d done it teasingly the last few years, she’d enjoyed a little buzz of sensation. Today, his playful swat made her wish it was Thad’s powerful body sandwiched between her thighs.
Easing Sam aside, she pushed off from the countertop and let the skirt fall down around her legs. “I do have an appointment.”
“Not for another hour, when the candy store shuts down for the night. I heard the message on the answering machine this morning.”
“Oh.” She should have known better than to attempt to lie to him. She just didn’t want his paranoia striking and making him say something ridiculous, like suggesting she’d gone and set her heart on Thad being the one to finally put her front and center. Not that the suggestion would have been so ridiculous, considering that was exactly what Lissa had done.
Really, who could blame her for getting her hopes up? He’d seemed so perfect: hard, bad-boy outer shell with a soft, creamy, nice-guy filling.
“You know the real reason so many nice guys finish last?”
She was sick of the question, but answering it was preferable to thinking about Thad’s creamy filling and bemoaning the fact she’d never gotten to taste it. “So their leading ladies can come in first.”
“The other reason,” Sam said seriously.
She frowned. “I didn’t know there was another one.”
“It’s because they’re afraid to put themselves out there. Sounds to me like you caught Thad on a naughty nice-guy day, which was just fine until his head cleared enough to consider his behavior. He probably felt guilty as hell over hopping into bed with you so quick and came up with the first excuse he could to avoid falling to temptation a second time.”
Lissa’s heart beat faster. Was he suggesting there was still a chance of her being Thad’s number one, assuming his personality measured up to his dynamite body? “You think work isn’t his first priority?”
“Could be it is. Or it could be he’s intimidated by his lust for you. He’s going to be here next week, working on the roof. If you really want a chance with him, use the time to get to know him with your clothes on.”
“I can do that.” How hard could it be to forget the rigorously sculpted torso hiding beneath his shirt? Her sex tingled as the vision of her hands running over his muscled, suntanned chest flashed through her mind. Maybe it would be a little difficult. “Just in case things don’t work out, the kitty lick offer will still be good, right?”
Sam gave the laugh that said she was being her shameless self again. “Give me a few hours advance notice and I’ll have my tongue primed and ready.”
Dark brown eyes glistening with amusement, Nash took a drag from his cigarette while he considered Thad from the opposite side of the wood pub table. He let out a puff of smoke, followed by a bark of laughter. “She thinks you’re a nice guy. Damn, man, now I’ve heard everything.”
Thad hadn’t told the guys the whole story of what went down with Lissa, just that in order to get contracted for her roof job, he had to convince her he was a nice guy. “Go ahead. Yuck it up.” He sent a pointed look Benny’s way. “But remember when you can make bills next month who you owe for landing us another legal job.”
Nash stubbed his cigarette out in an ashtray. “Gertie’s requests might not exactly be legal, but she already took care of next month’s bill. Had such a fine time ogling Benny Boy up, she invited him back for seconds last night.”
“This time she touched.” Benny winced. “We’ve got to have an age cutoff. I can’t handle being stroked by an eighty-year-old. I just kept seeing the wrinkled faces of the residents in Mom’s nursing home.” With a second wince, he grabbed his mug of beer from the table and took a long drink. He wiped the residue from his blond mustache with the back of his hand. “Christ, I can’t go that route again.”
Thad and Nash gave nods of understanding. The burgers