A Hot Winter (New Adult Romance) (The Attraction Series Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

reached the kitchen at the back of the house, Emma explained, “So this is where the new floor needs to go.”
    Nodding, Matt pressed some buttons on his tablet screen with his stylus.  “Right, the engineered wood, I remember.”
    “Right, so I already bought the flooring.  I just need you to install it.”
    Matt gave a quiet chuckle at that.  When Emma glanced over, he was grinning at her.  “Yeah, the buying is generally the easy part.” 
    “Oh…well…” she stumbled, still feeling flustered.  This was ridiculous.  Why was she so nervous? 
    Suddenly she wished she had showered.  Brushed her hair.  Or her teeth.  Worn a shirt that didn’t resemble a maroon and yellow tarp with a hood. 
    “I’m kidding,” Matt assured her now.  “So what else?”
    At this point, Emma told him about the touchless faucets she needed installed in the bathrooms.  “Now can you do that?  Or should I call a plumber for that?”
    “No, I can do it.  I’ve done it many times.”
    “Well, I think that’s really it.”
    “Just the floors and the faucets?” he said, his stylus poised to click on more icons. 
    “I need to paint in the kitchen,” she explained.  “But I’m going to do that myself.”  She also planned to install her new light fixture herself, which was why she’d picked up the cordless drill.  The video online about light fixture installation didn’t seem all that daunting.  Surely she could figure it out.
    “Are you sure you don’t want me to take care of the painting?  Assuming you want two coats, the painting would only take two days.”
    “Yes,” Emma said emphatically, determined to save money and to remain as self-reliant as realistically possible.  “I painted my son’s bedroom once. I have no problem doing it myself.”
    “All right,” Matt agreed with a shrug.  “If you’re sure.”  When he finished tapping on his tablet, he closed the case and set his dark brown eyes on her. 
    Inadvertently, Emma shifted her gaze. “Thanks for doing this on short notice.  I’m sure it’s not how you want to spend your Christmas season.”
    At that, Matt smiled.  “Emma, this is how I spend every Christmas season.”  It was the first time he’d said her name and it sounded nice rolling off his tongue like that.  The deep timbre of his voice almost made the word sound sexy.  “I’m just going to go to my truck and print out the quote.” At the door, Matt paused, then surprised her by mentioning, “By the way, it’s nice to put a face to the voice.”
    “W-what?”
    “Because we spoke once. On the phone,” he told her.  Oh, God, he actually remembered that?  She’d been sure he wouldn’t.  “But you probably don’t remember,” he added casually.
    “Oh…yes, that’s right,” Emma replied, acting nonchalant, as if just recalling it now.  Because why even rehash it?  Why get personal at all?  This was going to be strictly business.

Chapter Seven
    “So let me get this straight,” Andy said, moving her cell to the other ear as she took her Starbucks cup from the barista with a smile and adjusted her book bag.  “You need me to do what now?”
    “Just back up my story,” Emma said.  This was after recapping Matt’s visit to the house and also their meeting at the hardware store earlier that week.
    “Okay,” Andy agreed reluctantly.  “But why on earth did you tell him all that stuff?  House swap?  French bread?  I didn’t know you were so…fanciful.”
    With a deprecating scoff, Emma said, “I’m not, believe me.  It was just…”  Patiently Andy waited while her sister seemed to search for a way to explain.  Finally, she sighed and said, “The truth is, I never thought I’d see him again.  It seemed harmless at the time.  He’d asked me out and since I’d already said I didn’t have a boyfriend, I didn’t want to just turn him down cold.  So I made up a little lie.”
    Little lie? Andy thought.  A little lie was: “I just