Draw Me Close Read Online Free PDF Page B

bedroom wall she could hear her sister Mel and her husband Brett while they gave their three-month-old daughter a bath. Their goofy laughs and baby talk made her smile.
    She clicked over to check comments on her previous post. These days all of her blog contributions revolved around the “Anne’s Dream House Renovation” feature. But she was enjoying it. Once the house was done she would go back to posting DIY tutorials, antiques and flea market visits, and other crafting highlights. She enjoyed interacting with their readers, answering questions, garnering ideas, sharing a passion for repurposing and upcycling. The blogging community was fantastic and inspiring. She loved that Anne, Callie, and herself had bonded over the blog and built their own tiny empire. If said empire could provide her with enough income for an apartment soon, all the better.
    Up until two months ago Lindsey had been living with a roommate, but then out of nowhere the roommate had decided to get married in Vegas, leaving Lindsey homeless when she couldn’t afford to cover the entire rent on her own. Kind of a jerk move from someone she’d considered a friend, but what could she do? At that point her finances had already started to become precarious. The worst part was that she feared she was on the precipice of a downward spiral, because without a good place to create, there was nothing to sell. And without products, there was no money coming in.
    Anne and Mike were paying her for her design work on the house, and they’d been very kind and generous, but it wasn’t enough to get her a place of her own. Especially when she was getting paid in chunks. She needed to build a bigger cushion before she felt safe again. It would be really nice if her father paid her back what he’d borrowed, but something deep inside told her that money was long gone.
    Lindsey closed her laptop and fell back on the bed as Mel’s baby-talk voice seeped through the wall. “Look at you, little bean. You love your bath, don’t you? Yes you do. Yes you do.”
    She was beginning to wonder if she’d ever have that. A family. A husband. Happiness and stability. But unfortunately that all required meeting someone. Dating, kissing, sex, marriage. And while guys liked her, asked her out even, she was always so hesitant to put herself out there. What happened when she realized they’d only been looking for a one-night stand?
    And it had happened. A few times, so the struggle was real.
    Lifting her leg, Lindsey pulled off her sock, then the other, and wiggled her body under the sheets. For a few moments she tried not to focus on the sounds of the condo beyond her door and walls.
    Reaching up to the nightstand, Lindsey flipped off the lamp, closed her eyes, and nestled into her pillow. It was only eight-thirty but she had an early morning tomorrow. She was meeting Anne to go over some tile and stain choices. Sleep also had the benefit of keeping her mind from wandering.
    And yet … wander it did. Because thoughts of the tile made her think about the house, which made her think about Derek once again. No surprise. The width of his shoulders, how his tool belt hung on his hips. He wasn’t that old, only thirty, but he looked as though he’d spent a lot of time battling the elements. The roughened outdoorsy look worked for him. He basically had no business walking around everyday life like hunky calendar fodder. And of course she’d also spent way too much time overanalyzing every interaction. Every look, touch, even the things Vanessa had said. Lindsey didn’t think Derek still had any feelings for her at all. Not really. It had been eight years. Certainly he had guilt and maybe regret. But those weren’t the kind of feelings she was looking for from a man. His final words from the other day continued to ring in her ears.
    I guess I have my work cut out for me.
    Why did he care so much? And what exactly did he