The Maverick's Red Hot Reunion (Entangled Indulgence) Read Online Free PDF Page B

his nose and pressed the recollection back inside his mind’s vault.
    Kennedy’s assistant walked outside, clipboard in hand, taking the stairs two at a time. “Got another batch of paperwork for you to sign,” Caleb said.
    “Got a pen?”
    “Here.” Caleb passed it to Zach. “Place looks better.”
    He scribbled his name, handed the sheets back. “We keep up this pace, we’ll be finished by December. Open for business by Christmas.”
    Already he and Kennedy had transformed the lodge from dull and listless to glamorous and dynamic. The rusty iron gates had been replaced with glossy black metal. The interior had been stripped of old wallpaper and outdated paint, then primed for the new color palette.
    Zach looked around the compound. Heavy equipment moved dirt, the gears shifting and creaking. Voices called for more wood, more help, more muscle.
    “Have the supplies arrived for the hot springs renovation?” he asked.
    “Due next week,” Caleb said. “You wanna go to the tavern with us tonight? We’re shooting darts, knocking a few beers back.”
    “Can’t. I’m busy.”
    “Maybe next weekend.”
    “Perhaps.” Doubtful. If he had his way, he’d be with Kennedy.
    He gazed at the top of the lodge. The sun rose high in the sky. He could see Kennedy climbing the ledges across the roof. She’d never been intimidated by heights. Nor had she been frightened of anything but the dark. She was supple and surefooted. Her hard hat hid most of her hair, but a few errant curls whipped her cheeks.
    Something clutched low in his belly, making him want more than a physical reunion. Making him remember days when she’d tease him about his fear. How could he imagine scaling fifteen-story luxury hotels during their construction phase when he had an extreme phobia of heights? She’d coaxed him to the roof time and time again in her determination to help him overcome his anxiety.
    “She walks on that roof like she owns it,” he said.
    Caleb grinned. “Hell, she’s been climbing scaffolding and crawling on roofs ever since she’s been old enough to untie her mama’s apron strings and hitch a ride to the construction sites in her daddy’s truck.”
    “Her father taught her well.”
    “If anyone can get Sweetbriar Springs and the surrounding region in the black again, Kennedy’s the person to make it happen,” Caleb said.
    In the days since he’d arrived at Sweetbriar Springs, shocked to find his ex-fiancée on the site, Zach had grown a grudging respect for Kennedy’s business savvy. That she’d gone on to get an MBA hadn’t surprised him. He’d never had any doubt in her abilities. Now she’d melded her hands-on experience with book smarts.
    A surge of pride flowed through Zach’s veins. “She’s always wanted to build.” Not just houses and lodges and skyscrapers, but dreams. Dreams that had once included Zach. And after the charged moment they’d shared earlier, he doubted her dismissal of their attraction 100 percent.
    Zach clenched his jaw, worked the tension back and forth. He’d returned to Sweetbriar Springs for Michael. The man who’d befriended him in college and brought him home for holidays and summer jobs was like a brother to him. Michael deserved to see this project succeed. But Zach hadn’t counted on working with Kennedy, still wanting her. And knowing she returned his physical feelings only added to his desire. He had to get this damned attraction out of his system once and for all.
    Then he’d move on with his heart intact.
    A sharp sound crackled overhead. Zach snapped his head toward the sound. A sheet of shingles scraped down the lodge’s rooftop. Three fell to the ground with a clunk, clunk, clunk.
    And Kennedy’s hard hat disappeared from view.
    Zach’s heart lurched and adrenaline squirted acid in his mouth. “Get the first aid kit. She could be hurt,” he shouted.
    “On it.” Caleb took off running.
    Zach raced for the scaffolding. A dizzy, suffocating pressure banded