Lucky Break (Lucky 3)

She turned. “From the letters I wrote you…” Her voice trailed off as she caught the stunned expression on his face. “You didn’t get any letters, did you?”

He shook his head, the regret in his expression as obvious as the pain she’d been through all those years ago.

“I’d lay odds my grandmother intercepted your mail at the post office.” Her reach had been that far, her deviousness that deep. Lauren drew a calming breath. “It doesn’t matter now anyway.”

Even if he’d received her letters, she had no way of knowing whether he’d have waited for her. If his feelings had been as serious as hers.

She was wrong, Jason thought. It mattered. He just didn’t know how much. What would he have done differently if he’d known where to find her? If he’d known she still wanted him and he hadn’t been just a brief summer fling she’d forgotten about as soon as she’d been sent home?

He shook his head at the unanswered questions, knowing too well how futile it was to try to change the past.

He was better off focusing on the future. “If that’s true, if it doesn’t matter, then you should have no problem hiring me for your construction project.” He brushed her hair off her shoulder, sliding his fingers down the long strands.

The silky sensation shot through his body as if he were stroking her bare skin.

“If we’re going to work together, we need to have boundaries.” Her voice shook, telling him his touch affected her, too. “You shouldn’t have manipulated me to get this job.”

“I tried asking you outright,” he reminded her. “You turned me down.” He shot her a sheepish, apologetic grin.

“That doesn’t excuse your underhanded dealings,” she said, trying to sound stern.

And failing. A cute smile pulled at her lips.

Jason knew how to push to get what he wanted. His persistence had paved the way for him to win successive snowboarding championships until he’d been derailed. He knew Lauren had come here because she was out of options, but he didn’t want to force her. He wanted to make her acquiescence as easy as possible.

“Look, if it’s any consolation I was going to tell you eventually. I’m not big on secrets. I just wanted an in, something you weren’t about to give me. So can’t we just move on from here? What do you say?”

She finally shrugged. “I say we get to work.” She extended her hand and he grasped it.

On contact, white-hot darts of desire licked at his veins.

“Not so fast,” she said, throwing the equivalent of cold water over him.

She attempted to slide her hand out of his grasp, but he held on tight.

“What is it?” he asked.

“You have to agree to my rules.”

“And what would those be?” he asked, amused.

“All work and no play. So do we have an agreement?”

He burst out laughing. Did she honestly believe they could work together and not act on their crazy attraction?

“Something funny?” she asked.

He shook his head, sobering fast. “There’s nothing remotely amusing about that rule,” he said.

“I agree. So?”

He swallowed a groan.

What choice did he have if he wanted entry into her life? He also wanted entry into her body again, but he was a long way from that particular goal. Unless he could figure out a way around her stipulation, he was destined for cold showers for the next few weeks.

Her hand remained inside his. He caressed her palm with his thumb and she inhaled a barely audible sigh. It was low but he heard it and his body reacted, hardening in an instant.

That’s when he realized he had a solution. “We have a deal,” he said, adding one qualification. “As long as I have the right to try and change your mind.”