Dare to Forgive (The Dare 3)
She smiled and said thank you as she met him at the back of his truck. Will of course looked amazing. He wore a pair of jeans and a tight navy blue T-shirt that showed off his pectoral muscles. He towered over her as she stood in flip flops and asked if he needed help as he let the tail gate down.
“Not at all. You just stay looking beautiful while I get this thing inside.”
She noticed the picture on the box and she gasped. This fan was an expensive fan. More like five hundred dollars than fifty dollars and that was at wholesale prices for large numbers of inventory.
“Will, I can’t take this. That’s got a copper finish and real wood and those light covers are made of hand-blown glass. The covers alone are more than fifty dollars.”
“Adel, don’t worry about it. The fans are just sitting there collecting dust and eventually will be tossed out or used elsewhere. This is a great fan and will help keep you comfortable on those hot, summer nights,” he said and lifted the box.
She held the door open as he brought the box into the small living room. She was embarrassed about him seeing her small place. His place was big. He and his brothers had a huge house with lots of property and only a block from the beach.
“I don’t think the box is going to fit down this hallway. This is cute, Adel,” he told her as he looked at her. He appeared so big, too big in her small living room.
“It’s perfect for me, considering I live alone. I don’t need much,” she said, feeling embarrassed as she lowered her head. She felt his fingers under her chin and she immediately looked up toward him.
“Hey, it’s perfect for one person. So where’s your bedroom?” he asked and she gulped.
Since leaving Spencer’s last night with Mercedes she was feeling a bit nervous. Mercedes believed that Will and Leo were setting the groundwork for claiming Adel as their woman, and Steve and his brothers were pissed about it because they liked her, too. The thought had her up most of the night. Where Steve and his brothers showed their interest in her, or at least Steve did at work by flirting, Will, Hank, and Leo did not. They complimented her here and there and seemed to be concerned whenever she wasn’t smiling, and even now, Will offered to help with the fan, but he did agree that he wasn’t flirting with her. He didn’t want Steve installing the fan because Steve was a flirt. That was the only reason why Will volunteered.
“I just need to grab my tools. Also, do you know where the main circuit breaker box is? I’ll need to turn off the line going to this fan.”
“Sure. I’ll show you. It’s in the small room in the back.”
She calmed herself down and rationalized the situation as Will grabbed his tools. Fifteen minutes later he was struggling to get the old fan down and noticed some faulty wiring.
“This isn’t good, Adel. The wiring is all bad. I’ll have to replace this but I don’t know if I can do that without breaking into the sheetrock to get to the main hookups. It looks like the previous owner must have swapped out the new fan with an old one.”
“Figures. This place was on the market for quite some time but it fit my budget when I first got here. I can always get someone to come back and fix the sheetrock. I probably could do it myself.”
“You? Not happening. I’ll do it or even Leo. He’s great at spackling and taping, too. He’ll make it look like nothing ever happened.”
She heard her phone ringing.
“Go answer that. I’ll be a bit trying to get this sucker down.”
She walked out of the room and answered the phone.
“When I tell you to call me you’d better do it. Now enough is enough, Adel. We need to talk.”
“No, we don’t. I’ve got nothing to say to you. What don’t you understand about that?” she asked, raising her voice.
“You’re awfully mouthy. You don’t want to piss me off, Adel.”
“Or what? You’ll hit me? I’m not afraid of you. Just leave me alone and stop calling me.”
“Never, Adel. I’ll make your life a living hell. I want you back.”
“Never happening. Leave me alone.” She disconnected the call and threw her phone onto the couch. She covered her face with her hands.
“Adel.” She heard Will’s voice and gasped, instantly feeling embarrassed. He must have heard her phone call. Oh God what he must be thinking.
She turned toward him and wiped her eyes before the tears fell and forced a smile.
“Were you able to get it? Do you need help?” she asked and went to walk by him but Will grabbed her arm to stop her. He stared down into her eyes, his expression of concern and sympathy.
“Who was that? Is someone bothering you? A man?”
“Please don’t ask me any questions. I’m fine. I’ve got this.”