Should’ve Known It’s You (Not You Again #7)

Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

KENNEDY

U tterly exhausted after all the hours we’d been putting into the house, I’d dragged myself out of bed this morning and arrived at the random address Austin had texted me at six a.m. as promised. I had no idea why he’d insisted that I meet him here at this godforsaken hour on such a damp morning when it was more than just a little chilly out, but I was choosing to focus on the positives—and the caffeine.

I had a coffee in my hand and at least he’d told me that I could dress comfortably, so I was prepared for the cold in a pair of sweats, cozy shoes, and a warm jacket. My hair was unwashed and up in a bun, and I wasn’t wearing any makeup or jewelry.

Just me in my natural, homebody state.

Austin arrived just as I did, climbing out of his car also wearing sweats, and for a moment, I forgot all about the cold and rain. As he shut his door and slid his hands into the pockets of his puffy, black jacket, I couldn’t help but notice how good he looked—from the front and the back.

When he’d done a half turn to slam his door, I’d caught a glimpse of his firm ass in those pants, and the bulge when he spun again and jogged over to me drew my eyes down for a moment. My body suddenly felt much warmer, most of the heat centered around my nether regions as I took him in, his dark hair damp and a bit of stubble on his jaw.

It seemed he was in his natural homebody state as well, and that did way more to me than any fancy suit ever would. On the other hand, my attraction to this man was getting more and more out of control. At this point, I was liable to climb him like a tree, while licking him like a lollipop, all while riding him like a wild bull—and honestly, it could happen at any moment.

It felt like all I needed was a gentle breeze and I would be on him like white on rice. Not a good look for a new business owner and her investment banker/life coach/friend. I sighed, yanking my eyes away from the goods and meeting his gaze instead. “Care to tell me what we’re doing here yet? It’s a random storage locker.”

“But a massive one,” he joked, reaching into his pocket for a set of keys. “Good morning, Kenny.”

“Good morning, Austin.” I fought a soft smile at the way he said my name, nearly groaning out loud over how likely it was that I was going to make a complete fool of myself over him real soon. “Seriously, do you want to tell me what we’re doing here?”

I glanced around, clutching my coffee in one hand with the other buried deep in my pocket, but I kept feeling like we were being watched. I knew it was unlikely, but it was just unsettling to be at a place like this while it was still dark out.

Huge pools of light illuminated the street in front of the row of storage units, but there were plenty of shadowy corners and alleys between them. I shivered a little bit, bringing my coffee closer to my chest as I followed him to the door.

“I’m going to show you what we’re here for in a minute.” He strode to the sturdy padlock on one side of the door, pushing a key into it and twisting before sliding the huge door open.

As he did, he revealed a float inside. Turning to give me a smile, he walked with the door to the other side of the large storage unit. “It’s the one I got for the dinner party. It’s a blank canvas just for you, and it’s waiting for you to pour all your creativity into it.”

Stunned, I stared at the float standing inside the cavernous space and I was surprised again when another car pulled up. A well-dressed, middle-aged woman climbed out, her high-heeled boots, fancy wool coat, and black leather gloves a far cry from my own attire, but she grinned as she strode toward us.

“Kennedy,” Austin said as he stepped forward. “Meet Anita Adamson. She’s been working on Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade floats for almost two decades, and she’s here to help you bring your vision to life and make sure that it’s as eye-catching as possible.”

“It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Kennedy,” Anita said, gracefully extending a hand toward me. “We’re going to turn this into a showstopper. Austin told me a little bit about your business and I’m excited. This is going to be a fantastic project.”

“Thank you,” I half said, half breathed as I shook her hand, unable to believe how far Austin was going for me. “I’m excited too. I just need a minute to process all this. I mean, wow.”

I glanced at him, my heart skipping and jumping as he looked back at me. A silent beat passed between us and all kinds of butterflies took flight in my stomach. Then the manager arrived to help us execute our plans and the moment was shattered, but it had been one I would never forget.

This man was going above and beyond for me in a way no one else ever had, and it meant so much more to me than I would ever be able to tell him. Not only that, but he also believed in me, and the kind of support he was giving me in that sense was hard to come by.

Austin really was the whole package, and as I turned to follow him and Anita into the storage unit, I couldn’t resist checking out his ass for another second. Then I suddenly realized this had become so much more than that. My feelings for him went way beyond physical attraction, but I couldn’t exactly put a name on them right then.

I had never felt this deeply about a man before. I was in uncharted waters and it was thrilling and scary at the same time.

Austin strode to the other side of the unit and turned on the lights, nearly blinding us all for a moment as our eyes adjusted. Then Anita pulled off her gloves and smiled at me. “This is your show, honey. I’ll give you my thoughts and we had some supplies delivered yesterday. We also have a team of designers, carpenters, painters, animators, metal fabricators, and electricians coming in to help us get it done, but it’s going to be your ideas that bring it together.”

I glanced at Austin and then at the float, my gaze drifting to the mountain of supplies behind him before my heart started racing again. With everything else that had been going on, I hadn’t given much thought to what a daunting task this would be, and I suddenly wasn’t sure it had been a great idea after all.

“Do you really think we have enough time to pull this off?” I asked nervously. “Don’t people usually spend months on these things?”

“Some do,” she replied, unbuttoning her coat to reveal her own comfortable sweater underneath. “We’ve got a few days of work ahead of us for sure, but I’m confident that we can do it. We just need to get started.”

I dragged in a deep breath before I nodded, exhaling slowly and pushing my sleeves up to my elbows. “Alright. Let’s do this. I think the main thing that we need to keep in mind is that the hotel and the restaurant are not two separate things. The hotel is the restaurant. I want people to feel at home, no matter where they come from or who they are. Somehow, we need the float to convey that message.”

“Excellent.” Anita smiled. “We’ll go for home, family, and togetherness as a theme, then. As soon as people see this float, what we need to evoke is that warm feeling when you walk into your house. We need to give them that urge to call their moms and go seek out a home-cooked meal.”

Surprised that she’d gotten it completely spot-on immediately, I felt a flutter of excitement in my stomach. Maybe we really can get this done.

As soon as we started unboxing the basic supplies Austin had had sent over, I grinned. There was a lot of stuff here for us to work with, and as I looked it all over, I suddenly saw a flash of a picture in my head of what we could do with it all.

Eager to get started, we dove right in and I outlined the picture I’d just seen to Anita, who seemed confident she could help me get it done. We spent all day working on it, ordering insane amounts of coffee, water, and some food to keep us going throughout the day, but even while we drank, ate, and snacked, we kept working.

Anita was a machine, Austin was the willing muscle, and the manager was a consummate professional, making helpful suggestions without taking over and doing an amazing job keeping everyone on track.

The sun was already starting to set outside by the time we called it a day. I glanced at the float, which had the basic structures done but not much else, and worry gnawed at my insides. “Do you guys still think we can get it done on time? There’s still a lot of work to do before it’ll be finished.”

“We have the skilled crew coming in tomorrow,” Anita said. “We have enough to go on and I’m completely confident in their abilities. Don’t worry about a thing, Kennedy. The next time you see this float, it’s going to knock the breath right out of you.”

“I can’t wait to see it finished,” I said, my gaze on the work we’d done today as I tried to imagine what the final product was going to look like. “Thank you so much for all your help. I truly appreciate it.”

“Anytime, darling.” She shot us a smile and left, the manager following in her wake after saying her goodbyes as well.

Austin and I headed outside too, and I stretched my back while waiting for him to lock up behind us. Sore from the physical work of the day, I groaned as I straightened up out of my stretch. “Good heavens, I don’t know how Anita does it. I’m probably just over half her age and I’m not going to be able to move tomorrow.”

He chuckled. “Same. I’m already dreading the day after tomorrow too. It’s going to kick our asses, but we got a lot done today, so it’ll be worth it.”

“What happened to the farm boy in you?” I teased. “He wouldn’t be complaining about a bit of manual labor.”

“First, that wasn’t only a bit, and second, I’m starting to think float-building is a lot more strenuous than farming. There’s different muscles involved, for sure.”

I laughed. “Teenage you would be ashamed.”

“Thirty-something me is honest,” he retorted playfully, falling into step beside me as we strode to his car. “You’re welcome to come over to my place for a soak in the hot tub. I’ll even throw in a massage.”

Instantly, my pulse skyrocketed and other parts of my body suddenly started aching again, just like they had this morning, but unfortunately, I had to turn him down. “I promised Winrey we’d sit down and talk baby-shower plans tonight. Raincheck?”

“Deal,” he agreed, but I saw a flash of disappointment in his eyes that probably mirrored my own.

As we reached his car, our gazes locked and held, and I wondered if either of our bodies would be able to handle a quickie in the car after a day like today. I was dangerously close to suggesting we give it a try, but in the end, I decided against propositioning him.

I wanted to—I really, really wanted to—but we were working together. We were sort of friends. He was helping me shoot for the stars with the fundraiser and the float, and the last thing I wanted to do was jeopardize the harmony of our relationship right then.

So instead of winding my arms around his broad shoulders and pulling him to me, I smiled and took a step back to put some distance between us. “Thank you for everything today, Austin. It really means a lot to me. I’d better get going, but enjoy your soak in the hot tub.”

There was a glint of something naughty in his eyes before he blinked it away and nodded. “Sure thing. Say hi to Winrey for me.”

“I will.” I knew I had to leave, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to move my eyes or my feet just yet.

In fact, my entire body and soul seemed hellbent on staying right here, with him, as if a part of who I was had gotten entangled in a part of him, but eventually, I blinked hard and gave myself a mental shake. Then I spun and walked away.

A twinge deep inside made me feel like I’d left that part of myself behind, but I forced myself to forget about it. It was probably nothing and I needed to start remembering that. Fate might’ve brought Austin and me together as the answer to my professional prayers, but that was all it was. All it ever could or would be.