Center Stage
Page 4

The door opened, and he looked up. He hadn’t expected to see a friendly face, and he was ready to throw his frozen mug of coffee at the person who let more cold in.
“Zach Benson, what are you doing here? You’re on maternity leave, and my guess is your assistant doesn’t know you’re here or she’d be dragging you back to your wife.”
Zach laughed and held his hand out to him. “Let’s just say I came by with photos of my new son.”
John shook his hand. “Nice way to make an excuse to check on the build.”
“Whatever it takes.” Zach pulled his iPhone from his pocket and brought up the picture. He handed it to John. “There are my boys. His name is Spencer.”
“Congratulations, my friend. He looks healthy.”
“He is. Tyler isn’t so sure of him, but something tells me they’ll be pals soon enough.”
John handed him back his phone. “They’re close enough Tyler will never remember not having Spencer around.”
Zach gave a glance at the plans on the wall. “Looks like you’re still on time and under budget.”
“I don’t run builds any other way.”
“From the seat I sit in, I thank you for that.” Zach slid his phone back into his pocket and bundled up his coat. “So how was Arianna this morning?”
“I didn’t see her. I got here at six, and she still wasn’t at the house.”
“Things could get very cozy with you two living within feet of each other.”
“I’m sure they could, but they won’t. I respect your sister-in-law. She’s safe with me around.”
Zach nodded. “You do know I get my share of gossip. Regan and Arianna are very tight.”
“And there is gossip where I’m concerned?”
“Just that Arianna took a liking to you.”
“Well, she’s a nice girl. Trust me, the last thing she needs is some old man, and I certainly don’t plan to hit the dating pool again.”
Zach shrugged. “At least she’ll have you close.”
He turned and left the office, and John rubbed the tension from his temples. He guessed it was time to find a new place to live.
It was past four in the afternoon when Arianna finally woke. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept that long. But she needed it.
For the past fifteen years she’d been burning the candle at both ends trying to make a name for herself. She’d done that, but there had to be more.
She rolled off the air mattress John had left her and headed downstairs for another piece of cold pizza. Perhaps she could arrange for someone to give her a lift to her sister’s house to pick up the car she kept there. There would need to be some groceries purchased. After all, a woman couldn’t live for long on cold pizza and beer.
By five o’clock she’d showered and changed her clothes. She made the little bed on the floor and arranged her suitcase just right. Housekeeping was easy if you only had one bed and one suitcase.
She pulled her phone from her pocket to call her brother when the doorbell rang. She hurried down the stairs to the door, and when she opened it, she certainly wasn’t disappointed. There stood John with a bag of groceries in his arms.
“I knew you didn’t have anything in your fridge yet so I brought a few staples.” He handed her the bag.
“How is it that in two days you’ve become my knight in shining armor.”
“I come with gray hair only, no armor.”
There was a flirtatious flutter in her, and it was going to surface. She couldn’t help it. The man did something to her.
“Some women find gray very sexy,” she said as she turned and walked toward the kitchen. “C’mon in for a bit.”
He shut the door and followed her.
She watched him walk slowly through the living room. She’d ruffled his feathers. But what she’d like to do is ruffle that hair he was complaining about.
She opened the door to the refrigerator and ducked behind it to keep her smile hidden. She was desperate. Maybe she should head to a bar, pick up a guy, and bring him home for a bounce on the air mattress. John wouldn’t be the guy to take her up on such, but he was certainly stirring her up.
“I figured you could use a ride to your sister’s house to get your car.”
Arianna closed the door to the refrigerator and nodded. “I had just picked up my phone to call Carlos and ask him to come get me when you showed up. So, yes, I could absolutely use a ride.”
“Then I’m your guy.”
He most certainly was.
She grabbed her coat and locked the front door. She followed him to the beat up truck in the driveway. “How come Zach doesn’t give you a company truck?”
John opened the door for her and waited for her to climb in. “I have one.” He shut the door and walked around to the other side.
“Then why don’t you drive it? This truck has to be as old as Tennessee.”
He gave a shrug and started the engine. It protested and finally growled into commission. “I never needed anything better. My tools are in the back, my name is on the title, and she’s paid for. What more does a guy need?”
“How about dinner?”
He turned and looked at her, his eyes questioning.
“Let me take you to dinner. This is the second time in two days you’ve come to my rescue.” She shook her head. “No, wait, the fourth.”
“Fourth?”
“I forgot to thank you for the bed.”
He chuckled. “My pleasure. Figured you’d rather have something to sleep on than the floor.”
“It was very appreciated. And thank you for the groceries.”
“My pleasure.”
She clasped her hands together and put them in her lap. She hoped the heater would start warming up. “So what do you say? Dinner?”
He bit down on his lip, and she figured he was going to turn her down. John Forrester wasn’t one to get mixed up with a woman, and here she was offering dinner. Oh, she was going to make him her pet project. She’d have her way with the man if it killed her, just to say she’d broken him.
“I suppose I could eat. What did you have in mind?”
“Bar-b-que.”
“Missed home, huh?”
“Absolutely.”
He wasn’t sure what he was doing driving her downtown for dinner. He should have told her no. It was bad enough he hadn’t found a new apartment yet and he was going to have to tell her he lived in the same house, and living under the same roof didn’t seem like a sound idea. The woman had him thinking thoughts he hadn’t thought in years. There was no way he was getting involved with the boss’s sister-in-law, for one, and he didn’t need another woman in his life. One had been enough.