“It wasn’t easy,” she murmured, remembering things she would just as soon put behind her permanently.
“Why’s that?” He sounded almost offended. “King Construction has a great reputation.”
Katie smiled and said, “It’s nice that you’re so protective of the company you work for.”
“Yeah, well. The Kings have been good to me.” He scowled a bit and refocused on the task at hand. “So if you don’t like King Construction, what’re we doing here?”
Sighing a little, Katie told herself she really had to be more discreet. She hadn’t meant to say anything at all about the King family. After all, Rafe and the other guys worked for them. But now that she had, she wasn’t going to try to lie or squirm her way out of it, either. “I’m sure the construction company is excellent. All of the referrals I checked out were more than pleased with the work done.”
“But…?” He patted the wall, stood up and looked at her, waiting for her to finish.
Katie straightened up as he did and noticed that though she was five foot nine, he had at least four inches on her. He also had the palest blue eyes she had ever seen, fringed by thick eyelashes that most women would kill for. His black eyebrows looked as though they were always drawn into a frown. His mouth was full and tempting and his jaws were covered with just the slightest hint of black stubble. His shoulders were broad, his waist narrow and those jeans of his really did look amazingly good on him. A fresh tingle of interest swept through her almost before she realized it.
It was nice to feel something for an ordinary, everyday, hardworking guy. She’d had enough of rich men with more money than sense or manners.
He was still waiting, so she gave him a bright smile and said, “Let’s just say it’s a personal matter between me and one member of the King family.”
If anything, the perpetual scowl on his face deepened. “What do you mean?”
“It’s not important.” She shook her head and laughed. “Honestly, I’m sorry I said anything. I only meant that it was hard for me to hire King Construction, knowing what I do about the King family men.”
“Really.” He folded his arms over his chest and asked, “What exactly do you think you know about the Kings?”
His gaze was narrowed and fixed on her. She felt the power of that glare right down to her bones and even Katie was surprised at the tingle of something tempting washing through her. Suddenly nervous, she glanced over the back of the stove to look at the pipes as if she knew what she was seeing. Still, it gave her a second to gather her thoughts. When she felt steady again, she said, “You mean beside the fact that they’re too rich and too snobby?”
“Snobby?”
“Yes.” Katie huffed out a breath and said, “Look I know you work for them and I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I only know that I never want anything to do with any of them again.”
“Sounds ominous.”
She laughed at the idea. Katie doubted very much that Cordell King had given her a second thought since he’d abruptly disappeared from her life six months ago. No, the Kings steamrolled their way through the world, expecting everyone else to get out of their way. Well, from now on, she was going to oblige them.
“Oh, I don’t think any of the Kings of California are staying up nights wondering why Katie Charles hates their guts.”
“You might be surprised,” he said, dusting his hands off as he looked at her. She shifted a little under that direct stare. “You know, I’m a curious kind of guy. And I’m not going to be happy until I know why you hate the Kings.”
“Curiosity isn’t always a good thing,” she said. “Sometimes you find out things you’d rather not know.”
“Better to be informed anyway, don’t you think?”
“Not always,” Katie said, remembering how badly she’d felt when Cordell broke things off with her. She’d just had to ask him why and the answer had only made her feel worse.
Rafe smiled at her then and she noted how his features softened and even his eyes lost that cool, dispassionate gleam. Her heartbeat jittered unsteadily in her chest as her body reacted to the man’s pure male appeal. Then, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking, that smile of his widened and he actually winked at her.
But a moment later, he was all business again.
“Your temporary gas line is hooked up. But remember, we’re shutting the gas off during the day. We’ll let you know when it’s safe to use the stove.”
“Okay. Thanks.” She took a single step backward and Rafe walked past her, his arm brushing against hers as he did. Heat flashed through her unexpectedly and Katie took in a deep breath. Unfortunately, that meant she also got a good long whiff of his cologne. Something foresty and cool and almost as intriguing as the man himself. “And Rafe?”
“Yeah?”
“Please don’t repeat any of what I said about the King family. I mean, I probably shouldn’t have brought it up and I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable while you’re working here.”
He nodded. “Won’t say a word. But like I said, one of these days, I’m going to hear the rest of your story.”
Katie shook her head and said, “I don’t think so. The Kings are part of my past and that’s where I want to leave them.”
By the end of the first day, Katie was asking herself why she had ever decided to remodel. Having strangers in and out of her house all day was weird, having noisy strangers only made it worse.
Now though, they were gone and she was left alone in the shell of what had been her grandmother’s kitchen. Standing in the center of the room, she did a slow circle, her gaze moving over everything.
The floor had been torn up, right down to the black subfloor that was older than Katie. The walls were half torn down and the cabinet doors had been removed and stacked neatly in the back yard. She caught a glimpse of na**d pipes and groaned in sympathy with the old house.
“Regrets?”
She jumped and whirled around. Her heart jolted into a gallop even as she blew out a relieved breath. “Rafe. I thought you left with the others.”
He grinned as if he knew that he’d startled her. Then, leaning one shoulder on the doorjamb, he folded his arms across his chest. “I stayed to make sure your gas hookup in the back room was working.”
“And is it?”
“All set.”