His By Design Read Free Page A

a good report. He’d done some work for her at the bed and breakfast and when she checked out his carpentry she was impressed. But if every conversation with him was going to be a struggle, it didn’t matter how skilled he was, she simply wasn’t up for the annoying banter.
    She glanced at her watch. He’d said ten minutes, nine minutes ago. “Let’s see how prompt the man is,” she mumbled to herself, and went to unlock the front door.
    By the time she got there, he was standing on the other side, looking like a Renaissance angel in grunge clothes. He took off his helmet and damp brown hair, too gorgeous to belong to any guy, sprang into soft curls around his face. Oh Lord, this guy was going to be trouble. She tried to swallow on a suddenly dry throat and opened the door. “Good morning, Jeff. I—”
    He thrust a brown paper sack at her and curved his incredible lips into a smile. “You said you had coffee so I brought the danish. I hope you like lemon filling.”
    “You had time to stop for pastry?” She opened the bag and the heavenly scent of fresh-baked breakfast rolls drifted out. How could he possibly have had time to . . .? Who cared? Her stomach was already rumbling.
    “Yeah, well, the lady who runs the bakery knows me, so she let me in a few minutes before opening time to get these.”
    How old was the lady who ran the bakery and how well did he know her? Not my business, she told herself sternly. She relocked the front door. “Come on back.”
    They settled at her desk and she refilled her mug and poured a fresh cup into the Thermos cap for Jeff. “I hope you like it black, I don’t have creamer or sugar.”
    “Black’s fine, thanks.”
    She fished out two danish and some napkins, handed one to him, then bit into hers. Her eyes half closed as the sweet-tart taste of lemon filled her mouth. “Oh my god, this is delicious. That bakery will be my first stop every morning from now on.”
    “Yeah, Mario Donnatelli’s sister, Olivia, runs the bakery. She bakes all the breads and desserts for the restaurant as well as selling to the public. She does have a way with flour and butter.” He followed Zoe’s example and devoured his danish in four quick bites, while he looked around the room.
    Zoe wiped her hands on her napkin and picked up her clipboard. “Here’s the deal, Jeff. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done and although you said you were a jack-of-all-trades, I’m not sure you’d be able to take on such a big project. Frankly the only reason I’m talking to you is that I don’t have a lot of money to put into renovations and I’m hoping you’ll work for less than the multiple contractors I’d need to hire otherwise.” She saw no point in beating around the bush with the man. The sooner he knew how tight her budget was, the better. On the other hand, you got what you paid for . . .
    “I’ll need someone who is licensed to do electrical, plumbing, and carpentry work as well as pull whatever permits are necessary. This is a public building, so while I’ll be watching costs like a hawk I can’t afford to take any shortcuts where safety is concerned.” She sat back and drained the remains of her coffee. “So tell me now if this is more than you can handle. Marjorie told me you’re honest to a fault, so if you say you can take my project on, I’ll believe you, and if you say it’s too much for you I’ll understand that too.”
    “As far as the licenses and permits go, I’ll bring my general contractor’s and electrical contractor’s licenses for you to look at. Permits are no problem either. Although I know a lot about plumbing, I’m not a licensed plumber but I do know someone who is and I can vouch for his skills and integrity. He’ll give you a good deal on pricing as well. So let’s talk about what you want to do here and see how it goes. Once I know what you’re planning, I can get a time and materials estimate worked up for you. Then you can decide if you