The Mighty Quinns: Danny Read Free

in order.” He stared at her silently. “What?” she asked, an impatient edge to her voice.
    â€œI’m just surprised you’re a girl. Kell neglected to mention that.”
    Jordan felt her temper rise. That comment had been thrown at her regularly since she’d begun working for her father’s development company. Why couldn’t she be a girl? Women had every right to work in the construction industry these days. And Jordan wasn’t a name reserved exclusively for boys.
    â€œIs that a problem?” she asked, snatching her handback and fixing him with a cool look. Obviously, the only way to keep this conversation on track was to present a tough facade.
    Danny shrugged. “I can assure you, that’s never been a problem with me. And had I known you were a woman, I might not have dodged your calls for two weeks.” He chuckled. “And had I known that you were so beautiful, I’d have turned up on your doorstep in less than a day.”
    â€œYou could tell I was a woman from the messages,” she said.
    Danny frowned. “I really wasn’t paying attention. I usually just ignore my phone messages.”
    â€œThat’s always a good business practice,” she murmured.
    He stepped out of the door and motioned for her to follow him. “Come on then, I’ll show you around.”
    To her consternation, he didn’t bother to button up his shirt and she found herself fixated on that thin line of hair, this time following it up from his belly to his collarbone. Maybe she should offer him a chance to put on something more appropriate for a business meeting. When her attention shifted to the sculpted muscles of his upper arms, Jordan stifled a groan.
    She stepped past him, her shoulder brushing against his body as she walked outside. The contact sent another current racing through her. Jordan wanted to scream. What was happening to her? After just a few minutes, this man had her completely off balance. There was no way she’d be able to negotiate a contract with him in this state. He could ask for a million Euros and her naked body in his bed and she’d sign on the dotted line.
    â€œJust follow the path to the back,” he said, pointing.
    Since she’d been in Ireland, Jordan had lived the life of a nun. The first year, she’d made a point to return to New York at least once a month, in an attempt to maintain a romantic relationship with her last boyfriend. But after their breakup, it had seemed like a waste of time and money.
    Though she’d made a few acquaintances in the area, she’d kept to herself. In truth, she wasn’t very good with friends. Work always took precedence and she often turned down invitations to socialize because of that. She put all her energy into her job.
    â€œDid your brother tell you about the project?” she asked as they walked to a small stone barn set behind the cottage.
    â€œI know the place,” Danny replied. “Castle Cnoc. We used to go out there when we were teenagers. It was a grand spot for a party if you could avoid getting caught by the peelers.”
    â€œPeelers?”
    â€œThe gardai. The…cops. People around here think it’s haunted, you know.”
    â€œYes, well, a lot has changed,” she said, risking a sideways glance. “We’ve finished with most of the renovations. But we still have a lot of the details to get right. Your brother showed me your portfolio. I like your work. A lot of the original ironwork was stripped out of the place after it was abandoned, but we do have photos from early in the twentieth century and some samples we managed to find. So you’d do some new fabrication and some restoration of existing work. We want to put everything back the way it was.”
    â€œIt’s a big job of work,” he said. “That place is huge.”
    â€œWe haven’t done anything to the castle itself. That will be done later.