Time to Pretend by Michele Zurlo Read Free Book Online

as payment. He would do the same thing for every single one of them, and he had helped a few of them with remodeling, landscaping, or roofing jobs before. He was fortunate to have such good friends.
    Evan caught him the moment he stepped onto the flat part of the roof. “Look, man, I’m really sorry about that. I lost my balance. It was either the plywood or me, but one of us was going over the edge.”
    “Don’t worry about it,” Daniel said. He adjusted his tool belt and snagged a bundle of shingles, lifting the hundred-pound pack easily.
    “She’s fine.”
    Evan stared for a second, then snagged his own bundle and joined Daniel. “Was that her?”
    Daniel’s nod was brief. “Yeah. That was her.” A smirk settled on Evan’s mouth, but it didn’t ruin anything. No matter what expression was on Evan’s face, he was exceptionally handsome. He was tan, and bleached highlights streaked his brown hair from working long hours in the sun. “You’re welcome, then.”
    “For scaring the hell out of her?” Daniel frowned. She had settled in his arms nicely, not even realizing she clung to him, but he would rather have had her there for other reasons.
    Evan shrugged. “Whatever works. It’s a start, Danny. She snuggled right up to you, and she seemed to be enjoying it.” Time to Pretend
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    Daniel didn’t comment. He didn’t want her afraid. He liked that she was spunky and strongly opinionated and she wasn’t afraid to express those opinions.
    And what had she meant when she said her roof didn’t have the black stuff on it? How could she have a roof without tar paper? What was she planning to do about it? She likely didn’t even know what the black stuff was called. He wouldn’t put it past her to have memorized a neurological map of the human mind and still be completely ignorant as to the minimum code requirements for a roof.
    “She’s hot.” Evan’s observation interrupted Danny’s musings.
    “Are you sure she’s thirty-six? She doesn’t look like she’s that old.” Daniel already knew all of this, but he smiled indulgently at Evan as he remembered the first time he had seen Alaina. She had bowled him over, and he knew she had done the same thing to Evan.
    “She needs a new roof.”
    Evan grunted. “And you’re going to volunteer us to put it on? I think I need to remind you that this is my job, Danny. I actually need projects that generate income.”
    “If you’re putting a new roof on her house, that puts you in close proximity to her.” Daniel secured a safety line to his belt and headed up the ladder to the part of the roof that sloped.
    Evan did the same. Daniel set out shingles, and Evan pounded nails into place with one well-placed blow to each. “I don’t think she’s the kind of shrink who pitches in to help reshingle her roof.
    Besides, I don’t need to nail her roof in order to get into her pants.” No, Evan didn’t, Danny silently agreed. He had witnessed the phenomenon of women flocking to Evan on more than one occasion.
    Daniel tamped down a rising tide of jealousy. Having Alaina in their lives would solve that problem once and for all.
    This time, Daniel grunted. “She still needs a new roof. She said her shingles blew off. That’s never a good sign.”

    * * * *
    44
    Michele Zurlo
    Work on his roof finished late Sunday afternoon. After the requisite consumption of beer and pizza, he dropped off to sleep with every intention of heading to Alaina’s house to check her roof in the morning. Alaina would be at work. It was safer to visit when she wasn’t there.
    Of course, one thing led to another, especially after being unexpectedly closed for three days, and by the time he arrived at Alaina’s house, it was early evening.
    She wasn’t home.
    However, there was a tarp on her roof. From where he stood, he could see it flapping at one corner. Frowning, he returned to his truck and took out the extension ladder he had the foresight to bring.
    Once on the roof, he found