“Are you in there?” He tapped lightly on my head. “I know we went at it pretty hard, but I sure hope I didn’t literally bone your brains out.”

I snapped out of my trance. “How did you get Andrew Hanes to recruit you? This isn’t for the story. I’m curious, is all.” I was dying to ask about his homeless experience—what caused it, how long it lasted—but I was a hookup, not his girlfriend. “Was it your mad woodworking skills? Your way with a tool?” I covered my mouth with my hand to hide my smile. He definitely knew how to use his tool.

Finn laughed. “Building a house is more than woodwork. There are mundane aspects like installing drywall, window frames, gutters.” He cocked his head. “Cut me off at any time. The idea of house-building is sexier than the reality. I don’t want to lose any points with you.”

“There’s zero risk of that.” It was funny how my mind had wandered when Garrett spelled out all his handyman projects, yet listening to Finn talk about installing drywall got me wet like foreplay.

“Most people who volunteer do it once or twice for the experience, but few segue it into a career. Andrew was looking for guys like me…young, strong, good with tools…” He blushed.

I squeezed my thighs together under the covers. A hot guy blushing was so damn hot.

Finn was still talking. “…from the New York area to add to his team.”

“I’m sure your muscles didn’t hurt,” I said, using it as an excuse to run my hands along his tight abs and pectorals.

“For sure. I’m August in the company’s swimsuit calendar,” he deadpanned.

I jabbed his belly button. “I will not fall for your trickery again,” I said, still embarrassed he’d gotten me with his joke about looking familiar from Oktoberfest.

He grabbed my hand and kissed my pointer finger. “Enough about me. What happened after we left the diner? Obviously, something drove you to my bed. I’d like to believe it was the powerful magnitude of my sex appeal but—”

“It was!”

“Seriously. What happened?”

I sat up and pressed a pillow against my chest. “My plan.” I sighed. “It was so…so…” What word was I going for? “Absurd!” Yes, absurd. “Pleasant Hollow didn’t check any of my boxes on either a personal or professional level, and so what did I do? I tried to singlehandedly change it. In one day!” I made a fist and extended my index finger in a circle by my ear. “Absurd and desperate. Even worse, if I hadn’t been interrogated at Lickety Splits, I might have kept going. Another idea was a fitness program. Can you imagine?” I shook my head. “You encouraged me. Were you secretly laughing?”