The purring sound of a car approaching rolled across the job site, and when the men who were lined up on the lip of the house looked over, their expressions fell into a collective fuck-me—which meant Jim didn’t have to pull another over-the-shoulder to know exactly who it was.

The general contractor/owner/pain in the ass was here again.

Son of a bitch showed up at all different times of the day, like he didn’t want to set a schedule the crew could depend on so his spot inspections would be more accurate. And it so didn’t take a genius to figure out what he was looking for: lax workers, sloppy construction, mistakes, theft. Made you feel like you were dishonest and lazy even if you weren’t, and for a lot of the guys that was an insult they were willing to let pass only because they were always paid on time on Friday.

Jim stepped up his pace as the BMW M6 pulled up right next to him. He didn’t look at the car or the driver: He always stayed out of the guy’s way, not because he had anything to apologize for in terms of performance, but because he was a grunt, pure and simple: When the general came to inspect the troops, the chain of command mandated that the asshole was Chuck the foreman’s problem, not Jim’s.

Thank you, Jesus.

Jim hopped up onto the flooring, and headed back over to where he’d been working. Eddie, ever ready to pitch in, followed and so did Adrian.

“Holy…shit.”

“Okay…wow.”

“Madre de Dios…”

The comments bubbling up from the workers made Jim glance back.

Oh, hell, no…talk about your fuck-me-and-a-halfs: A stunningly beautiful brunette was stepping out of the car with the grace of a flag unfurling in a calm breeze.

Jim squeezed his eyes shut. And saw her in the cab of his truck, stretched out with her perfect breasts bare to his mouth.

“Now, that is a helluva woman,” one of the workers said.

Man, there were times in life when disappearing was a great idea. Not because you were a pussy, but because you really didn’t need the hassle of dealing.

This was one of them. And then some.

“Well, shit, Jim…” Adrian dragged a hand through his thick hair. “That’s…”

Yeah, he knew. “Got nothing to do with me. Eddie—you ready with that board?”

As Jim went to turn away, the brunette looked up and their eyes met. Her lovely face flickered with recognition, just as her man walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her waist.

Jim took a step back without looking where he was going.

It happened in an instant. Faster than the strike of a match. Quicker than a gasp.