She nodded slowly. “I do. How about this—give me ten days to make a dent in this...this...system of yours. If you like what I put together, the corn maze is on for the festival.” She smiled. “By the way, I have a bachelor’s degree in business, and I minored in accounting. I have the skills.”

They stared hard at each other for several long, silent minutes. The ball was in his court. She wouldn’t get much sleep if he agreed, but she’d save the festival—and her reputation—from disaster.

Zayne finally let out a loud sigh and held up his index finger for emphasis. “I’m only doing this to get you out of my hair. Ten days. And all I’m promising is to consider the maze. But you’re really going to have to impress me, because I don’t want people traipsing all over my land.” He pointed to the door. “Now will you go away?”

She’d won. She tried to hold back a gloating smile.

“Can I take some of the older files with me to work on at home? And...” She looked at the messy stacks of papers. “I’ll have to stop by here a few evenings this week after work, too.”

He picked up a chisel in one hand and a wooden mallet in the other, no longer focused on her. “I’m usually around.”

Once outside, she couldn’t help doing a little skip and hop on her way to the car, swinging Hudson in the air with a victorious laugh. Zayne Rutledge was no longer a problem. He was an opportunity.

A good-looking, grumpy, talented opportunity.

CHAPTER FOUR

“IT’S FRIDAY NIGHT,” Zayne said. “Don’t you have someplace better to be?”

Andrea looked up from her perch on his office chair. She never really sat anywhere. She was always at the edge of the seat, as if ready to leap up and tackle someone.

“I only have a few days left to finish this up. No rest for the weary.” She straightened. “Oh, are you saying you have someplace to be? I don’t mind working here alone.”

“Yeah, you’re definitely interfering with my busy social life, Andrea.” He shook his head and went back to work on the custom gingerbread trim he was designing for a client. Mrs. Shellar’s house was really more farmhouse-style than Victorian, but she wanted it to fit in with the historic Victorians the area was famous for. She was adding new trim to the peaks and porch posts, but she wanted them to look like they’d always been there.

The problem was that he was more focused on Andrea’s presence most evenings than on woodworking. And using a large band saw was not something you wanted to do without being fully focused—that was a good way to lose a finger.