Perfectly Damaged

“And what is that?” My voice muffles against my pillow.

“This.” She pulls at my sheets.

I pull back. “Leave me alone.”

“No. You’re getting up. You’re going to take a shower, and we’re getting out of here.”

“No.” I grip the sheets again, tugging them a bit harder this time around.

“Je

“No!” I spit back. “I’m going back to bed. I’m tired. I don’t want to do anything.”

She moves around on the bed. Then she jumps off, which is such a relief. Good. I’m glad I was able to—

Oh. No. She. Didn’t.

She thrusts at my hipbone and I fall out of bed, my ass making a loud thumping noise as soon as it makes contact with the hardwood floor. She just tossed me off the bed. I’m pissed. Beyond furious, I jerk up, untangling myself from the sheets. Once I’m free from the fabric, I shoot a death glare her way. If looks could kill, she’d be one dead chick right about now. “You bitch!”

Charlie grips her hipbones and matches my glare from across the bed. “You can do better than that. I’ve been called worse.” She stretches out her right arm, pointing in the direction of my bathroom door. “Now, I’m going to need you to take a shower. Throw on a bikini. We’re going to relax by the pool and talk.”

“I don’t want to. What part of that don’t you understand?”

She straightens her back and relaxes her eyes. “Je

“I hate you and you’re disgusting.”

“Mmkay. You can hate me all the way to the pool. Let’s get going. I’ll be right here, waiting for you.”

Humph. I storm into the bathroom.

chapter 6

Logan

It’s hot as hell out here. I’m used to working under the sun, but today I could fry an egg on the fucking concrete. We started work on the McDaniel project four days ago. Between me and the other workers, it’s been successful. The foundation of the guesthouse is almost done, and I suspect by Monday we can begin the framing. With ten-hour shifts, our team has been known to beat its deadline.

“Lunch time,” Bryson calls out. I drop the hammer in my hand and hear the loud thump it makes as it hits the ground.

I’m starving.

Mrs. McDaniel insisted we use her patio instead of having us hanging around on the back of our trucks to eat our lunches. Either way, I don’t care where I eat. I’m a big guy and food is a necessity to keep me going.

When I approach one of the tables, I see that Justin, Da

A wide grin spreads across his face. “My aunt makes the best sandwiches around.” He winks. His remark about my mother makes me laugh. It’s true. They’re simple lunchmeat sandwiches on fresh Amoroso’s rolls, but something about them just tastes like fucking heaven on earth. My mother makes a point to prepare all of the lunches for Reed Construction employees.

“Yep,” I agree. We take a seat at the table with the others.

Da

I give a one-shoulder shrug. “No damn clue, but he can eat on his own time,” I say, digging into the bag and searching for my sandwich.

“Damn,” Santino utters as he exits the sliding doors from inside. “No love whatsoever. It’s cool, Logan. I see how it is. I was just using the bathroom.”

I laugh once. “You know how I get when I’m hungry. I’m not waiting for no one.” It’s true. I turn into the fucking devil himself when I don’t eat. I open the foil of my sandwich, ignoring everyone around me, and bite into the deliciousness my mother prepared. Santino finally joins us at the table. Uncle George had to leave early today for another doctor’s appointment. Before leaving, he gave each man his assignment and put his son in charge.

Santino clears his throat. “Yo, I have to tell you about this chick I met up with last night.”

“The blonde from Wasted?” Da

While chewing my lunch, I sit back and watch the conversation unfold. “Nah.” Santino shakes his head. “Another chick.” He waves his hand. “So there we are in my bed. Her wrists are tied to my bedpost. Her tits are bouncing as I’m banging her. I’m whispering sweet nothings in Spanish, and—”

“Spanish?” I ask.

Santino turns his head my way, his face clearly a

“But you don’t speak Spanish,” I remind him. He’s probably the only Puerto Rican I’ve met who doesn’t speak a lick of it.

Santino flashes a mischievous grin. “She doesn’t know that.”

I lean over the table, laughing at him. “So you basically chanted a made-up language and passed it off as Spanish?” He nods, and his smile grows wider. “And she bought it?” I ask. Santino nods again. The rest of the guys burst into a hard laugh. “I bow down to you, master.” I stand up, raise both arms, and bow.

“All right, can I finish my damn story now?”

The patio door slides open and closed. All six of us turn to see who it is. Both Je

When I last saw Je

“Ladies,” Santino greets with a nod.

Charlie smiles brightly and walks over to our table, dragging Je

Santino leans in and whispers to us, “Watch and learn, guys. Watch and learn.” He turns, giving Charlie his wi

Charlie smiles, pleased. “What does that mean?” she asks.

Santino looks at her with smoldering eyes. It takes every bit of me to not burst out laughing. “It means, ‘I was thinking maybe you and I could be up to something.’” I was doing well biting back my laugh, but the moment my gaze shifts over to Je

“That’s not what you said,” Je

Santino drags his glare her way. “Oh yeah? Then what did I say?”

“I have no clue,” she replies. I snort louder. Her eyes meet mine, and for a second I think her lips are about to twitch into a slight smile. But just as quickly, they fall back into the thin line she’s famous for.

“If you don’t speak Spanish, it may sound like gibberish to you. So, yeah, that’s exactly what I said.” Santino states matter-of-factly.

Charlie snakes her arm around Je

Oh my God, this might be the best day of my life. I’m crying from laughing so hard. “Busted!” I cough out, pointing at Santino, who’s completely dumbfounded at this point.