Forbidden Boy

“Hey, J-dog, have you seen my tape measure?” asked Mitch from a ladder ten feet away.

“Have you tried checking your toolbox?” Julia

“Nine times out of ten, when you ask me for something, you already have it in there.”

“That’s our girl. Voice of practicality—what would we do without you?” asked Tom, covering for Mitch, who had turned crimson as he hurried down the ladder 117

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toward his toolbox. He’d been a little bit awkward all summer; ever since Julia

“first day of work” outfit. The other guys seemed evenly divided between ribbing him for his possible crush and hoping Jules would let him down easy. Everyone murmured in agreement, and Julia

Jules’s typical morning banter with the boys was in full swing when Remi walked by, clipboard in hand. He made it almost past the group before calling back over his shoulder, “Julia

“Yeah, sure,” Julia

! ! !

Julia

Forbidden Boy

or the remnants of a painful spat with Remi in her head.

In what would be the master bathroom of Cullen Construction’s very first eco-friendly home, it was just Julia

Whenever she was alone in a huge room, Julia

Julia

“C’mon in.” She laughed absently. “The door’s open!” In fact, the entire room was open—the walls had been framed but not yet filled in. She turned toward the door and felt her serenity evaporate as Remi approached, decked out in one of his weekday shirt-and-tie combos.

Whatever, she chided herself. At the end of the day, anattractive jerk is still a jerk.

“Hey,” Remi started.

“Hey,” Julia

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“Do you mind if I come in?” Remi hesitated before taking a step further into the doorway.

She wasn’t in the mood for any sort of discussion right now. She just wanted to get back to her tiling. She tried to wave him away. “What, are you a vampire or something? You can’t come in unless you’re explicitly invited?”

Remi smiled faintly. “Buffy fan?” Julia

“Can I talk to you about the other day?” Remi asked earnestly.

Julia

I’m sort of in the middle of something. I’m sure your firm isn’t contracting Bill to pay me fifteen dollars an hour to sit around and chat,” she shot back brightly.

“Okay, let’s try this again,” Remi said, employing the same brand of persistence Chloe had used to rope Julia

Forbidden Boy

be. I think you and I have very different goals for this project.”

“Which are?” Remi’s brow furrowed.

“Well, as I see it, your goals are more bottom-line related.” Julia

Did I hit too close to home?” she pushed on.

“Nope,” Remi murmured quietly. “I was just wondering how someone could lay fourteen consecutive pieces of tile upside down without noticing.” Jules felt her cheeks flush red. Why did she always make the silliest mistakes when Remi was around? “Do you need some help?” Remi offered.

“No, thanks,” she replied tartly. “I’ve got it under control. I just need a little more space—you’re making me feel claustrophobic, and it’s hard for me to concen-trate like this.”

Remi pushed himself up from the floor and moved back about fifteen feet. “Okay, well that’s something. So 121

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now that you’ve given your brilliant analysis of my reasons for taking this job, care to share yours?” Julia

“I’m just going to sit here until you talk to me,” Remi said. “So the sooner you spill, the sooner you can re-focus on your tiles. How’s that for motivation?” Begrudgingly, Jules started talking. “If you must know . . .” She took a deep breath and then continued.

“There are a few things that I really like. First, I get to spend my entire summer outside in the sunshine, instead of bagging groceries or folding jeans. Plus, for me, at least, a house is like a work of art. But on a grand scale. This bathroom is like a mosaic—only bigger. The whole frame of the house is one giant sculpture. It’s beautiful, functional, oversize art. It’s creative and it’s fun. And I can’t say I mind being the only girl on a crew of hot college guys, either.” She looked up to see Remi staring right at her, his mouth open slightly, as if there were something he was trying to bring himself to articulate but couldn’t. “Never mind.” Julia

After a few seconds, Remi answered. “Why wouldn’t 122

Forbidden Boy

I understand? That’s exactly how I feel about it, too. I mean, except for the part about the college guys. I want to make beautiful things. That’s why I went into architecture.”

Julia

“Just following your dad’s lead all the time . . .”