Beyond Repair by Kelly Lincoln

that I swore I could feel the heat of his breath. All thoughts of Pierce went out the window.
    “Thanks.” I could see the bottom of his arm resting on the desk. It was much more interesting than telling him that my company probably made the cheapest sales pitch. “Just another sec.” I quickly typed an email to my boss.
    Chris stood up when he saw that I was typing, as I had hoped that he would. I loved that he was polite like that. My thoughts cleared without him so close, and I jumped up after I hit the send button. “Ready?”
    “Yeah.” He had an uneasy look on his face. “I have to be honest. I had an ulterior motive for coming here today.”
    My stomach sank. It was stupid to think he wanted to spend time with just me. I really had to go back to not liking anyone. It was lonely, but at least my emotions were more in check. “What’s that?”
    “Your front door sucks.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “Well, both of ours do, since we have the same doors. They’re made out of really cheap material and …”
    As Chris went on about different types of doors and security, I tried to figure out his real reason for stopping by. “So you want me to get a new door?”
    “Yes. I would feel better if you did. I’m getting one and just figured … well, it seems wrong for me to have something better than you and Mia. It’s really a security thing.”
    “Um, no. It’s fine. I have Mia to think about.” Among other things. I would have gotten a new door the day I moved in had I known it was so crappy and easy to break open.
    “Great.” He grinned at me. “I can install it for you. How much time do you have now?”
    “As much as I want. I just have to pick Mia up before five thirty.”
    “One of the suppliers I use is about a half an hour away. We can go there for the doors and get something to eat after?”
    Door shopping. He totally wasn’t interested in me. “Let’s go.”
    * * *
    Chris drove, and once I got past the fact that his truck smelled like him, we had an uneventful trip to the supply warehouse.
    Needless to say, I was out of my element. The building was huge, and shelves went up to the ceiling with huge pieces of wood, drywall, and boxes of sinks, faucets, lights, and whatever the hell else I could imagine. Forklifts were driving around, moving things off the shelves.
    Someone who worked there came over to Chris right away. “You’re the best. Thanks so much for picking everything up yourself.”
    “No problem,” Chris said. “Makes no sense for you guys to drive all the way to me just to deliver a few pieces of wood. And while we’re here, do you mind if we look at the doors?”
    “Sure. Interior or exterior?”
    “Exterior.”
    He led us to an area, and Chris turned to me. “So, which one do you want?”
    I couldn’t even really see them; they were all lying down on shelves. “How about that one?” I pointed at the bottom shelf. It looked nice enough.
    “That’s good, but it’s set up for a handle and you need one for a lever.”
    I had no idea what the difference was, but the guy who worked there pointed to some a few shelves up. “The same door for a lever or knob is on that shelf. I’ll get the forklift, or we can just reach it together.”
    “We can do it; it’ll be easier.”
    Before I could turn away, Chris reached up, and his shirt traveled up with him, exposing a couple of inches of his lower stomach. A ridge of muscle forming a v disappeared into his jeans, hanging low on his hips. It was awful. How was I supposed to get over him when he kept looking all sexy and smelling good?
    I turned away while they got two doors down and loaded them onto a flatbed. “Hey, we got a load of reclaimed wood this morning. Want to see?”
    I turned back in time to see Chris’s eyes light up, and a huge smile overtake his face. “Yeah, I—” He stopped. “Actually, no. We should get going.”
    I gave him a light smack on his arm, ignoring the warm fuzzies that traveled throughout my body