Major Renovations (Ritter University #1) by Vanessa M. Knight Page B

Rough year.
    Alone. With hours of work staring her in the face. And more than mild curiosity as to why someone named Mandy drew explicit pictures on Ski’s to-go box.

~»ΨΡ«~
    Chapter Ten
     
    Sam
    SAMANTHA BATTED away another mosquito. The floodlight was a necessary evil, since she couldn’t see a darn thing without it, but all the bugs in the tri-state area were finding their way to its glow. And once they found the glow, they made their way to her sweet-tasting blood. She assumed it was sweet, because they kept trying to suck her dry.
    The vampire books she loved were probably based on the humongous mosquitoes flying around the great state of Indiana. Unfortunately, the blood-suckers hanging around her weren’t nearly as good-looking as the ones in the movies. Now, if they were— she wouldn’t mind that they were taking a pint with every bite.
    The lights were almost done. She’d planned on stopping a few hours ago, but she wanted it done. She needed it done. This was her time to show her dad what she could do. Before he did something stupid like try to return to work.
    She was shocked he hadn’t brought that up when he stopped by this afternoon. He would never admit it, but he wasn’t well enough to work the long, grueling hours he liked to force on himself. Not after the collapse— the fall that changed it all.
    She’d never been so scared before. Watching him crumple. Pale skin. Shallow breathing. No strength. Watching him being carried off by the EMTs. Confusion in his stare. Fear in his shaky grasp. Watching him in the hospital. It had nearly killed her. She’d already lost her mom— she couldn’t lose him. He was all she had left.
    “T’irsty?” Ski, armed with a bottle of beer and a bottle of water, walked around the front of the building.
    She loved that accent. Every dropped H sent tingles down her spine. She set the cordless screwdriver on the bench and wiped the sweat from her forehead. It had been a long night. As much as she wanted a break, she’d made a promise to finish and she couldn’t fail. Not again. However, that bottle of water in Ski’s hand looked so delicious, perspiration dripping off it slowly to the ground. Cool. Inviting.
    “Yes.” She grabbed the water and twisted off the cap. The cold liquid slid slowly down her sandpaper throat, and her stomach growled in disappointment.
    “Hungry?”
    “I’m fine.”
    “Did you even eat dinner tonight? I can t’row a few burgers on the grill.”
    “Are you sure you can pull yourself away from Mandy?” She hoped that didn’t sound jealous. She wasn’t jealous. She was just an interested third party. No bigs. Not like she’d spent all evening wondering who the large-breasted blond tramp was. Not at all. And yes, she assumed Mandy was a large-breasted blond bimbo. But really— who gave a guy cherry pie and decorated the box with drawings of— Lord only knew what? Not exactly subtle.
    Ski smiled.
    Dammit. She knew she’d sounded jealous. She must have. “Never mind.”
    “The box was for Ryan. He wasn’t interested in what Mandy had to offer either, so he gave it to me. He thought, um, one of the crew might like the free dessert.”
    “Ryan’s a nice guy. I like him. He seems to like you a lot, too.”
    “That’s him. We’ve been friends since he started at Ritter’s.” He opened the beer he was holding and took a long drink. And no, she didn’t stare at the way his throat muscles moved. Much. Ski smiled at her and licked his upper lip. “Now that that’s settled, let’s talk about dinner.”
    Dinner. A burger with cheese. She could practically taste the golden bun as her mouth watered. Too bad she didn’t have time. “I need to finish first, and it’s like, nine. Way too late to be eating.”
    “It’s nine fifteen. And who cares? It’s time for fourth meal.”
    Just the thought of food had her stomach yapping up a storm.
    “Why don’t you get this done and I’ll fire up the grill.”
    She stared at