“Was there something else you needed?” Jacob inquired, fighting the desire to begin wallowing again.
Peter’s eyes sparked, showing he clearly remembered his original errand. “There’s a guy downstairs.A really, really hot guy, by the way.” He paused for dramatic effect, but getting no reaction from Jacob, he continued. “He said he’s here to meet with you about…crap, what was it again?”
Jacob tried to keep his patience. Any other day he would have thought Peter’s forgetfulness sweet, butagain, this was not any other day. This was the day he’d been hit with a tidal wave of concern. Hmm, no,“concern” didn’t fit the current circumstance. Dread? Shock. Yes, definitely shock. He shook his head. “Did he give you a name?”
Peter’s mouth twisted as he tilted his head to the side, his platinum blond hair falling over his forehead. He chewed his bottom lip for a moment until Jacob cleared his throat. “Sorry. If he did, I just don’t remember.”
“Okay. Well, why don’t I run down and meet him and you get back to the kitchen.” He got up, rounded his desk, and clapped Peter on the shoulder.
“Fine. I’ll go help, but I’m telling you, this dude is really, really hot.”
Jacob tried not to roll his own eyes. Peter thought almost every man he met was “really, really hot,” and Jacob tried to ignore the boy, what with all the craziness going on in his head. He followed Peter into the hallway and down the battered old stairs to the first floor. When Peter stopped abruptly, Jacob chuckled to himself and grabbed him by the shoulders, turning him toward the kitchen.
“Go!” he ordered.
Peter shuffled off to his assignment before turning toward the entryway, where a man in a well-worn black leather jacket and faded jeans stood watching.
Jacob couldn’t have stopped the sharp intake of breath if he had tried. For once, Peter had been right.This man was drop-dead gorgeous and Jacob openly stared, his feet rooted to the floor. He swallowed hard and temporarily forgot his own name. The stranger with skin the color of light caramel had pools ofdark chocolate silk for eyes, framed by long, full, black lashes. Mesmerized, Jacob couldn’t look away. How could anyone’s eyes be that beautiful?
“Are you Jacob Baumgardner?” the stranger asked, tucking a strand of long dark hair behind his ear with his finger.
Jacob’s knees actually wobbled. Had anyone’s voice had that effect on him? Wait, he had asked something, hadn’t he? Fuck.
He was acting as starry-eyed as Peter. Jacob shook his head and cleared his throat, forcing himself to tear away his gaze. Only then did his brain begin working again. “Hi,” he choked out. Smooth. He cleared his throat again. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
The man’s lips twitched as if trying to keep from smiling. “I asked if you were Jacob Baumgardner.”
“Oh.” Silence fell between them until Jacob realized he still hadn’t answered. God, he was like a high school boy with his first crush. “Sorry. It’s been a long day. Yes, I’m Jacob,” he managed to say in what he hoped was something comparable to the English language as he offered the man his hand.
The stranger’s large hand enveloped his and shook, sending jolts of electricity dancing down Jacob’s spine. Holy shit.
“I’m Luka Smith.” He let go of Jacob’s hand.
Jacob raised an eyebrow. Was he supposed to know him?
“Thurston Hyatt sent me.” Luka cocked his head. “Said he told you I was coming?”
A vague recollection of Thurston calling yesterday niggled at Jacob’s memory. Thurston sat on the Board of Directors and called a lot. A lot. So often that Jacob often failed to fully listen to Thurston when he spoke. To be fair, the man was a bit of a windbag and most of what he said was…well, stupid. But Thurston meant well and he had been a friend of Jacob’s grandparents. He was also the president of the largest bank in Nixon City, so Jacob had put up with him.
“Right…he did mention sending someone over to…to….” He looked around for an answer and finally gave up. He turned to Luka and ran his hands over his head, trying to settle his nerves. “Look, I’m sorry.”
“Long day, right?” Luka gifted him with a smile, and Jacob’s dick jumped to attention. “It’s okay.I’m kind of a jack-of-all-trades and after I did some handyman work at the bank, he mentioned you mightbe needing help here.” Luka scanned the living room that had clearly seen better days. “Looks like he was right, huh?”
Jacob couldn’t help but agree. This building still needed a lot of work, but funds were incredibly tight. “It’s been a slow process to get this place up and running. You’re right, though, we need a lot of work done. We need to pass an inspection in just under sixty days and, to be honest, money is scarce.”
“Mr. Hyatt mentioned that. Let me take a look around and see what needs to be done. Do you have a list of things that need to be repaired to pass this inspection?”
For the first time since receiving the crushing news earlier in the day, Jacob felt something like hope blooming in his chest. Something about this man buoyed his spirit. “Yes, in my office upstairs—secondfloor. Follow me.” Jacob gestured toward the stairs.