Love Redesigned (Lakefront Billionaires #1) by Lauren Asher

My blood pressure spikes. “You there. With the goatee.” I keep my voice neutral, although my stiff posture seems to draw Dahlia’s attention.

The carpenter beside her looks up. “Me?”

“Well, I’m certainly not talking about Ms. Muñoz.”

“Of course not, Mr. Lopez.”

“What’s your name?”

“Patrick.”

“Congratulations, Patrick. You’ve been promoted.”

His brows jump. “What?”

“Go find Ryder outside and tell him I want you working on the Lake Aurora project.”

“Really?”

“Yup.” I wave him away.

Patrick takes off running for the door, leaving Dahlia and me behind.

Dahlia’s brows furrow. “Is everything okay?”

“It is now.”

Her eyes light up. “What did Patrick do to earn a promotion after only a day of working here?”

“I needed his skills elsewhere.”

“And what about the house?”

“I’m going to take over Patrick’s job.”

Dahlia blinks a few times. “You can’t be serious.”

Deadly so.

Jealousy might be one hell of a motivator, but it doesn’t change the facts. I’m tired of avoiding what I love because of the pain associated with it. Just like I’m tired of pretending I would rather be in meetings when I would prefer to be out here, getting my hands dirty with every project Dahlia throws my way.

My plan to work on the Founder’s house goes beyond jealousy or my need to impress Dahlia.

It has everything to do with me.





CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO


Julian


“I knew it was only a matter of time before Dahlia and you began pulling pranks again.” Rafa checks out the tree beside my office door.

“What do you think?”

He glances around the suite. “The whole place is an eyesore.”

“Most definitely.”

“Do you plan on taking it all down anytime soon?”

“Probably after New Year’s.” My lips curl.

His brows rise. “You want to keep the decorations up for another six weeks? Why?”

“They’ve grown on me.”

“Oh no,” he mutters up to the ceiling.

“What?”

“You’re falling for her. Again.”

“So what if I am?”

“The fact that you’re not denying it is proof enough.”

I sigh.

He follows with one of his own. “Should I go ahead and warn the rest of town?”

“We won’t involve civilians this time.”

He glares.

“Or animals,” I add.

His lips press into a thin line.

“And I made sure no one will get hurt.” Especially Dahlia. God forbid she has some crazy reaction and breaks her other arm in the process.

Rafa cocks his head. “What do you have planned?”

“Depends on whether you’re willing to help me or not.”

He shakes his head. “Hell no. You can both keep me out of whatever is going on.”

“You haven’t heard me out.”

“Anything that makes you smile like that is a bad idea.”

I wipe the stupid grin off my face. “But I’m going to need your help if I plan on pulling this one off.”

“Helping you start another prank war is a recipe for jail time.” His arms cross against his chest.

“That only happened one time.”

“Do you know that I’m still not allowed to park within a hundred feet of a fire hydrant?”

I laugh. “Must make parking in town a total pain in the ass.”

“Which is exactly why I am steering clear of you two.”

I clasp his shoulder and give it a squeeze. “Come on. It’ll be like old times.”

He grunts something unintelligible. Pranking Dahlia again wouldn’t only be good for her but also for Rafa, who could use a little fun in his life.

“I can’t do this one without you, man.”

He glimpses at the ceiling decorated with flickering icicle lights. “Don’t you pay Sam to help you?”

“His loyalties are split.”

Rafa rubs at his stubble. “Fair enough.”

“Does that mean you’ll help me?”

“I don’t remember you being this pathetic when we were younger.”

“Only because you were willing to prank first, ask questions later.”

His eyes narrow. “What do you have in mind?”

“Something that will have her sleeping with a light on for the next four to six months.”

“I do enjoy scaring people.”

“Doubt you have to try too hard lately with your attitude problem.”

“Fuck off.” He shoves me aside before taking the empty seat across from my desk.

I drop into the rolling chair on the other side. “I never thought I’d see the day you came to your senses.”

“Only because you’ve never been able to pull one of these off without me.”

I better enjoy Rafa’s playfulness while it lasts and make this prank worthy of his efforts.

With a quick pass over my keyboard, I unlock my computer screen and turn it toward him. “So, here’s the plan…”