Hey Jude (Lennox Valley Chronicles #1)

Teddy’s eyes light up. “You wanna try? I can show you how it works!”

“Oh, I don’t need to—” Olena starts, shaking her head.

He turns to me. “That okay with you, boss?”

“If you’re up for it,” I say to Olena, raising an eyebrow.

Would she be? This is an interesting development.

She looks hesitantly at me, then at the machine, then back at Teddy, whose enthusiasm rivals Murphy’s from earlier this morning.

“Come on, it’s great!” he says.

“Oh, okay.” She chuckles nervously.

Brave girl, I think to myself, pleasantly surprised. What else is she up for?

“I’ll leave you to it,” I say, grinning at Olena.

Her eyes widen at the realization that I’m leaving her with Teddy.

Walking away, I call out over my shoulder. “Don’t worry! You’re in excellent hands!” I head for the truck to get a drink of water. Leaning against the tailgate and taking a swig from my water bottle, I smile at Teddy’s enthusiastic arm-waving and Olena’s nervous posture.

She climbs into the cab of the digger and listens intently to Teddy’s instructions. Her eyes meet mine briefly and I give her an encouraging smile.

I’m so focused on watching the scene unfold that I don’t notice Steph appear at my side.

“Hey,” she says, resting beside me against the tailgate.

“Hey. Didn’t see you there,” I reply, turning again to watch as Olena gingerly controls the digging arm. It jerks forward suddenly and she startles, then laughs.

Steph is quiet for a moment. “She’s got you good, huh, boss?” She elbows me.

I frown. “What do you mean?” I ask, although I know exactly what she means.

“Oh, come on. I mean, even I’m in love with her already.”

I raise my eyebrows and look at Steph, who gives me a knowing look. With a roll of my eyes, I look away. “I’m just supervising my crew member using heavy equipment, Steph; I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I take another drink, keeping my expression carefully neutral.

Steph follows my gaze, locked on Olena in the excavator.

“Sure you are.” She pats my arm and walks off, chuckling and shaking her head.

12

OLENA

After surviving my first day on site with Jude and, miraculously, not making a raving fool of myself, I’m feeling more optimistic about the project. Maybe there’s hope for Jude and I to have a proper working relationship. Maybe I didn’t ruin everything with my temper and my unstoppable rambling. Maybe I can keep my cool standing next to this gorgeous man and pretend I’m not constantly aware of every move he makes.

I’ve spent the last two days working from home on some initial design sketches, creating a proof-of-concept mockup for Charles and Carol. And for Jude. I haven’t seen him since Monday; my eyes are already searching for him as I pull into the Faulkners’ driveway. I spot him talking with Dimitri at the far end of the yard and gesturing to various points along the garden border at the cliff’s edge. He’s wearing a black t-shirt and jeans and looks delicious, even from far away. I sigh.

He turns as I drive in and immediately makes his way over to me.

Oh, God, he’s even better up close, my treacherous brain pipes up.

I step out of the car and hurry to put my jacket on, shivering in the morning chill. I reach behind my neck to flick my hair out from under my jacket collar.

“Hi,” Jude says, sticking his hands in his pockets.