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could see that. It would’ve been in better shape just to leave it like the retail store it had been than to have them tear it all apart so it was a big pile of nothing.  
    “About four weeks. I’d given them a deadline of less than six weeks from now, but, uh”—I sidestepped tools scattered on the ground—“I’m thinking that won’t happen.”
    When Hunter had walked around the entire interior, he came back to where I was standing at the missing bar space. His lips were pursed and he crossed his arms over his chest. “Won’t happen,” he confirmed.
    My heart sank. I needed this expansion to go through because the Wake Up America special would be filmed here, and a huge part of whether I could spin Licked off into a chain hinged on how it went. I’d been trying not to let myself think my timeline had been unreasonable and they wouldn’t get it done. Big fucking mistake.  
    “Oh God,” I said with a groan, rubbing my forehead. “What do I do? How do I make them go faster?”
    “Who’s the contractor?”
    “Scott Lewiston.”  
    “I could’ve guessed that. Where are they now?”
    “Um…extended lunch break, if I had to guess.”
    He shook his head. “Tell me what you’ve got going on here.”
    I led him back around the room, showing him where the bar would be, how I envisioned the high-top tables, the booths, and the private room and gaming area in the back. It would be the same vibe as Licked, but catered toward the night crowd.
    Licked…After Dark.  
    “All right,” Hunter said when I’d finished giving him the tour. “I’ll do it.”
    “What?” I sputtered. “I can’t let you do that.”
    “That would be a stupid move on your part.”
    “We have a contract—”
    “I’ll get you out of it. And then my team will take over.” His voice brooked no argument, but I did anyway. Because I can be a persistent pain in the ass.  
    “But…how…why would you do that? I’ve never even seen your work before.”
    “My guys are all on break right now, but they get antsy when I make them take a forced vacation. We can have this done by your deadline. And you’ve been to our place, so you have seen my work.”
    I stared at him in shock. “That all sounds great, but why would you do this for me? You don’t even know me.”
    Hunter’s head cocked to the side as he studied my face, and when his eyes were on my mouth, I shivered. Must’ve been a draft from the open tarp.  
    “You need help, right?” he asked, his arms still crossed, his biceps bulging against the material of his grey shirt. That answered the question, Do you work out? Damn.  
    Swallowing, I said, “Yeah. Yeah, I think I do.”
    He gave a curt nod and started to back away. “I’ll draft up the contract and bring it by tomorrow. I’ll get the blueprints from Scotty boy.”
    “Wait. What should I do about them—”
    Hunter’s eyes were intense on mine. “I’ll take care of it. They’ll be out by the end of the day.”
    And then he was gone.  

    THURSDAY EVENING HAD arrived, and I’d begged Paige to help me find something fabulous to wear. And by fabulous, I also mean fuckable.
    “I’m thinking the black pencil dress. Definitely.” Paige’s appraising eye ran down the length of one of the outfits I held in my hands. “And those candy-apple heels. Bam. Done.”  
    “You’re the best,” I said, tossing the other outfit on the bed and shimmying into the winning number.
    “Wait. Are you wearing those?” she asked, indicating my matching satin bra and panties.  
    “What’s wrong with these?”
    Paige rolled her eyes and pushed off the bed before strolling over to my dresser. She pulled open the top drawer and rummaged around before holding up a thong. “This. Wear this.”
    “That’s not gonna hold anything in,” I protested.
    “You don’t have anything to hold in, so will you please just put it on.” Tossing the underwear to me, she went and flopped back on the bed. “Where’s he taking