Meant for You (30 page)

She sighed. She actually stopped and sighed.

The low white picket fence around the front yard kept it separate from the worksites around it, like an oasis in the middle of a combat zone. Standing in the middle of the lawn, you could almost overlook the chaos going on around it.

Zoe, however, knew the real battleground was inside the house.

Standing, she gave the yard one last smile before walking up to the front door. It was like walking to an execution and her feet suddenly felt filled with lead. Taking a fortifying breath, she gripped the doorknob and walked inside.

The spacious entryway led into a wide, open floor plan. The floors were real hardwood—not engineered—and the dark finish shone like polished glass. Zoe looked down to see if she could see her reflection. She was about to call out and announce her presence, but first she crouched down one more time to run her hands over the floor.

“Like silk,” she said softly, loving the feel of the wood beneath her hands.

“That's what I was going for,” a deep male voice said from a few feet away.

Aidan had been watching this woman since her arrival. He had been in one of the upstairs bedrooms when he saw her car pull up, and had watched in fascination as she inspected the yard. While he felt mildly guilty for causing the other decorator to lose her job, he couldn't help but be intrigued by her replacement. From what he'd observed so far, this woman was somebody who took notice of details. It wasn't hard to see the appreciation in her eyes as she looked at the house.

And he couldn't help but look at
her
with appreciation. The woman before him had fiery red curly hair and a body with the kind of curves that made a man want to…scratch an itch.
Damn it
. This was so not the time for
that
thought to come to mind. As she straightened before him, he had to admit she was even more stunning up close. Tall. In heels, she was maybe only four inches shorter than him, and that was saying something. Most women didn't come close to his six-foot-two-inch height.

Aidan's mouth went dry when she took off her sunglasses and he caught sight of the greenest eyes he had ever seen. She smiled and held out her hand in greeting. “Mr. Shaughnessy, hello,” she said, her voice was just a bit husky. “I'm Zoe Dalton.”

For a moment, Aidan couldn't speak. He reached out and took her hand in his, fully intending to give her a businesslike handshake, but as soon as he felt her soft skin, he pretty much forgot his own name.

You really have been without a woman for too long
, he admonished himself. “Miss Dalton,” he murmured, forcing himself to focus. He shook her hand a little too roughly and released it as if she'd burned him.

Zoe was equally speechless. Why had no one mentioned that this man was the sexiest thing on two legs? His rock star brother may have been nominated one of the sexiest men alive, but Riley had nothing on his older brother. Dark hair, blue eyes, and hands rough enough that Zoe wanted to feel them all over her. It was rare for a man to make Zoe feel small and delicate, but Aidan was built like a linebacker and managed to make her feel it now.

Zoe fanned herself briefly as Aidan turned and walked away.

And the view was just as spectacular from behind.

She almost groaned.

Order Samantha Chase's first book
in The Shaughnessy Brothers series

Made for Us

On sale August 2015

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New
York
Times
and
USA
Today
bestselling author Samantha Chase released her debut novel,
Jordan's Return
, in November 2011. Although she waited until she was in her forties to publish for the first time, writing has been a lifelong passion. Teaching creative writing to students from elementary through high school and encouraging those students to follow their writing dreams motivated Samantha to take that step as well. When she's not working on a new story, Samantha spends her time reading contemporary romances, blogging, playing Scrabble on Facebook, and spending time with her husband of more than twenty years and their two sons in North Carolina.