A Fresh Start by Trisha Grace Page A

here for 10 years.”
    Paige blinked, not knowing how to reply.
    “It’s juicy gossip, but you haven’t asked me about it.”
    She frowned. Was she supposed to? She thought he would rather not be reminded of those memories.
    “So,” he said and stood from the chair. “I promise I won’t tell anyone that you’re from New York, and no more fishing.”
    “Thank you.”

Chapter Six

    The old, crumbing house that Paige had moved into was slowing turning into a livable house. In a month, the bathroom had been given an overhaul, all the interior walls were painted, and the floorings for her second floor and staircase were completely done.
    Once the bathroom was ready, she moved back into her house despite Mrs. Seymour insistence of her staying until the house was completely ready. Paige couldn’t keep imposing on Mrs. Seymour forever, but she promised Mrs. Seymour that she’d continue to dine at their place.
    So, every morning, except on the weekends, she would go for her run. She no longer saw Justin when she was out running. But with all the work he was doing around the house, there probably wasn’t any need for him to get any additional exercise.
    Every day, they would have their breakfast and dinner at the Seymours. Lunch would be settled at her house, eating her stash of frozen meals, or what Justin called ‘junk’.
    Her life fell into a routine, and she loved routines. The only difference was the time spent on lunch. Each day, the lunch she and Justin had were getting longer.
    They no longer work separately either.  
    When she was painting, he’d be helping her. When he was ripping the floors off and taking the kitchen cabinets apart, she’d help him clear away the pieces he’d taken down.
    She ditched her iPhone, giving up the Italian lessons and audio books she was listening to while working so that they could continue with whatever conversation they had over lunch.
    She loved listening to his stories of the things he had seen. He had clearly amassed lots of stories with all his traveling throughout the years.
    As serious as he was when working, he had a lighthearted nature that always made her smile.  
    She was beginning to enjoy herself so much that she felt somewhat guilty for looking forward to seeing Justin each morning.
    She did just end her relationship with Cole before coming over.
    But she couldn’t help the way she felt.
    She had found him attractive, especially when his hair was slightly wet from the rain and his darkened hair matched against his dark mysterious eyes. But he was tall and well-built; qualities that reminded her of Andrew, qualities that she’d come to associate with overprotectiveness.
    From the first night she’d met him, she was comfortable around him. Andrew and his friends were much larger than Justin was, so she wasn’t intimidated by either his height or built.
    Then, as they worked together, she began noticing how different Justin was.
    Justin never instructed her on what to do, and never tried to takeover when he thought she was struggling with a particular task. He would help her, either by providing better tools or teaching her some trick to complete the task, but he never treated her like a baby who couldn’t do anything.
    Her lips parted, morphing into a smile as she thought about how Justin had gone downstairs to find her jumping around and still wincing from the pain of her fingernails bending backward when she was peeling off the wallpaper.
    She hadn’t screamed or anything. It was mere coincidence that he saw her.
    He had gone up to her, took her hand, and asked her what was wrong. His voice was harsh and serious, but after making sure that she wasn’t bleeding, he relaxed and listened to her account of silliness.
    He had laughed and headed out, returning with a flat scrapper. He handed it to her, but pulled it back at the last minute. He made her promise to tell him if she needed any help.
    Once she’d nodded, he gave her the scrapper and went back