Going for Broke: Oakland Hills Friends to Lovers Romantic Comedy (Friends with Benefits) by Gretchen Galway, Lucy Riot Page B

collecting the gear, so she had the opportunity to say rude things to him without being overheard. He kind of liked it. If she didn’t care a little for him, she wouldn’t get all riled up. She’d be more apologetic, gentle with his tender feelings. Fighting him was much better.
    “Just happy to see you,” he said pleasantly, stepping inside. “I thought we’d pull up the carpet today. You got rid of so much of the furniture, the boxes are mostly out of the way, the garbage out last week, and now we’ve got an empty debris box.”
    She glanced down at the floor, momentarily distracted. “Really?”
    “We can’t refinish the hardwoods until later, of course—there’s lots more work to be done—but you won’t have to breathe in as many fumes.”
    He could see that offer was too tempting for her to refuse. “That would be such an improvement. It’s like walking on dead animals the way it is now.”
    “Go out for a few hours. The air is going to be unpleasant when we tear it up.”
    Seeing that he was only going to talk about the business of home repair, she visibly relaxed. “I can’t just leave,” she said. “That wouldn’t be fair.”
    “Shawn and Marco work better as a team. You’d just get in the way.”
    “I may not be the most buff chick on the planet, but I can help. Somebody has to pull up all the nails and tacks.”
    “You can do that afterward.” He waved to Shawn and Marco. “Front room, guys. Start at the corners. Cut into strips with the box cutters, roll it, carry it out.”
    “Please and thank you,” Billie said to the men, then looked at Ian. “You forgot your manners.”
    “No problem,” Shawn said, taking off his sunglasses, putting them in a case, then putting on a regular pair of glasses. He was very precise, very careful, which was one reason Ian thought he had a promising future. “He’s giving us something way better.”
    Ian cringed, knowing she wasn’t going to like the sound of that. He reconsidered Shawn’s promising future.
    Indeed, she’d perked right up. “How much?” she asked. “How much is he giving you? I need to know so we can pay him back.”
    Shawn and Marco burst out laughing. Shooting glances at Ian, they grabbed their gloves and bolted for the front room.
    Billie spun on Ian. “How much?”
    “Nothing.”
    “Oh, really .”
    “Not a dime,” he said, grinning.
    She crossed her arms over her chest. “If you think I’m going to suggest you’re giving them sexual favors, you’re going to be very disappointed.”
    He brushed his knuckles under her chin, quick to make any excuse to touch her. “You never disappoint me,” he said quietly. “But it’s flattering your thoughts went in that direction.”
    She batted his hand away and stepped back. “Cut that out. I know they’re not doing this for nothing. It’s my house. I deserve to know.”
    Maybe she did. Besides, he might as well tell her, or she would keep bringing it up. Last week she’d already offered the guys a few twenties as they were leaving. They’d told him about it on the ride over that morning, laughing as hard as they had just now.
    “I’m giving them a little investment advice,” he said. The twenties she’d offered them were an order of magnitude smaller than what the men hoped to rake in over the next few months. They looked like young bodybuilders, but they were actually smart, hungry traders about to make their first million.
    “Only advice?” she asked.
    “And the hookers and blow, of course.”
    She whacked him on the shoulder, but her lips looked as if they were fighting a smile. “Maybe I should leave. I’ll need an alibi when the Feds raid the place.”
    Of course he didn’t really want her going anywhere. “You can work in the side yard. I brought some loppers and hedge clippers. That lemon tree of yours could use a haircut. Clear a path to the back gate, and we can get back there to remove the garbage.”
    The sound of fabric tearing and plywood