Solid Gold Seduction (The Drakes of California) by Zuri Day Page B

coming. On the way there, he’d been madder than a hornet. Now he felt as if he’d made a new friend. He felt the beginning of a headache, too, and hoped someone at the site had aspirin. Griff’s liquor had been lethal, but after drinking water for the last hour at least he was somewhat sober.
    So yes, he felt he’d finally melted some of the ice around Griff’s heart, and maybe Charli’s, too. Griff’s hooch, on the other hand, had melted Warren’s insides. Risky move going toe to toe with a man as tough as the old ranch hand. Only time would tell if it had been worth it.

Chapter 18
    I s that my place? Man, Jackson wasn’t kidding when he said that they were going to use that crew to speed things up even more because another project fell through. Just five days ago, when Warren left the Reed Ranch and met his brother Niko at the site, the house had been almost a shell. Sure, concrete had been poured and a few walls were up. But this right here? This was...a house! He continued to marvel as he parked his SUV and got out.
    He spotted Jackson immediately and walked over. “Hey, Boss. What did you guys do, work around the clock since I last saw this place?”
    Jackson smiled. “Just about.”
    “I’m impressed.”
    “Keep being impressed when you get the bill for the overtime you approved.”
    “Overtime? What are you talking about?”
    “Don’t even try it. I gave you a projection of the added cost and asked for your approval. You signed it.”
    “Oh, man.” Warren rubbed his head. “You took advantage!”
    “How so?”
    “You did that last week. I told you and Niko that I’d drank some of Griff’s home brew.”
    “You didn’t act drunk.”
    “That doesn’t mean some of my brain cells hadn’t dissolved!”
    “Ha!”
    “It’s okay, man,” Warren said, looking around. “This place looks great. So what’s next?”
    “The plumbing is completely done. We’ve almost got all of the electrical wiring in. If we stay on schedule, the company we’ve subcontracted to do your pool, spa and fountains will be here shortly to start that installation.”
    “I know that you normally leave jobs like these to your trusty foremen, but I appreciate you personally overseeing so much of my construction. The time away from your wife and family is a sacrifice. So thank you, man. For real.”
    “No worries, Warren. I like to get out of the office and get in the thick of construction on a regular basis. Keeps me sharp and on the cutting edge of new innovations.”
    “Well, whenever you and your family are in the area, know that you’ll always have a place to stay.”
    Warren’s phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number but answered right away. “Hello?”
    “Drake.”
    His heart palpitated as though he were a randy teen with a schoolboy crush. Still, when he spoke it was as though he was the maestro of cool. He gave Jackson a nod before walking away to take the call in private. “The name’s Warren.”
    “Isn’t it also Drake?”
    “Sure, Reed,” he answered with a smile in his voice. “But most people call me by my first name.”
    “I guess I’m not most people.”
    He allowed his voice to go low and velvety. “You’re most certainly not.”
    A short pause. She cleared her throat.
    Warren second-guessed his mack daddy move. True, they’d made progress. But the chances of this being a social call were still relatively slim. “Is everything all right?”
    “Sure, everything’s fine.”
    You sure are. Warren had the presence of mind not to voice this thought. “How’s Griff?”
    She laughed, a sound he hadn’t heard before. He immediately knew that he wanted to hear a lot more of it.
    “Whatever you did the other day impressed him. And that’s rare.”
    “I drank fire.”
    Another chuckle. “He told me about that. Said that you tried not to react even though there were tears streaming down your face and smoke coming out your ears!”
    “Only one tear. And no smoke.”
    “If you say