Free Dreaming of Love by Melissa Foster Page B

morphing into the confident work persona she filled so skillfully. Becoming the woman who rose to the challenge to be wittier, sharper, and more in control than her male colleagues. Having grown up with a slew of brothers had its benefits. A mischievous grin spread across her lips.
    She texted her response to him. Totally possible. Good night. Xox.
    Emily plugged her phone into the charger and carefully cleared the poppy petals from her bed, wishing Dae were right there with her.

Chapter Six
    DAE WALKED THROUGH the yard of the villa he’d been hired to demolish with his cell phone pressed to his ear, listening to Frank Corrington, the man who’d hired him, rattle on about another project. Dae had gotten up early to come out and take an initial assessment of the property. There were several different approaches to demolition, from wrecking ball, to explosion, to felling a building into an empty lot, to full-on implosion. Dae was an expert in implosions and was one of only a handful of skilled demolitionists qualified—or willing—to handle them. As far as he could see from the front yard, there wasn’t much to this particular job. He was way overqualified for this simple project, but he’d known that when he’d agreed to assess the job. Frank was a friend of a valued business associate, and Dae had taken on the assignment as a favor to him.
    He gritted his teeth, listening to Frank, whose typical demeanor was snapping off curses like adjectives, and allowed his thoughts to shift to Emily. He’d much rather be with her at seven in the morning, but he’d committed to the assessment. And doing it at seven in the morning in order to spend the rest of the day with Emily was well worth it. She was probably sleeping in. At least he hoped so. One of them should get some rest. He’d been up all night fantasizing about her sexy little body and those intelligent, sensual eyes that burned a path straight to his heart.
    He trekked across the lawn and stopped at the crest of the hill, where the land gave way to rolling hills flecked with thick patches of red, yellow, and white blooms and the olive grove down the road. His thoughts drifted back to Emily. Adelina had been so excited to help him arrange for the floral delivery, and it had taken all of his restraint not to follow Emily into her bedroom just to see her reaction.
    She was so damn cute with her frisky text. Oh . How could one simple word make his entire body vibrate with desire? Knowing she was just on the other side of his bedroom wall last night hadn’t helped. He’d kept envisioning her in that silky material he’d seen on her bed the day before and wondering what she’d look like stripped bare, the silk tossed to the floor.
    He felt a tightening in his groin. Jesus . He was hard again. He ran his hand through his hair and breathed deeply. He hadn’t had this many erections in a twenty-four-hour period since he was a teenager.
    Frank’s voice grew louder, and he returned his attention to the phone call he’d been ignoring. Frank was reiterating his plans for the one-hundred-and-twenty-seven-acre estate. He supposed he should be thankful Frank had contacted him. If it weren’t for him, he never would have met Emily. And even after knowing her for just a short while, he knew she was worth the trip.
    Dae turned at the sound of voices and noticed two women who looked to be in their early twenties stepping off their bicycles at the end of the driveway. The villa had been empty for years, and as he watched the women walk up the driveway and around the side of the house, he wondered what they were doing there. He headed in that direction as he listened to Frank.
    “In any case, I’ll be out of touch for a few days while I’m on this godforsaken trip with my wife,” Frank complained. “Why do women feel like anniversaries are meant for sucking the life out of their husbands?”
    In the months since Frank was referred to him, Dae had come to see him for the