But while he was being so amenable andfriendly… “Thank you for the coffee. I appreciate it. Sorry for being so grumpy.”
“No worries.”
She couldn’t shake the feeling he was placating her, and she didn’t like it. “About the fence.”
His brows rose, and he hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “I’m going to have my carpenter look at it. He’ll give me an estimate.”
Grace was more than a little intrigued by all the people and what changes he was making to the house and property. Keeping her focus, she walked around the fence, to his side, to the spot where she’d busted the wood.
She crouched, looked at it. “It just needs two slats replaced. I could do that myself. A little paint, it would be fine. Doesn’t mean we have to redo the whole thing.”
Noah wandered over, crouched beside her. She took a drink of coffee so she didn’t inhale the scent of his cologne or soap or whatever made him smell like the ocean at night.
“It’s old. It needs to be fixed.”
Grace stood. “Perhaps, but it doesn’t need to be right now.”
Noah stood. She wished she were taller so she didn’t have to tip her head back.
“You damaged my property. I don’t think it’s crossing a line to want it fixed.” His tone was equal parts reasonable and authoritative.
Grace’s grip on the cup tightened. “I’m offering to fix it. One portion was damaged. That doesn’t mean I should have to foot the bill for a paint job on the whole thing.”
“Half. Half the bill.”
The more reasonable his tone, the more irritated she became. “You have more than enough happening right now. I just moved in. I need a bit of time. Let me fix it myself and in a couple weeks, I’ll get some paint and take care of both sides.”
There. He absolutely could not refuse an offer like that. She didn’t know where she was going to find the time to paint it, but she’d shift things around, hold off on the rooms inside.
“It’s nice you feel confident, Grace. I appreciate the offer but I’m not looking to wrap some duct tape around the post and call it a day.” He gestured to the guys. “As you can see, I have plans for my place. I like pleasing aesthetics.”
If she didn’t need the coffee so bad, she’d be tempted to pour it on him. “First of all, I could fix this fence faster and better than any of these guys you’re paying. Second, do not talk down to me about how things look. If you were that concerned, your hedges would be out by now rather than having them look like misshapen sloped blobs.”
A guy in a backward baseball cap had started to approach but stopped when Grace’s voice rose.
Noah’s jaw tightened but he glanced toward the guy. “Sorry, Kyle. I just need a minute to resolve something with myneighbor.”
His attitude was fuel on her agitated fire. “No. We’re done. Take it or leave it. I can fix this myself and paint on my own schedule or you can forget me chipping in.”
He shook his head, lowering his arms so his hands rested onhis hips. “I don’t think you want to go head-to-head like this.” He leaned in, his gaze animated. “You’re in over your head. There’s an easy fix to all of this. We forget about the fence if, say, you sell me your place at a tidy profit?”
She shoved the coffee at his chest. He stepped back with an“oof,”taking the cup.
“I’m not selling my house.” She whirled on Kyle, who looked incredibly uncomfortable. “Do you have some extra two-by-fours? A saw I could use? Whatever you’d use to fix this little break in the fence here? Could I borrow those items?”
Kyle’s gaze widened and he looked back and forth between her and Noah. She turned to Noah.
“Let’s make a deal. I’ll fix thismy way.If Kyle thinks he or one of his guys could have done better, thinks I did a half-ass job, or that it looks like crap, you win. I’ll pay for half the fence painting and repair.”
Noah regarded her carefully. Kyle just looked like he wanted to run in the opposite direction.
“If,” she said, “it’s professional-looking enough that you can’t cry like a spoiled child about it, then we’re even. You paint it if you want but I’m not paying. Also, you stop asking about buying my house.”
She heaved out a breath, feeling like she’d run around her yard several times.
“I just wanted to run something by you,” Kyle said, his words stumbling over one another.
“What would you use to fix the fence here, Kyle?” Noah pointed.
