Seeing Carmella’s difficulties made him realize his family issues weren’t nearly as bad as he’d once thought. A dad with little patience and a loud voice wasn’t the same as the guy who beat your mother up. Even if he felt like he didn’t fit the same way everyone else did, he loved them.

“I think that’s a monumentally bad idea,” Carmella said to the foreman the next day. “If you go that way, you have to tell Asa to his face. There’s no way I’m delivering that news to him.”

They were running late on getting some electrical stuff dealt with. City and county people had come out, everything was signed off on their end, but the foreman had just told her they needed to send some of their crew to another site, which would set them back another four days.

“Aw, come on. It’s still within the deadline.”

Carmella shook her head. “Whatever. I’m not delivering this information to him. Which means he’ll come looking for you, or send Duke or Mick.”

The guy winced. Duke usually handled the contractors. He and Mick did nearly all the public face of Twisted Steel stuff because Asa was better left alone to do his work. He wasn’t really a people person.

Which was an understatement, naturally. But as the date for the grand opening approached, all three guys behind Twisted Steel were growing impatient, Asa most of all.

“Exactly,” Carmella said of the foreman’s wince. “So, if you don’t want to tell him yourself, I suggest you keep your crew here and finish what you’re supposed to on time. Then you can tell Asa happy news.”

Grumbling, the guy stomped off and Carmella got up to get more coffee.

Duke poked his head in, smiling as she got to the door. “Hello, gorgeous. Wow, I love looking at you.” He just took his time staring at her as she blushed.

“We talked about this,” she said for the dozenth time.

“And we talked about how we talked about it. I remember. You said words. I listened to them.”

Like a naughty little boy.

But it worked. “By the way, the foreman was just hinting that they might split guys off from their crew to work another site. I told him he needed to inform Asa in person if that was the case.”

Duke sighed. “They better be done. We have catering, equipment rental, party planning, all that stuff set for the end of this month. So much fucking money. Jesus.” He ran his hands through his hair and it messed up for about thirty seconds before it flopped back into that wave at the front. Perfectly.

“I don’t even know what dark magic you’ve done to get your hair so perfect.”

He brightened. “Yeah?” Duke bent to catch his reflection in the glass of the open door.

“You look like a GQ magazine version of a fifties pompadour. Not that poofy. Just exactly right. Even the gray you’re getting highlights the shape of your hair. It’s amazing.”

He smiled. “That’s my favorite compliment today. Thank you. Want to grab a cup of coffee with me?”

“Doughnuts in the break room?”

Duke nodded. “The manager at the Top Pot is a client. He sent them over as a thank-you.”

“Much better than flowers.”

“Just one of the many reasons we’re together. Any word from Craig today?”

The cops had stopped by her mom’s house a few days before, but Virgie denied Steven was responsible for her injuries and claimed she’d gotten them falling down some stairs. Steven played the super helpful guy just out of prison trying to keep his life on the straight and narrow, though from what Craig said, his friend saw right through it.

“Yeah. He called earlier. They just don’t have enough to push here. But the guy said he’d keep an eye on the situation. They’re busy, I know. But I appreciate it. My uncle says he’s done with her totally. I can’t blame him.”

“But that leaves you holding even more weight.”

Yep. Carmella shrugged.

They headed in to get doughnuts and take a few minutes to share a cup of coffee.

“I’ll be here late tonight. We’re putting in overtime on that fastback now that the parts arrived,” Duke told her.

“PJ showed me the paint. I love that color so much.”

“I’m a big fan of that stock orange myself. The upholstery should be coming in tomorrow. I’d like to push it out by Monday.”

Mick came to sit next to Carmella and she patted his hand. “Hey, you.”

“What’s up today, Red?”

“I’m eating a doughnut, so that’s a win. Looking at handsome men. Also a win.”

“I like your attitude.”

“I’m a ray of sunshine.” She stood. “I need to get back to work. I’ll see you both later.”

“I’ll escort you.” Duke pushed his chair back.

“Nah. Finish your coffee and your break.”

Duke watched her leave with a happy sigh.

“I’d make a crack about that look on your face. But even I’m not jaded enough to not see the beauty in what you have with her,” Mick said as he grabbed another doughnut.

“She seemed to float into my life, and once she touched down, the roots grew very deep very fast. I wasn’t expecting love. Knocked me on my ass,” Duke said.

“Is it scary? I mean, are you freaked about a long-term relationship when you were just dating three women at a time six months ago?”

“It was two, not three. At first it was startling more than scary. By the time I realized how deep I was with Carm, it was too late. There was no way to stop loving her. Love is pretty awesome, though, Mick. I highly recommend it.”