It was as though the first 42 years of her life never existed. Vivienne’s life was on reset and she was processing new input at a dizzying rate. Although she had been working with Gary in the same house daily for months, she had never seen him in a romantic light. He was always making stupid mistakes that she had to remediate. His first blunder called for redoing a mega mirror to follow the architect’s plan, then rescheduling missed deliveries and reordering an expensive box of European tile that fell and had broken into pieces. But last week, crouched over the plans in the living room, it hit. “You really haven’t thought of how to make this wall till now?” Vivi said as she rolled her eyes over his apparent lack of planning. “Well, I like listening to your ideas” Gary said. “So much easier to get it the way you want it the first time,” he said flashing his contagious grin – and dimples. Vivi shot him a frustrated glare, but immediately felt herself being reduced to mush. Gary’s eyes closed to almost a squint when he smiled. His tanned skin, white teeth, and shiny, jet- black hair made him newly irresistible. Crouched down together, eye to eye in the morning light of the room, Gary’s fresh skin, scent, and rippling arms made her incredibly vulnerable. Did they both finally feel it? Vivi was in trouble. The tingle between her legs was so intense she could barely meet his eyes. The same thing must have been happening to Gary because his stupid grin had become a gaze and the glow was insane. “Um, I think I have to go finish some work at another site Gar,” Vivi mumbled. “I’ll be back after lunch and I am sure you will have a plan.” They stood up slowly together, their bodies mirroring each other. The electricity was obvious to both of them as his pants tightened in front, while her shorts became damp. Vivi couldn’t get out the door fast enough, as she hadn’t felt this desire in YEARS. Fumbling at the door, Gary chuckled, proudly beaming his outrageously sexy smile. “See you after lunch” he said with a wink. I mean really? Thought Vivi to herself. Running to get some needed fixtures, Vivi felt so conflicted. Crazy ideas were swimming around in her head. Her twenty-year marriage to Bill was in shambles, and she hadn’t had sex in almost three years. But really? Gary? The first new man to pay attention to her? Gary had a hot, live-in girlfriend and also seemed like a real player. Vivi so wanted a drink, but she knew that would only make it worse. She needed to get to the bottom of this, so she returned to the site quickly to see Mr. Contractor’s solution. Gary was lounging on the couch, scrolling through his phone. Looking up at her, he patted the cushion implying Vivi should join him. “So bella,” Gary slyly commented and then chuckled “Wanna hear a funny story? I got kicked out of the house last week for saying I had a hot boss”. Vivi’s face turned beet red, as Gary knew it would. He had learned exactly how to push her buttons. At first she could barely spit out a word. “Oh” she said, almost inaudible. But then, she realized it was now or never. Spill it. It’s not that she hadn’t ever noticed Gary’s toned body. “When I accidently marveled about your shoulder muscles to Bill last week, I thought I was gonna get kicked out too.” Vivi confessed. She glanced mischievously at Gary to solicit the proper response. “Oh really?” Gary said, very happy to hear the feeling was, in fact, mutual. “Should we go out for a celebratory drink when the job is done next week?” He queried adding his frickin’ killer wink. “Uh, sure!” Vivi choked out the words. She was still married and had been faithfully monogamous, while many of her friends were simply not. But it was just a drink, right? “Let’s do next Thursday,” Gary said firmly as he put his strong, tanned hands gently on both sides of her upper torso. His thumbs dangerously grazed her under-boob in a way that was too close, but done to make Vivi melt like butter in his hands. “How did he just get so achingly handsome?” She whimpered to herself. “Ok,” Vivi said. She did not really know what she had agreed to but gently backed away. Oh my.