“I say it’s time to spite our exes and do our totally uncool hobbies.”
The corner of his mouth curled up. “No judgment.”
“No judgment, Warhammer.”
I ducked into the guest room and grabbed my book. I slipped the fake cover off before I left the room. I’d stopped at a bookstore and bought a sci-fi romance with something close enough to space marines. It hadn’t been easy to find. I had ordered two online just in case.
By the time I returned to the main area, he was laying out a measuring mat I’d seen my dad’s grandma use for sewing. He paused when he saw me, his gaze flitting over his items.
I brandished my book with the abs on the cover with one hand and waved my phone with the other. “Should I admit to how badly I want to scroll through all the cocktail recipes ever served at Copper Summit and see if we can come up with some signature specials just for the wedding?” The more I thought about the idea, the higher my excitement crept. “If Wynter goes for it. Anyway, that’s my wild Saturday night. Cocktails and Orks. I’m actually stoked about it.”
He let out a soft, relieved chuckle. “Talk to Wynter. I think it’s a good idea, and if word spreads, I think we’d pick up more events.”
Finally, he resumed what he was doing. On top of the mat, he placed a cup of water and two pieces of paper. One of the standing lamps from his room loomed at his side.
A tiny but hulking figure of a space marine sat in front of him. More were off to his side in another black plastic container. He dug out small paint bottles of black, white, and gold from the container he’d set on the chair next to him. He shook each bottle as he laid them out.
I tucked my phone in my pocket and hugged my book to my chest. “Mind if I watch for a while?”
“It’ll be boring.”
“Right now, it looks fascinating.” I dropped into a chair at the end of the table.
“Tell you what, I’ll explain my process, and after you read for a while, we’ll talk about that.”
“That might get awkward. My space marines have sex.”
He chuckled, deep and pleasing. “Then I’m definitely holding tight to my terms.”
Since I liked when he was playful and open with me, I set my book on the table. “Deal.”
“All right.” He adjusted the light to shine above his shoulder and onto the miniature. I picked up a paintbrush with short, narrow bristles. “There are a lot of details. I’ve already washed these, and I’m going to paint on a base layer. But since I thin the paint a little, it’ll be about two or three coats. Then I’ll paint the details. The platform is last and it has a textured paint.”
“You do all the models one at a time?”
“It takes some time. I have to wait for all the layers to dry, but I enjoy the process. I’ll have a video playing or an audiobook.”
“What do you listen to?”
That earned me another sidelong look. “Warhammer.”
I laughed. “That’s cool though. You can consume it in different forms. Books, games, art.”
He paused dabbing blue paint on the paper. “A lot of people would think it’s a triple waste of time.”
“How many of them would spend an entire Sunday watching football? Or is it Monday? Both?”
“You’re asking the wrong guy.” He swiped his brush across the base.
I spectated through the painting of one figurine. By the time he was done, the marine’s uniform had gold embellishments and the weapons it carried were black.
I ducked down to squint at the finished product. “So much definition. Do you 3D print these?”
“Some people do. But a lot of places that host games prefer that sets are purchased through them instead of bringing homemade ones. I like to support the game shops anyway.” He dug out another figure.
The longer I was around Tenor, the clearer it was how much terrible behavior I’d tolerated in my dating life. Not just in the treatment I’d accepted from my partners but with them aspeople. Tenor was thoughtful and generous.
If I watched him much longer, I’d crawl onto his lap and tell him to paint me. But he hadn’t made a move on me. “I’m going to read.”
