“Okay, great. Well, don’t worry about ideas—I have plenty of those. Give me a call when you want to get started. I’ll need to take more detailed measurements and photos, and get an idea of budget, so when you’re ready …” Greer is vibrating with excitement.
And there goes my damn imagination again, thinking about her vibrating with a different type of excitement. Double fuck.
Chapter Six
Greer
Idon’thearfromJosh again till he rings late the following Friday as I’m getting ready for my regular theatre date with Mum and Jess. We buy a subscription to The Sydney Theatre Company and The Australian Ballet every year. It’s fun to dress up and have dinner at a nice restaurant first, making a real event of each performance. There’s way too much testosterone in a family with three boys, and it’s nice for us girls to have time to ourselves.
“Hey, sorry I haven’t called. Work’s been crazy busy.” Gah. That voice. All smooth and deep, with a hint of his old Australian accent starting to creep back in. My thighs clench and my heart lurches. “I wanted to let you know what’s happening with the house. Since it’s a deceased estate and nobody’s living there, the owners have agreed to give me access on the weekend to take some measurements and whatever. I was wondering if you might have some time for a look.”
Well, that puts to rest my fears that Josh has changed his mind. And spending some time with him one on one will maybe give me the chance to convince him to at least give us a chance. I put the phone on speaker and drop it on the bed so I can keep getting ready and not run late.
“Of course. I’d love to. Are you going to family dinner Sunday night? Maybe we could go and do a recce sometime after lunch, then go on to Mum and Dad’s.” My words come out muffled as I bend and twist to do up the buckles on my shoes.
“Works for me. I thought I might go down to Manly for a surf in the morning. I’ll hang around till you get there.”
I finish with my shoes and am tempted to reach for my laptop and open up the file where I saved all my notes and ideas. But if I go down that rabbit hole now I’ll miss dinner, and probably the performance as well. I have a habit of getting lost when I’m working.
“Great. I’ll need a couple of hours to do all the measurements and get a feel for it. How about mid-afternoon?” I slide the diamond stud earrings my parents gave me for my twenty first birthday into my ears.
“Perfect. Come over whenever suits. I’ll be there from around two. You sure you don’t mind giving up your weekend?”
“Nah, it’s fine. I’m gainfully unemployed, remember? Any day is good for me. I was thinking I’d try and get the blueprints moving quickly. Maybe even get them finished before I find a job.” I do a last check of my makeup in the mirror. Mum will be here any second to pick me up.
“Hey, whatever works for you. And let me know your rate and account details so I can get the money to you.”
“Your money is no good to me, mister. Consider it a housewarming present.”
“That seems like a pretty pricey housewarming. How about we talk about it on Sunday?” As he hangs up, I hear a knock at the door. Perfect timing. Along with the perfect opportunity to show Josh I’m more than a little sister. I’m a grown-arse woman. And he’d better believe it, because I’m done with waiting for him to get his shit together.
Josh is already at the house when I arrive right on the dot of two—damn punctuality. He’s obviously been to the beach, judging by the brand-new surfboard leaning against the wall and the wetsuit draped over the ancient Hills Hoist in the backyard. His hair, still crusted with sand, is a damp mess around his face and shoulders, for once not tied up in its usual ponytail or man bun. Soft grey sweatpants cling to the muscles in his legs, which are long and lean, his white t-shirt doing nothing to disguise the firm belly and well-toned chest. He’s so hot I can feel my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth and my cheeks getting warm, and it has nothing to do with the afternoon sun streaming through the uncurtained windows.
“It’s amazing how your mind plays tricks on you. I had forgotten how much work this place needs. It reminds me of an old movie—Tom Hanks was in it, I think.” Josh smiles ruefully as he surveys the kitchen, which is not much more than a collection of old wooden cupboards, a wonky sink and an ancient gas stove that looks like it might blow up if you tried to light it.
“The Money Pit. I loved that movie when I was a kid. Let’s hope this turns out a little better.” Josh can clearly see the problems. Lucky for him I can see the potential.
“Will’s done a great job getting them to agree on fast-tracking settlement. I should have complete access to the place by the end of next week. I still have a few months on the lease at the serviced apartment, and once it’s up, I’ll move in with Will.”
“Well, you and Will living together ought to be interesting.” I can’t control my eye roll at the thought.
“Hey, I saw that.” Josh waves his finger towards my eyes. “We’re responsible adults now. There’ll be no wild parties.”
“Uh-huh.” We both grin. I wish I could believe it, but I know my brother too well.
For the next couple of hours, I work my way from room to room, measuring, photographing and making pages of notes and rough sketches of ideas. Like most Federation houses, there is a narrow hallway with bedrooms off to either side at the front of the house, which opens up at the end to the lounge room with a tiny, dark kitchen tucked in the corner. The bathroom and laundry are tacked on the back, in what was once maybe the verandah. All three bedrooms are a decent size, and one would make a really good home office with a gorgeous bay window begging for a built-in window seat.
I have so many great ideas running through my head I barely even notice Josh, who pretty much stays out of my way. He sits on the floor, propped against the kitchen cupboards, working on his laptop, answering any questions and helping me with measurements when needed.
“Are you almost finished?” Josh asks as he watches me pack up my tape measure. It’s a little after four o’clock. The light is fading fast, thanks to the ugly storm clouds that were on the horizon and have now taken over the sky.
“Almost. I have a few more notes I want to make …” I’m so busy with a head full of images of the finished job I hardly hear him.
“Okay. Great. I’ll be back in a minute.” Josh heads out the front door.
Since there’s no furniture, I drop onto the rickety back step with my notepad, hoping to catch a bit of fresh air after being cooped up in the dusty old house. It’s unnaturally still, as though waiting for something, and I know it won’t be long before all hell breaks loose. I take a couple of deep lungfuls of the expectant air. I love thunderstorms. I hope this one’s a belter.
Flipping to a clean page in my notebook, I start roughing out some preliminary sketches, taking my original ideas to the next level. I already have a clear idea of how I want the house to look. Of course, I have to keep reminding myself it’s Josh’s house and he no doubt has ideas of his own—and a budget, of course. I should wait until we’ve talked these things out before I get too carried away. It’s just so tempting. This place is exactly the sort of house I would want if I was buying one.
