Chapter Nine
Luke
I’ve been down a bartender for almost a week due to Quinn’s accident. I found out more about what happened last night from one of her chatty roommates. It sounds like she dodged a bullet. It could have been much worse. Even so, I’ve checked on Quinn a couple of times plus it gave me an excuse to talk to Tayler.
What? I’m not a monster. But, I guess it makes me an opportunist. Sue me. She forgave me after I promised I’d “never say a disparaging word against Quinn Maxwell again.” Iwillkeep my damn word. It’s bad enough to have one strong-willed woman (Quinn) pissed at me, but two? No thanks.
I’m off work for once. I took two days offin a rowto do some work to my house. I’ve neglected this property for the other one, my bar, for far too long. But a couple of days is just what I need to replace the faucet in the kitchen and take a look at the roof to see if I can just patch it or have to replace the whole damn thing. I’m rooting for the patch job. I’d also like to paint my bedroom. It’s been the same deep red color since I bought the place a couple of years ago, and I’m sick of it. Sleeping in a red room gives me the creeps. It’s probably why I crash on the couch most nights.
The surprising part of all of this—and the reason I’m blabbering on about it—is Tayler offered to help me paint. I don’t need an interior designer, but I sure could use Tayler’s company. Not only that, it’ll be the first time she’ll see my place. I hope she likes it.
When a knock sounds on my front door, a zing of nerves hits me.She’s here.When she knocks again, I yell, “Coming!” so she doesn’t take off.
Opening the old door, I smile at the sight of her in a pair of bib overalls over what looks like an old T-shirt. She’s got her hair in two braids on either side of her pretty face. Front and center to all that is her smile. She’s fucking gorgeous. “Designer extraordinaire at your service,” she chirps.
Pushing open the screen door, when she passes close to me I smell her scent. It’s good. Pretty. Like flowers. “Welcome,” I say after I take a deep swallow.
“Wow,” she says, turning in a circle in my living room. “Craftsman, huh?”
“Yep.”
“Please tell me there are built-ins in the dining room.”
“There’s one large one.” She wasn’t lying. She’s into this. “Someone painted it a long time ago, though. I’ve been meaning to strip it down to match the rest of the woodwork.” I mean, who paints wood like that?
“Good plan,” she says like she really does know. “It’s a damn shame when people do stuff like that. It was stained for a reason.” She’s got her hands on her little hips, looking rather fierce. It’s downright adorable.
I chuckle softly, then smile. I like her here. She’s so damn cute in her painting outfit. And there’s just something about her in my house that feels right.
“I’ll show you.” I point to the open doorway in the wall. She goes first and steps into my dining room slash office. “See?”
“Oh my God. It’s orange.”
I nod and point to the floor. “Yep. It matches the linoleum.”
“I bet there are hardwoods under this.”
“Yeah, I pulled up one of the tiles and there are.”
“This place could be amazing,” she says with a breathy voice.
“That’s why I bought it.”
“Show me to the bedroom.” She blushes.
I’d love to show her my bed…room.
I smile to myself as I lead us back to the living room and down a short hallway. “Here’s where the magic happens.” When she blushes again, I wrap her up in my arms and bring her to my chest. I’m laughing now. So hard my body is shaking.
“Jerk,” she mutters into my shirt.
When I stop laughing, I let her go. “I hate this red color. I can’t sleep in here.”
“Redrum, redrum,” she says in a husky voice.
“Ah,The Shining. Great movie.”
She’s still right up against me, so when she looks up and says, “I’ve never seen it,” all I can see are her pretty eyes and her lashes as she blinks.
