She cracked a grin, bemused at my reaction. “Well, if it’s only a few years age difference, your father can’t say much. He’s older than I am.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT
Dare
The house Calumbought in Brockhouse was set back from the road, with beautiful gardens. It was a newer house, built in the traditional Lunenburg-style with a matching detached garage.
Evan and I followed Calum into the foyer of his new house, loaded down with bags from the hardware store. I set my bags down and let out a low impressed whistle, surveying the rooms I could see. The main floor was open concept, with the living room, dining room, and kitchen all flowing into one large room with dated laminate flooring throughout. Light spilled in through the big bay living room window. “Lots of space and light.”
The previous owners had painted the living room area a burnt-orange colour. Calum hadn’t wasted time selecting a neutral grey to cover up the offensive colour scheme. He’d enlisted our help to get the place painted.
I knew he was eager to get moved in and off my mom’s couch. I was eager for him to get off the couch too. Since he’d started crashing over at night, Connor stopped coming. She didn’t want to risk him catching us before we told him. Which meant, I’d seen Connor a lot less than I wanted to.
We’d spent the morning at the hardware store, getting the paint and supplies. Then we’d had lunch at the diner. The same waitress who had served Connor and I served us again, although this time…her wary watchful gaze was focused on Calum. He didn’t seem to notice and tipped generously, despite her unfriendly demeanour.
Just after one, Cal got the call he was waiting for. We left the diner and picked up the keys from the lawyer.
“I only really have two days to get the main floor painted,” Cal said, looking around.
“Sounds good.” I nodded, grabbing the drop sheet and heading into the living room with it. I spread it out, covering the floor. Evan grabbed the painter’s tape and started edging. Once the drop sheet was spread out, I started getting the paint ready. Cal grabbed the paint meant for upstairs and disappeared with it, leaving Evan and I alone.
“Have you told him yet?” Evan asked quietly.
“No.” I frowned. “He’s been hyper-focused on this house stuff, and Harper. I’ll tell him later.”
Evan shook his head, like he didn’t agree with me putting it off. I didn’t exactly agree with it either, but Connor still wanted to wait until the timing was better. He moved the stepladder under the window, climbing it to edge the trim there.
“Well, doesn’t this bring back memories?” Evan remarked when Cal rejoined us.
“I don’t think we’ve done manual work in a while. Kind of sad when you think about it.” I shook my head, popping the lid off the can of paint between my knees with a knife.
“Yeah,” Calum said in agreement.
“I think this restart was needed on all fronts,” Evan continued, filling the silence.
“I agree,” I said, stirring the grey paint with the wooden stick. “Being back home has given me more inspiration to write.”
And it was true, it had, and so had Connor. Anytime I wasn’t with her, or with the guys, I was writing songs.
“Anything good?”
“A couple of promising ones.” I shrugged, looking away from Cal’s intense gaze. I wiped the excess paint off the wooden stick and set it down on the lid.
“You just missed your mommy,” Evan teased. I huffed, shaking my head and rolling my eyes as I poured the paint into three waiting trays.
“That’s not it. I didn’t realize how stifling it was back in the city,” I replied, keeping my eyes fixed to the task at hand. Once I finished pouring the paint, I stood and wiped my hands on my Amiri jeans, grey paint coming off the tips of my fingers. I stared at the jeans for a minute, thinking about how I’d just ruined a pair of sixteen-thousand-dollar jeans.
I hadn’t done shopping for myself in years, even down to the clothes I wore. Tai picked them out, making sure they were all designer.
“Yeah…” Evan trailed off, a seriousness taking over his usually cheerful disposition. “I do miss partying with you fellas and hanging out every day.”
Cal shot a look at me, arching his brows. “Does this have anything to do with your lady guest you had the other night?”
“No.” My jaw locked, the lie heavy on my tongue.
“Speaking of mommies, Daddy…when will we get to meet this kid of yours?” Evan chirped, teasing Cal and effectively changing the subject. I sent him a thankful look when Cal turned his head.
“I was going to invite you guys to his birthday party, but I’m reconsidering.”
