“Why?”
“Because the green is too soft, too quiet, the orange too energizing.Save it for your office, maybe a half bath for fun.The blue is soothing without being too soft, relaxing without being boring.”
She eyed the swatches on the wall, then him.“Okay,” she said and pushed through the swinging door into the kitchen.Rolling his eyes merrily behind her back, Jesse followed.
Taking a deep breath, Knox trailed after them.
The kitchen was the most complete room in the house, with gleaming quartz countertops and a shiny new tile backsplash.The floors in here had been done, a test to see how the refinishing would go, and they gleamed golden in the light from the trio of pendants hanging over the island.The cabinets were original, refinished and outfitted with new hardware, and Knox was pleased to see they’d kept the leaded glass fronts.Lou had protested that glass cabinets would mean she had to keep their contents tidy, but Sawyer had argued since the kitchen was mostly his domain, he should get final say.
It looked like he’d won that battle.
The stove was an antique, something that might have been in the house when it was first built.When Sawyer had found it at an antique store in Saugatuck, its enamel had been cracked and pitted, one of its claw feet missing.It had been beautifully refurbished, and an enamel pot in flame orange sat on one of the burners, steaming gently.Sawyer, barefoot in the same jeans and sweater he’d worn at the diner, stirred its contents and sipped a glass of red wine.
“Boys,” he greeted them, then aimed a look at his wife.“He said blue, didn’t he?”
“Shut up.”She sniffed at the pot.“When is this going to be done?”
“Another half hour.”
She jutted her bottom lip out in a pout.“But your daughter is hungry now.”
“Aw.”Sawyer dipped his head and kissed her.“Feed her some fruit.”
“She’s sick of fruit, and so am I,” she muttered.“I want sushi.And soft cheese.And a ham sandwich I don’t have to microwave.”
“You’ll have to settle for chili tonight.In half an hour.You’re welcome to join us,” Sawyer said to Knox and Jesse.“But no yelling.It’s bad for the baby.”
Lou rolled her eyes.“It is not.Besides, if y’all fight it’ll take my mind off the fact that I can’t have beer with my chili.”
“We’re not going to fight,” Jesse began.
“Speak for yourself,” Knox said, his temper spiking again.Seeing Sawyer kiss his wife reminded him that the son of a bitch had kissed Chloe.“Why the hell were you kissing Chloe?”
Lou turned wide eyes on Sawyer.“Who’s Chloe?”
“My date tonight.”
“Oooh, this should be good.”Lou rubbed her hands together with undisguised glee.“Do I have time to make popcorn?”
“Tallulah Jane, behave,” Sawyer admonished.
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
She planted her hands on her hips.“When has that ever worked?”
“Never,” he admitted.
“So what makes you think it’s going to work now?”
“I’m waiting for a fucking answer,” Knox growled.
“You’ll watch your tone in my house,” Lou warned, jabbing a finger at Knox.
“Babe,” Jesse softly.“Ease back.”
“You too,” Sawyer told Lou.
