A smile twitched Gwen’s frozen lips.“Did he also have makeup on?”
“Lip gloss,” Chloe confirmed.“And false eyelashes on one eye, because she only had one set and they had to share.”
“Okay, that’s pretty fucking cute,” Gwen allowed.“But I don’t think it’s going to make much of an impression on my mechanic.”
“He’d butch it up for the mechanic, and I’m sure he’d be happy to do it.You know he thinks of you and Bailey like sisters.”
“Well, he sure picked on us like sisters,” Gwen muttered, and shoved her hair out of her face.“You ready to go next door?”
“Why don’t you just show me your choices here?”Chloe suggested.“I’ve got the same layout, so…”
“They’ve got the samples.”
“Dammit,” Chloe muttered.
“It won’t be so bad,” Gwen soothed.“It’s not like they know you were with a sex worker.And haven’t even decided if you’re going to hire Sawyer.”
“That’s not the point.”
“What is the point?”
“I don’t know,” Chloe wailed.“I’m trying not to think about it.”
“Well, you’re going to have to see them sometime,” Gwen said, and taking Chloe’s arm, began walking toward the door.
Chloe dragged her feet.“Maybe not.Maybe I’ll never have to see them again.”
“Sooner or later you will.”
“I vote later.”
“Rip the Band-aid off,” Gwen urged.“Put your shoes on.”
Chloe stuffed her feet into the boots by the front door.“Ripping the Band-aid off hurts.”
Gwen opened the door.“But only for a second.”
“It’s a very painful second,” Chloe claimed, then they were outside and Gwen was shutting the apartment door firmly behind them.“How’d you do that?”
“I’m very strong,” Gwen said and opened the door to the apartment next door.
A mirror image of Chloe’s, it was currently construction chaos.The flooring had been ripped up and brand new subfloor laid, the walls had been sanded in preparation for paint.The kitchen, which would sit on the shared wall, was empty of counters and cabinets, with only the pipes jutting out of the floor and walls showing where things might go.
“It looks exactly the same as mine, just flip-flopped.”
“It pretty much is,” Jesse said and Chloe whipped around so fast she almost lost her balance.Since her arm was still hooked through Gwen’s, she was saved the indignity of falling on her face, but it was small comfort.Jesse stood in the doorway to the single bedroom, his worn jeans and navy T-shirt rumpled from a day’s work, his jaw scruffy and his smile cheerful.
“Hey, Jesse,” Gwen said, smiling back.“Thanks for meeting me.I hope I’m not interrupting your day too much.”
“Not at all.”Jesse dropped the hammer he was holding into his toolbelt—which tugged his jeans down a tantalizing inch—and strolled toward them.“Hi, Chloe.”
She might have just kept staring, entranced by that loose-hipped walk, but Gwen jammed an elbow in her ribs.“Yeah, hi,” she blurted out, cheeks heating.“How have you been?”
“Busy.”His smile deepened, just a little.“You?”
Dammit, that dimple was not fair.Not fair at all.“Same.”
Jesse held her gaze for another moment, then flicked his eyes to Gwen.“So?Decisions made?”
