He smiled and nodded at me. “Anytime.”
It felt as if he was flirting, but holding back at the same time. Was he being defensive? Protecting his own heart? Was jealousy driving him to refuse to open up to me? I didn’t know, but it definitely made me curious. Maybe I was overthinking it, and he was just really focused on the fence.
I heard Ash moving again, then a few thuds like someone jumping, and the steps behind me creaked. When I looked, Ash was ascending onto the porch in all of his shirtless glory. My heart skipped a beat. Now I had two shirtless Adonises in close proximity, and both of them were into me. It was like living in a dream that I didn’t want to wake up from.
“Roof’s gonna be a three-man job,” Ash announced, glancing from me to Calder as if he’d come down to make sure that there were no shenanigans going on here. “It’s a mess. We should do the fence first.”
“I’ve got that covered,” Calder answered firmly, peering past me at Ash. It was almost as if they were trying to out-peacock each other with their impressive handyman skills. Like they both wanted all of my attention. I didn’t mind it. In fact, it made me feel irresistible, so much so that I could feel my confidence skyrocketing. I wanted to see if I could push it a little further, if I could truly get them to compete at a primal level. But I held myself back, deciding that the choice would eventually make itself clear. In the meantime, I would simply enjoy it all as it unfolded.
“It’d be faster if we worked together,” Ash pointed out simply, though he did move to the other side of the porch. “Meet you in the middle? Or… Slightly further to your side?”
Calder laughed dryly. “Please. You think you’d reach the steps first? Can you believe this guy, Rhea?”
“Mm,” I said with a teasing shrug. “I suppose we’ll have to see, won’t we?”
“You heard her,” Ash said as he crouched down by the fence. “Bet I’ll make it first, even if you do have a head start.”
“What’re the stakes?” Calder asked, rubbing his hands together. “Extra date?”
“Sounds good to me,” Ash nodded, readying himself. “First to the steps wins one of the other’s dates with Rhea. You good with that?”
I laughed, and couldn’t help the smile that crossed my face. “Absolutely.”
“Hey, Rhea,” Beck appeared in the door, wiping his forehead with his own shirt. It didn’t look like he was particularly sweaty; it was more like he didn’t want to be the only one still wearing all of his clothes. I had no complaints. His runner’s body was yet another treat to look at.
“You finish the door already?” I asked, truly impressed. “You sure you fixed it properly?”
“Oh, uh, no,” Beck said with a slightly embarrassed look on his face. “Still have to re-do the hinges. But I was wondering if… I mean, I thought I’d ask you for something to drink. A snack maybe.”
“He’ll eat you out of house and home,” Calder warned. “Never stops chewing.”
“It’s good practice for the mouth,” Beck replied quickly, his eyes still on me. “Means my tongue really knows what it’s doing.”
I bit at my lip, holding back the fire that was building inside. “I’m sure it does. But, uh, yes, of course, I’ll get to it.”
I made my way past him and to the kitchen to try and calm all of my hormones down. The heat outside had started getting to me, and I was starting to breathe faster. The animal in my soul wanted to awaken, and I wanted to let it; which meant that I needed to get myself under control before I went out again.
In the kitchen, I took a damp washcloth to dab at my face. It didn’t really help, but I had to dosomething.
Right, let’s catch our breath,I thought.Focus. You can handle three hot guys fixing your house without losing your mind.
I put my hands on the counter and did a few stretches to release some of the building energy, but I knew it wouldn’t be enough for long. I’d need to do something about it later, when everyone had left. I couldn’t exactly ask one of them to stay tohelp me with that. Even if I could, I had no idea which one I’d ask.
Through the open window, I could hear snippets of their conversation. I decided to eavesdrop for a moment, and maybe that would be enough to distract me.
“The apartments?” Beck was saying. “They’re saying arson?”
“Yeah,” Calder answered almost flippantly, like it wasn’t a particularly interesting thing. “I really didn’t think it would be, but they found traces of flammables.”
“Didn’t they also find an out-of-place sock?” Ash added, and I almost laughed at that. What an odd thing to be evidence. Still, seemed like I’d moved in just in time for the drama.
“People living there insisted it wasn’t theirs, so, I guess.” Calder sounded like he had something better to do than speculate. “Point is, they’re investigating it more seriously now. Anyway, I need the bathroom.”
I hopped away from the window and started pulling out glasses when I heard Calder enter the house. But he didn’t go in the direction of the bathroom. His footsteps came closer, and when I turned around, he was standing in the door to the kitchen. He had a serious look on his face, one that sent my heart racing.
Damn, guess I won’t get time to calm down after all,I thought, swallowing.
“I was wondering,” Calder said, taking slow, deliberate steps toward me.
