A wave of nausea turned his stomach as he closed the bedroom door behind him. He didn’t usually have ridiculously awkward social interactions, but he was under a lot of stress right now, and that couldn’t have gone worse if he’d intended it to.
Sunny probably thought he was an idiot. He was probably looking for an excuse to leave.
Maybe he’d be gone by the time Grant got a shirt on. Thatwouldsave him having to explain himself, so it wasn’t the worst outcome he could imagine.
This time, Grant picked out a safely-white shirt and threw it over his shoulders, buttoning it as quickly as he could and tucking it into his pants as he left the bedroom.
Sunny was still there, sitting at the kitchen counter. He was…
Sewing? Sewing the shirt Grant had handed to him.
Grant stood and watched as he cut the thread, holding the shirt up to inspect it.
“There,” Sunny said, smoothing it out on the counter. “Button replaced.”
Grant stared at him. He hadn’t even realized the shirt was missing a button.
And Sunny had justreplacedit, without even needing to be asked. Before Grant had even noticed.
That was… unexpected.
“Wow. I, uh… I’m sorry for answering the door like that, I just… okay, so, I might as well tell you that I’m colorblind and I couldn’t tell if that shirt was blue or purple, and then I was afraid that maybe I’d accidentally washed it with something red and somehow dyed it purple, because I lost a whole bunch of white t-shirts that way, and… I’m… rambling,” he said, shutting up as he realized.
Sunny tucked a tiny sewing kit into the inside pocket of his jacket, nodding. “Okay. Well, thisisa purple shirt, but I think it’s always been purple. The color’s very even.”
“Right,” Grant said, straightening up. “Thanks for sewing the button back on, by the way. You didn’t have to do that.”
Sunny shrugged. “It took two minutes, and I’m guessing it’s kind of in my potential job description,” he said. “You know, you could get those iron-on nametags for your shirts and have someone write the colors on them, so you’d be sure.”
Grant’s mouth fell open. That was such a simple solution.
Sunny was pretty, but he was also clearly smart.
“I never thought of that,” Grant said. “Wow. I mean, I never tell anyone. It’s not a secret, exactly but…”
“But you don’t advertise it either.” Sunny nodded. “Understood, I won’t tell a soul.”
“I’m not totally colorblind, I just have trouble with green light. It’s really common and it’s not a big deal,” Grant said, aware that he was telling a half-truth. He was used to it, but every now and again, it caused him a problem. It wasn’t life-ruining, but it didn’t make anything easier.
“Of course not,” Sunny agreed diplomatically. “But it’s still private. I understand.”
“I didn’t even know I owned a purple shirt,” Grant said. He never bought shirts himself. Julia had always done that for him, and now…
Well, now she was too far away.
“Well, it’d be a nice color on you. You have stunningly blue eyes, and it’d really bring them out.”
“I do?” Grant asked.
Sunny smiled a small, but clearly sincere smile. “You do. And I’m not flattering you in the hopes of getting a job, either.”
Grant snorted. “I doubt you still want to work for me after all that, but thank you for coming anyway. And staying. And fixing my shirt.”
“Actually…” Sunny wet his lips.
Grant definitely didn’t stare at them as he did it. Even if they did look really soft.
“If you’re still willing to consider me, I’m more confident that I can do this job now than I was when I knocked on your door,” Sunny finished.
