“Besides the mouse, I enjoyed it.” I shrug. “I like doing things for you.”
Her cheeks pinken. “Well, thank you.” She glances at the closet one more time. “Is Rupert never coming here again?”
“I’d be surprised if he did.”
She chuckles. “Did he really step on the mouse’s tail?”
I nod. “Yes. I had to clean it up after. There was also a small blood trail that ran down the hallway that I took care of. It was a traumatic morning, to say the least. Rupert fainted.”
“No, he didn’t.” Her eyes widen.
“Yes, he did. And I might have tested out the toilet.”
“What do you mean?” Her brow knits together.
“There was something about seeing a detached tail that just…well, it made me all kinds of queasy.”
Her hand cups her mouth in shock. “You threw up.”
I hold two fingers up. “Twice.”
“Oh my God.” She laughs. “Shit, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh, but…what I wouldn’t have given to see all of that unfold.”
“I think for the sake of my threadbare masculinity, I’m glad that you didn’t. But just know, I took care of it.”
“You’re so brave,” she says, rubbing her hand up and down my arm.
“I am brave.”
She chuckles some more. “And Rupert…”
“He’ll be sending you his psychologist’s bill.”
“I’ll make sure it gets lost in the mail.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
RENLEY
“Would you say that I’m a plumber now?” Theo asks as he swipes at his sweat-drenched brow.
“No,” I answer, putting my tools away.
“But I helped with the toilet and I just helped install a new bathroom sink. You don’t think that should give me the credentials of a plumber?”
“You handed me tools and I did most of the work, and even at that, I wouldn’t callmyselfa plumber.”
“But maybe with our powers combined, we can call ourselves plumbers?”
“Not even a little,” I answer, taking a step back from the sink and admiring our work. I decided to replace the vanity with one that I found at the antique store. It fits better with the theme, but I had to get a new faucet that we just installed. Now that it’s all together, it looks so good. “It came out so great,” I say in awe.
“It did. I really like it. What do we have left in here?”
“The floors, the walls. I think we should paint the beadboard next, wallpaper should come in soon, and then we can finish up with the floors.”
“Are you going to sand them and stain them like the others?”
I shake my head, staring down at them. “As much as I’d love to do that, I don’t think it’s going to work or be worth the time and money. There is a lot of water damage in the corners and around the sink. I think we need to rip them out and replace with a fun tile. Have to check the budget first though.”
