I took the samples from her and walked over to the front window where the light was shining in. “Look at this one. Letter Gray. The name even matches the office!”
“Look, we’re going with Juniper Ash. You’ll love it. It’s more of a gray/green, and for the trim, we’re going with Brook Green.”
“But white would look better.”
She scoffed at me. “Are you kidding? Brook Green is a mix of white and green. It will be perfect. You need to trust me on this.”
“I get the final say,” I argued. “It was in our verbal contract.”
“Yes, and if you want to get between my thighs tonight, you’ll go with the colors I chose,” she argued.
I was about to stand firm and tell her there was no way I was going with green, but damn, I really wanted to get between her legs. I hadn’t spent a single night at my own place in the last two weeks, and I didn’t plan on changing that anytime soon.
“Fine,” I snapped, taking the cards from her hand. “I’ll go get the paint.”
Shooting me a devastating smile, she pressed a kiss to my lips. “You’re gonna love it.”
“I’d better get something extra special tonight.”
“Every night with me is extra special.”
Didn’t I know it, and so did she, which took away all the leverage I had. Stomping out of the office, I drove over to the hardware store, grumbling the entire way. How the hell had I gotten my balls so twisted up that I couldn’t even make my own decisions? I was supposed to be the man of the house, yet I wasn’t even allowed to decide what color to paint my office.
“Ryder,” Dick said, holding out his hand for me to shake. “Good to see you back in town.”
“You, too,” I said warily. I hadn’t gotten that reception from most people, but still, it was good to see a friendly face.
“So, what can I help you with today?”
“I need some paint.”
“For the new office?”
“Yeah.” News traveled fast in this town.
“Heard you bought the building next to the law office. That’s quite a purchase.”
I hadn’t told anyone, including Ellie, that I bought the building. She thought I was renting it, and that was the way I wanted it to stay. I didn’t like the idea of people thinking I was throwing around money.
“Just an investment.”
“A good investment,” he agreed. “Peterson was a good lawyer, but he wasn’t great about drumming up business. I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did. So, let’s get some new colors for you. Do you have something in mind?”
I was about to pull out the colors Ellie picked when I suddenly felt a defiant streak rush through me. “Actually, I was thinking of something gray.”
“Gray,” he nodded. “Manly.”
“Exactly. Elegant but butch.”
“I like the way you think,” he said, walking to the back of the store where paint samples lined the back wall.
“With white trim.”
“Uh-huh. Good, good. Something like this?” he asked, picking out a nice, dark gray.”
“Exactly.”
“You’ll need some window treatments to go with that.”
