I shrugged. “Not sure. I’ve been on a few dates, but I guess I’m sort of over the hookup scene. Maybe I’m ready for something more.”
“I hear you, brother,” Bass said, reaching for his beer. “I’ve only been on a few dates since Celine and I broke up over six months ago, and I fucking hate dating.”
He and his girlfriend had been together for a few years before they finally called it quits. He didn’t talk about it a whole lot; he’d just thrown himself even more into work after she left town.
“That’s your problem,” Phoenix said. “You’re trying to make it something more than it has to be. Just go out and have a good time. No strings attached. No drama. That’s how I prefer it.” He forked a cucumber and popped it in his mouth.
“Well, women love a moody firefighter, don’t they?” Bass waggled his brows.
“There’s only one girl I give a shit about, and she never stops bossing me around,” Brody said, laughing.
Clover Stark.
Brody’s little girl.
Hell, she was a little bit all of ours.
We’d known her since the day she came into this world, and we all adored her.
“Yeah, well, your girl is four years old, and she bosses all of us around, doesn’t she?” Phoenix said, a wide grin spreading across his face when he spoke about his niece.
“Well, isn’t this just great?” Cannon said. “I finally make a name for myself as a bull rider, and the women are eating that shit up. And now Heart decides to be celibate just to keep his best friend living in his house, Brody is committed to raising his daughter, so he rarely goes out, Bass is having a love affairwith this goddamn restaurant, and the only wingman I still have, Phoenix, works most nights at the firehouse and he’s a grumpy asshole. I’m fucked.”
“To being fucked.” Phoenix raised his bottle, and we all followed suit.
But I didn’t feel fucked at all.
I hadn’t been this happy in a long time.
eight
. . .
Gracie
It felt sogood to be working again and doing what I loved.
Designing was my passion, and I loved nothing more than bringing clients’ visions to life.
Designing Cutler’s family home was going to be a breeze, as Emilia had given me very clear and specific direction on the aesthetic they wanted, all while giving me free rein to make choices on their behalf.
It was a designer’s dream.
A large budget. Clear aesthetic. And she fully trusted me.
I’d interned with Emilia Chadwick for two summers, so we knew one another well. That helped.
I’d met with Shana Peterson yesterday, and today was our design meeting, as she’d officially hired me.
Shana would be easy in a different way. I got the sense that she didn’t want to have to make the decisions on her own, or even at all. She wanted my guidance, and she seemed to trust it.
I understood that. Renovations were huge undertakings. They could be exciting and fun, but also stressful and overwhelming.
That’s where I came in.
“I just, I have so much on my plate right now,” Shana said. “The three kids and Billy and I are all living in the basement at my parents’ house. I’m just spread so thin, but I want to make sure that I get what we want in this house.”
I could feel the anxiety radiating from her.
