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“You . . . kissed.”

“It just happened,” Aiden continued. He glanced over at Thomas for a little help, but when he grinned too, he knew he was on his own. With a sigh, he turned back to Bradley. “She kissed me back so . . . that’s good at least.”

“‘That’s good’ he says,” Bradley parroted. “Well? What else?”

Aiden shrugged. “That’s it. We’ve only kissed. I haven’t figured out how to broach the topic or ask if maybe we can do it again.” When he saw Bradley’s incredulous expression, he rushed to add, “I don’t want to screw this up. I’m getting free room and board for fixing up a few things. I don’t want to make her feel uncomfortable in her own home.”

“Well, if she’s kissing you back, I don’t think she’s uncomfortable,” Thomas chimed in. It sounded logical and yet Aiden was still nervous. “Maybe you just need to be around her outside of the house, so the arrangement isn’t always on your mind.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Aiden agreed. “But where? Both of us are usually working, and on the weekends, I’m taking care of some bigger projects around the house to get it squared away before winter decides to kick in the door.”

Bradley jumped in then, energy spiking as he gave his spiel. “The schools are getting together to do a fundraiser to raise money for the people impacted by the fire. I know Vini planned on being a sponsor, but I also know the principal is going to ask the teachers to run different booths. You should ask Janae about it and see if she needs any help.”

“Won’t that be weird if I just randomly volunteer myself?”

Bradley scrunched up his face. “Hmm, maybe. Or . . . I could volunteer you for something to make sure you’re there . . .”

“You can come with me and help set the food up,” Thomas said, drawing their attention. When Aiden looked at him, he shrugged. “I was already asked to supply food, and I could use an extra hand. I’ll pay you in two lunches that you can hand-deliver to Janae. That’ll give you an excuse to be around her.”

Aiden stared at him, but he couldn’t find fault in it. He could be helpful and find a way to be around Janae outside the house. “I couldn’t ask you to do that for me.”

“You didn’t,” Thomas said. “I volunteered you. I’ll text you the details once I have them. Now shut up. Halftime is over, and I have money on this damn game.”

A couple days later, Aiden was elbow-deep in plumbing as he lay on the floor. The extra bathroom was coming along slowly but surely. The shower had already been finished and now he was working on the vanity and the sink. The pipes were exposed, his tools scattered everywhere as he did his best not to have a repeat of the waterlogged situation from the other bathroom. He grunted, tightening one of the pipes, when he heard the front door open.

“Aiden?”

“I’m in here,” he called out.

A moment later, footsteps paused in the doorway, and he slowly shifted out from under the sink. Janae was standing there, bag slung over her shoulder, a hand on her hip. She was smiling as she looked around the bathroom.

“Wow. This room is really coming together.”

Aiden grinned as he looked around. “It really is.”

“Also, I need a favor.”

“Name it.”

“The school is doing a fundraiser in two weeks to raise money for the apartment fire victims,” she said. “I’m running one of the face-painting booths and I kind of needed an assistant. Bradley told me you’d be coming by since you’re helping out Thomas and I was sort of hoping . . . maybe you could swing by and help me as well?”

Aiden’s heartbeat sped up and he silently cursed and blessed Bradley’s name. “I’m not exactly Picasso, but I’d be happy to help you out.”

Janae giggled, the sound making his cheeks heat. “You don’t have to be Picasso. But if it makes you feel better, I’ll have some photos you can copy. Most of the kids we get will probably be little enough that they won’t care.”

Aiden chuckled and nodded. “That’s a relief.” He lay back down but then realized he forgot something. “Could you hand me the crowfoot wrench?”

There was a pause, and he almost said something else, but when he looked over, he saw Janae reach into the box by the doorway and pull out exactly the right tool. He froze when she looked at it for a moment before holding it out to him. Slowly, he leaned up, shock probably plastered onto his face. When Janae saw him staring, she smiled again with a sheepish expression.

“What? I might have looked some things up online.”

“You looked up a crowfoot wrench online?” Aiden asked.

She shook her head and jiggled the wrench. “Sort of? I mean, I looked up types of wrenches online. I wanted to at least know what tools you were using in case you asked me for help.”

Aiden nodded slowly as he took in her answer. She had researched something out of her wheelhouse on the off chance she could be helpful. He didn’t know what to say. Something warm and impulsive welled up within him and before he could stop himself, he’d stood and cupped her cheek. When he kissed her, it was soft and quick—an instinctive motion that he hadn’t realized he would do until it was over and he was looking into her warm gaze.

“Oh, shit. I’m sor—”