Page 33 of The Boyfriend Gamble

Jacob

AsIlookedoverJosie’s swatches, a feeling of unease settled over me. I couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason. Except this wasn’t what I’d expected. Josie was a frilly girl. And sure, she decorated for her clients’ aesthetics and not her own, but I expected…more white, flowers, and pink.

I wasn’t going to speak up, though. Josie knew what she was doing. And her bold color palettes looked spectacular. The master bedroom had dark colors like navy blue, hunter green, royal purple, and deep burgundy. The bathrooms were gray, light blue, and an oatmeal that shouldn’t have worked, but did. Even the shower curtains were devoid of frill.

This was the opposite of her apartment.

When she showed us the dark gray for the living room, I had to speak up. “Josie, this seems…dark.”

She grinned. “With the amount of sun this room gets, it’ll pop. And even on dreary days, the paint will reflect in the lamplight.”

“Okay.” I wasn’t sure what any of that meant. “But…you’re going to do floral accents, right? For the cushions and drapes?”

“Oh, drapes.” She squealed. “I’ve ordered slatted blinds for all the windows, but I want blackout drapes for all the bedrooms. Despite the canopy of the forest, all but the north windows are going to get plenty of light. Don’t want the little ones waking up before they have to.”

Ah, the Josie I expected. Making little comments about the kids they were going to have. They only had two spare bedrooms, but I could easily build an extension. She’d once said she wanted ten. I had my doubts, but they’d need to get going on that pretty quickly, unless they planned to adopt.

Come to think of it, I wasn’t certain how many kids Felix wanted. I just sort of figured he’d go along with whatever Josie wanted. We all just sort of went along with what she wanted.

When she pointed out the dark cabinets and slate-gray backsplash in the kitchen, I had to speak up. “Really, Josie?”

She spun to me.

“Where are the flowers? The frilly? The lace?”

Felix also looked at Josie, his brow furrowing in that cute way it did when he was also super confused.

Josie smiled. “That’s not the style for this house.” She waved her arms. “This is a cabin in the woods, not a condo in the city. If you want flowers, you can do that in accents.” She turned to Felix. “Are you not happy with these choices? Because we can totally change things up.”

Felix looked helplessly between the two of us. “Uh, no, I think these are great selections.” His gaze locked on mine. “I think Jacob’s worried that you’re taking my likes into consideration, but not your own.”

She eyed the two of us. “I know what I’m doing. Unless you’re unhappy…”

“No.” Felix scratched his forehead. “I’m really happy. This is exactly what I would’ve chosen.”

I could see that. Sand, forest, and mountains were all represented in the colors. The earthy feel suited their nature paradise. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything. Except it’d be a pain to change everything around once they’d settled in and Josie had second thoughts.

“Okay.” She hugged her design binder to her chest. “Dinner at Stavros’s. My treat.”

Felix frowned, again catching my gaze. “That’s generous, but—”

“No buts. I aced an interview and I want to celebrate.”

“That’s great.” He grinned but, to my surprise, didn’t touch Josie. No hug, no kiss, no physical interaction of any kind. Come to think of it, for engaged people, they sure didn’t show a lot of affection.They’re not engaged, and maybe they’re not demonstrative.Okay, they hadn’t exchanged rings, but we all knew the wedding would come soon after this house was ready. And Felix often came across as a little shy, but Josie was boisterous. She often hugged me, Wally, and anyone else in her vicinity. So why not Felix?

None of your fucking business.

After Felix locked the house, we all got into our separate vehicles and headed to downtown Mission City.

Luckily, we nabbed the last three spots in Stavros’s parking lot.

I arrived at the host’s station first and requested a table for three.

They had a booth available and, within moments, the three of us slid in.

Before we’d even opened our menus, our server arrived to take our drink orders. Felix chose soda, Josette opted for water with lemon, and I indulged in beer. Only one since I was driving.

I sat across from the happy couple and gave them surreptitious glances as I decided on a couple of gyros. Felix would have gyros, and Josie would have a Greek salad with a side of bread. We were nothing if not predictable.

---