Page 166 of Sapphire Sunset

“I’m just saying,” Connor continued, “if you did the lanternsin anXover the backyard instead of two parallel strands then maybe—”

“I’mdoing this one.” Logan emphasized his pointwith several fires of his drill in rapid succession. “Have some faith, allright? Does the downstairs bathroom have all the new tile you picked out ornot?”

“It does,” Connor conceded.

Their new house was a fixer upper, and in the few weekssince they’d moved in, Logan had proved his mettle as a skillful contractor.The speed with which he’d redone the floor in the downstairs bathroom was adefinite point in his favor. But he’d also cleared and finished a space in thekitchen for a refrigerator twice the size of the one the previous owners hadused. And he’d replaced all the metal air conditioning vent covers with woodenones that didn’t rattle. The fact that they matched the surrounding walls wasan added plus.

They’d planned to buy a place closer to Sapphire Cove. But alittle way south, in Mission Viejo, they’d found the perfect combo of the bigbackyard Logan had always craved and a manageable mortgage that wouldn’t requireConnor to ask for help from his mom. Added perks? A peaceful eastern view ofthe surrounding hills, plenty of closet space off the master, and a deep enoughkitchen counter for Logan to take Connor missionary atop it, something they’ddone almost every day since they moved in. While the commute was twenty minuteson a good day, neither one of them minded. After all they’d given the hotelthese past months, they could both use a bit of distance between their work andhome lives.

“Don’t bother fighting him, dude.” Donnie emerged throughthe sliding door with a Heineken in each fist. “He’s serious about this one. Iwent with him to pick up the folding table, and he shook it like he was tryingto get gold out of it just to make sure it wouldn’t collapse. I’m like, whatare we having for dinner? A giraffe?”

Connor took the beer out of Donnie’s left hand and sawDonnie give him a startled look.

“What?” Connor asked.

“The beer was for Logan,” Donnie said.

“Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to cut in line.”

“No, it’s fine. I can get him another one. Ikindathought you weren’t a beer person. I was going tomake you a vodka soda.”

“I can drink beer.” Although, now that he thought about it…

“It’s not supposed to be, like, an endurance thing,” Donniesaid.

To prove a point, Connor brought the bottle to his mouth, slugged,and winced. “Oh, God. It tastes like jet fuel. Why is this a thing at all?”

“Some guys in the Middle Ages thought it up, I think,”Donnie said.

“Hand over the Heineken,” Logan demanded.

Connor passed the bottle up to him as he shook his head andshivered like a wet dog.

“I’ll get you a suitable cocktail,” Donnie said. “Is Nasercoming?”

“Who wants to know?” Naser asked, stepping through the openback door with a covered casserole dish in both hands.

Donnie blushed and looked to his feet. “Just wondering if Ishould brush up on my math.”

“It was actually a logic problem you couldn’t solve, not amath problem. And you really need to let it go.”

“It’s a stupid problem,” Donnie grumbled. “There’s no such thingashalfa hen sohalfa hen can’t layanyeggs.”

“It was three months ago, Donnie,” Naser said.

“Or was it threehalfmonths ago?” Donnie grumbled.

“Whatever,” Naser said. “I need refrigerator space.”

“Second shelf is all yours,” Connor said.

“Oh, also, your mom’s driving in circles around the neighborhoodbecause she probably can’t find the place,” Naser said as he stepped backinside.

“She’s been here three times already,” Connor said. “She’sdriving in circles because she doesn’t want to get off the phone with herfriend Lisa, who’s going through a dramatic divorce.”

“Where the gays at?”a booming male voice calledfrom inside the house.

“Dad!” Logan barked, then fired the drill a few more timesand let out a triumphant war whoop when the hook didn’t come loose under hisjiggling hand.

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