Page 44 of Little Did We Know
I was one step closer.
This was going to work.Lucas and Reese might worry about my workload, but they liked me.Greer was on my side too.
I grinned to myself and returned to working on my presentation.My kitchen was my classroom, and I was going to impress everyone with my fried shrimp with chipotle aioli and black bao sliders.
CHAPTER 9
That following March
Colt Carter
“…and in the end, we couldn’t say no,” Luke said, turning onto the dirt road.“Macklin was in, Lucian was in, and then Penelope followed after Reese flew into a fit of rage about paperwork.He literally came out of the house and kicked a stack of documents—like a football—and papers flew everywhere while he cursed about rezoning and liquor permits.”
That sounded like something I could do too.Fucking red tape.
“But this Penelope chick—she knows all about that?”I guessed.
“Pretty much.She works in city planning,” he said.“She’s very funny.The dynamic between her and Lucian will crack you up.He can be somewhat reserved—but always nice,” he added.“And then she came along as his ball-busting sister.”
I knew a thing or two about the annoying effects of baby sisters.
All right, then.I was up to speed, I was fairly sure.
Maybe I was a teensy bit nervous to meet his friends, but I couldn’t say I wasworried.I just wanted to make a good impression and fit in.I mean, the idea was fantastic.To run a community from an actual physical location—what a luxury.
The house came into view soon enough, and I leaned forward in my seat.
Fucking hell, this was gonna be good.The place was bigger than I’d anticipated.
“I thought you said it had peelin’ off yellow and green paint,” I said.
“It used to.When Reese and River first got the keys, every previous shade was seemingly peeling off the walls.It’s been yellow, pastel green, and light blue, as far as we know.But now…” He smiled to himself and pulled in next to a truck.
Now the house was black, and the outside appeared to be finished.
I remembered Luke had told me they’d started replacing rotten boards earlier this year, but I didn’t know they were done.
Made sense, though.Finish the exterior so the inside was protected from leaks and weather damage.
I unbuckled my seat belt and climbed out of the car, and I took a deep breath.
Yeah, I could see this in my future.We hadn’t worked out the logistics yet, and I wanted to be closer to Luke than Langley, but…we’d make it work.I did get time off, and I could picture us spending a lot of time working on this place together.
“We haven’t painted the shutters yet—or that, uh…the…the panels that go around,” Luke pointed out.“We’re gonna replace all the windows first, and that’s evidentlynotcheap.”
I smirked at my dork.“Do you mean the framing and the casing?”
He shot me a look.“I’m sorry I’m not fluent in carpenter.”
I laughed and pulled him to me, and I smooched his temple.“Don’t worry, darlin’.You have me now, and I clearly know everythin’.”
He smacked my chest and failed to hide his amusement.“Arrogant bastard.”
Goddamn, he was gorgeous.I was still riding a wave of relief and euphoria at being home again, and now I had him.He was mine.All fucking mine.
“An arrogant bastard you professed your love for.”I kissed his nose.
He hummed and kissed me.“Don’t make me regret it, Captain.I’ll call your mother.”
