Page 94 of Take My Heart
‘Fine. Stop by, but at least text me before you come over.’
‘We better get back out there before Mom starts looking for us.’
We return to the table.
‘Ready to go?’ I say to Kate.
‘Sure.’ She gets up and smiles at everyone. ‘It was really nice meeting all of you.’
‘It was nice meeting you too,’ Mom says. ‘I hope to see you again.’ Mom winks at me as she says it. She loves embarrassing me, but I’m used to it.
We go out to my truck and I open Kate’s door.
‘Why didn’t you want to stay?’ she asks. ‘I was having a good time.’
‘We need to get home. We’ve got work to do.’
‘Work? What work?’
‘Fixing up the house. We’ve got a lot to do and not much time to do it.’
‘Wait—what? But I thought you said—’
I cut her off with a kiss, then look at her. ‘Do you want to help me or not?’
‘Yes!’ She hugs me. ‘I can’t wait!’
I can’t believe I agreed to this. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing and I have no idea where to start. But I made a promise to Jason and I’m going to keep it.
Chapter 18
Kate
This past week has been like a dream. I’ve spent the last seven days remodeling Brody’s house. Most people would consider that work, but to me, it’s pure bliss. My happy place. I’ve never felt this energized or excited about something. I love every part of it, even the messy, tedious stuff like steaming wallpaper off the walls in the spare bedroom. I did that last weekend, and then on Monday, Brody replaced the trim, which I painted that night. Tuesday I patched up the walls and put on a coat of primer, then on Wednesday I was finally able to paint, using the grayish-green color I’d told Brody about weeks ago. He wasn’t sure about it, but now that it’s on the walls, he likes how it looks and how it contrasts with the bright white trim.
Yesterday and today I worked on the other spare bedroom, the one that’s supposed to be mine. I haven’t stayed in it for weeks because I spend every night with Brody. We’re living like we’re a couple, which I know we shouldn’t do, but we both likewhat we’re doing and it’s only for another week, so why change it now?
‘Let’s take a break,’ Brody says, coming into the room.
‘I finished painting the trim,’ I say as Brody puts his arms around me. ‘I was about to start on the closet doors.’
‘That can wait until later.’ He kisses me, the kind of kiss that’ll lead to us doing more.
I smile at him. ‘I guess I could take a break.’
I never turn down sex with Brody. It’s too good, and we don’t have much time left. I’m leaving soon. Brody and I haven’t talked about what we’ll do when I go back to Chicago. We’re both avoiding the topic, as if it’s not happening in a week.
The doorbell rings.
‘Shit,’ Brody mutters, lowering my shirt. He was lifting it up when we heard the doorbell.
‘Are you expecting someone?’
‘No.’
The bell rings again, then we hear knocking and someone yelling, ‘Brody, you in there?’
‘It’s Sawyer,’ Brody says, sounding annoyed. ‘What the hell does he want?’
