Page 40 of Love It or List It
Austin blinked, then huffed.“Why do you have a hair elastic?”But he took it anyway.With a practiced flip, he slipped it around his wrist, then started finger-combing his curls into order.
“I don’t know if you noticed, but my best friend and one of my kids have long hair.Alex used to as well but cut it shorter.”
“So you can carry around ties for them?”
“It can’t surprise you that they’re all forgetful,” Joe evaded instead of admitting that he didn’t usually keep them in his pocket.
Austin snorted.
Apparently curly-hair ponytails were more involved than straight, Joe thought, as Austin finally seemed satisfied with the placement of his hair and wrapped the tie around it three times.
“So, what’s next?”Austin swiped a too-short curl off his forehead.
“Hm?”Joe had miscalculated.He could not handle Austin with a ponytail.
“What’s the next step with the floor?”
“Right.”Joe shook his head to clear it.“We need to finish installing hangers, put in the joists, make sure they’re level, and then install the subfloor.”
Austin nodded.Had his neck always been that long?
Two joist hangers later and Joe was certain that he’d made a horrible choice.Every time Austin leaned over to check level, he turned his back to Joe and leaned forward.With his hair tied out of the way, Joe could see his broad shoulders and, upsettingly, his nape.
Whywas his nape sexy?
Also, Joe was starting to get specific fantasies about that hair.He’d thought Austin kept it long out of practical reasons, but what if he had a more salacious motive?Joe could picture those beautiful curls tangled around his fingers—
“Joe?”Austin glanced over his shoulder.
“Right.”Joe stepped forward and—good Lord—drilled Austin’s joist into the wood.
By the time they’d finished the joists, Joe was sweating and wondering why DIY was so sexual.Also, he wondered if Austin liked taking it from behind while his top pulled his hair and chewed his neck.Purely as a thought experiment, of course.
They took a break for water and a snack and then pushed forward, hanging some strapping, shoving some insulation bats between the joists, then screwing down the subfloor.Holy crap, this place might actually have a kitchen again someday soon.
Joe had a brief fantasy about it—not a perfect kitchen but a functional one that saw a lot of use, mismatched mugs in the cupboard, everyone with their own favorite.A table or island big enough for eight or ten, more if they got a little friendly, perfect for birthdays and holidays and graduation parties.
“Hey,” he said before he meant to, “you said you’d installed cabinets before, right?”
“Mmm,” Austin agreed.He was leaning against the wall of the house, head tilted back.His ponytail, squashed against the wall, stuck up around his head like a curly dark halo.He looked exhausted.Joe knew how he felt.
“How fast you think we can finish it?”Joe asked.“I mean, uh.Think we can host Christmas?”
Austin’s eyes opened, fathomless as ever.“I think,” he said after a moment, “we shouldn’t put up cabinets until Starling’s done the wiring in here.But if we’re doing a simple layout and the ReStore has something suitable in stock, yeah, we can probably get the cupboards installed in a day.”
Sweet.
“But let’s go back to the thing wherewe’rehosting Christmas.”
Joe rubbed the back of his neck.“Well, I mean, it’s your house too.I’m not going to, like, kick you out of it—”
“What kind of Christmas are we talking about?”
What did he mean, what kind of Christmas?The kind with people and dinner and presents, obviously.
Except—maybe not obviously.Not if Austin didn’t have any family.Not if he’d grown up in foster care.Not if DeeDee had been his closest friend in the area.
For once, Joe was glad he’d been momentarily tongue-tied.“Just, you know, dinner.The kids, maybe their parents if they don’t have other plans.Will’s won’t come, and Gavin’s are divorced, but they get along.Alex’s new stepdad is cool, and their mom’s sober now.They’d probably come.Starling, maybe Linda….”
