something didn’t feel quite right. “Are these new sheets?”
“Mmm-hmm. Ellie sent them as a housewarming gift. They’re black.”
I considered that as I got myself comfortable. Predictably, Ash had painted the bedroom walls pure white a few days before. With the dark wood floors and black sheets, the room was going to look kinda funky. “Did you call her?”
The pillows rustled as he shook his head. “No. She was caught up when I spoke to her last.”
Under the covers, I found his hand and gave it a squeeze. Ellie was his best friend and she’d been gone for a while. Although I knew he didn’t talk about the big stuff with her, she had been a constant presence in his life. He had to be missing her, especially as he knew she was confronting something she’d spent her whole life afraid of.
Ash squeezed back and let go to put his arm around me. “Hey, guess what?”
I peeled open my heavy eyes. “What?”
“Joe’s back. And he’s not alone. He said he’s going to come by tomorrow, but I’ll be at the old shop till late. You’ll have to tell me if his girl’s as hot as he says she is.”
I chuckled, tracing my hand over his stomach in idle patterns. “No one’s as hot as he says she is. Those chicks don’t exist.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
I WAS on the verge of doing serious damage to the bathroom when Joe appeared the following day. The pipes were new, but they’d been badly fitted and didn’t work as well as they should. I’d spent the morning reconstructing the hot water system, and by the time Joe disturbed me, I was about to chuck the whole lot out of the window.
It was good to see Joe. He’d been gone for weeks—the longest we’d been without him for over a year. I buzzed him in, opened the interior door, and stomped back to the bathroom. I’d forgotten his girl was in town until I glanced up from the tangled mess of copper to greet him.
Wow.
There was no other word for the couple who stood in the doorway. It was one of those moments when I appreciated the ability I had to see the beauty in both sexes. In a platonic way, Ash and I had always thought Joe was beautiful. He had a shock of jet-black hair and dark-green eyes that complemented his dark, Romany skin. The contrast with his girlfriend’s waist-length blonde hair and alabaster complexion was incredible. For a long moment, I found myself gawking at them. The girl was stunning; the kind of chick where it didn’t matter if she was a total airhead, because you’d put up with it to be with her.
Lucky for Joe, I could tell by looking at his girl that she was far from stupid. Her eyes were bright and friendly as she stepped around him. She extended her hand, the tiny stud in her nose glittering like a prism. “You must be Pete,” she said. “I’m Danni. Joe’s talked about you a lot. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
I wiped my hands on my jeans, still dumbstruck, and stupidly surprised at the strength in her delicate fingers. Her amiable smile surprised me too. Considering it was my fault Joe had been away from her for so long, I was half expecting a slap in the face.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” I said. “Joe talks about you all the time, but we were beginning to think he’d made you up.”
Joe glared up from inspecting the mess I’d made of the bathroom pipes, but I dodged the screwdriver he tossed my way. “What the hell are you doing in here?” he grumbled. “Ash told me there wasn’t much stuff to fix up.”
Joe was good with his hands, and had bucketloads of patience, which meant he was far less likely to bash a hole in the wall than I was. I watched him methodically piece together the pipes with a rueful sigh. Today was my only day off and I’d spent most of it doing something that was going to take him a few minutes.
Behind us, Danni cleared her throat. She’d wandered off to look around while Joe had been assessing the pipework, but now she was back. “How about I go and start unpacking your
“Mmm-hmm. Ellie sent them as a housewarming gift. They’re black.”
I considered that as I got myself comfortable. Predictably, Ash had painted the bedroom walls pure white a few days before. With the dark wood floors and black sheets, the room was going to look kinda funky. “Did you call her?”
The pillows rustled as he shook his head. “No. She was caught up when I spoke to her last.”
Under the covers, I found his hand and gave it a squeeze. Ellie was his best friend and she’d been gone for a while. Although I knew he didn’t talk about the big stuff with her, she had been a constant presence in his life. He had to be missing her, especially as he knew she was confronting something she’d spent her whole life afraid of.
Ash squeezed back and let go to put his arm around me. “Hey, guess what?”
I peeled open my heavy eyes. “What?”
“Joe’s back. And he’s not alone. He said he’s going to come by tomorrow, but I’ll be at the old shop till late. You’ll have to tell me if his girl’s as hot as he says she is.”
I chuckled, tracing my hand over his stomach in idle patterns. “No one’s as hot as he says she is. Those chicks don’t exist.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
I WAS on the verge of doing serious damage to the bathroom when Joe appeared the following day. The pipes were new, but they’d been badly fitted and didn’t work as well as they should. I’d spent the morning reconstructing the hot water system, and by the time Joe disturbed me, I was about to chuck the whole lot out of the window.
It was good to see Joe. He’d been gone for weeks—the longest we’d been without him for over a year. I buzzed him in, opened the interior door, and stomped back to the bathroom. I’d forgotten his girl was in town until I glanced up from the tangled mess of copper to greet him.
Wow.
There was no other word for the couple who stood in the doorway. It was one of those moments when I appreciated the ability I had to see the beauty in both sexes. In a platonic way, Ash and I had always thought Joe was beautiful. He had a shock of jet-black hair and dark-green eyes that complemented his dark, Romany skin. The contrast with his girlfriend’s waist-length blonde hair and alabaster complexion was incredible. For a long moment, I found myself gawking at them. The girl was stunning; the kind of chick where it didn’t matter if she was a total airhead, because you’d put up with it to be with her.
Lucky for Joe, I could tell by looking at his girl that she was far from stupid. Her eyes were bright and friendly as she stepped around him. She extended her hand, the tiny stud in her nose glittering like a prism. “You must be Pete,” she said. “I’m Danni. Joe’s talked about you a lot. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
I wiped my hands on my jeans, still dumbstruck, and stupidly surprised at the strength in her delicate fingers. Her amiable smile surprised me too. Considering it was my fault Joe had been away from her for so long, I was half expecting a slap in the face.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” I said. “Joe talks about you all the time, but we were beginning to think he’d made you up.”
Joe glared up from inspecting the mess I’d made of the bathroom pipes, but I dodged the screwdriver he tossed my way. “What the hell are you doing in here?” he grumbled. “Ash told me there wasn’t much stuff to fix up.”
Joe was good with his hands, and had bucketloads of patience, which meant he was far less likely to bash a hole in the wall than I was. I watched him methodically piece together the pipes with a rueful sigh. Today was my only day off and I’d spent most of it doing something that was going to take him a few minutes.
Behind us, Danni cleared her throat. She’d wandered off to look around while Joe had been assessing the pipework, but now she was back. “How about I go and start unpacking your
Similar Books
