her left ear. “It’s probably the last one. I think they hurt more the older you get .”
“I hear that you’re giving that guy Ryan over there a hard time,” he said, gesturing toward the men laughing in the corner of the room.
“Aw, Dominic, not you too,” Sophie cried in mock surrender. “I give up.”
“You girls are so hard on nice guys these days. First Holly, and now you. What does a guy have to do to get a girl interested?”
“I can’t speak for Holly,” Sophie said, “but dating’s hard in the new millennium.”
“What’s so hard? My Iris and I never had all these problems,” he said, referring to his now deceased wife. “You liked the way a girl looked, you asked her out. You saw a movie, had a hamburger, and talked. If you liked each other, you did it again. If not, you did it again with another person until you got it right.”
“Dominic, I wish it were that easy.”
Nick’s father harrumphed loudly. “I think you all make it too complicated,” he grumbled. “I talked to the guy this morning. He seems nice. He has a job. He doesn’t smell.”
Before Sophie could think of a witty or at least logical rejoinder, Holly was clapping her hands together getting the group’s attention. She redirected the kids to new gardening tasks and turned organization of the painting over to Dominic.
“Last time I checked, there was too much talking and not enough painting gettin’ done,” Dominic said, looking pointedly from Sophie to Holly. “So I’m changing things up. Holly, you and Nick are painting the pink and green rooms, and I’ll work with Sophie and Ryan to get the purple and blue-green rooms done. Hopefully we’ll be dry enough in time for the afternoon furniture deliveries.”
Sophie knew a setup when she saw one. First Holly, now Dominic. They were pushing her and Ryan together, and her rebellious nature made her want to push back. Not because she wasn’t attracted to him—it was getting very hard to ignore her attraction to him when they were in the same room together. But because it was starting to feel like a setup by a well-meaning mother or aunt. And Sophie knew how to handle those. First, she thanked them. Then, she made a date for drinks at a loud restaurant far from her house. And lastly if she could, she went by another name. Obligation fulfilled, she never saw the guy again.
Thank goodness Dominic was there to act as a buffer. If she could just get through today, then she could have time to think about what Dominic and Holly had said and decide if she was ready to act on her feelings.
The three of them worked in relative quiet, painting the first bedroom a soft lilac. Dominic was suspiciously efficient, and had painted the room’s edges and corners expertly.
“I gotta check on Nicky.” He paused meaningfully. “So …I’ll leave you guys to fill in these walls here.” And with that he nimbly—quite nimbly for an older man—sprinted from the room.
“Well, that was subtle,” Ryan said, laughing.
Sophie shook her head ruefully. “What exactly did you say to him this morning?” she asked. “He took a liking to you kind of quickly. I think he practically has us walking down the aisle.” She hummed Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” under her breath.
“I told him the truth,” he said.
Sophie’s stomach bottomed out. He liked her, he really liked her. Damn it, she sounded like Sally Field. She felt lighthearted and joyous all at once. Here she was, the blue-haired Goth girl, and this hot guy with beautiful blue eyes and thick leonine hair wanted to kiss her. She could scarcely believe it. As they finished the last wall, she glanced surreptitiously at the broad expanse of his back, the narrow hips, the perfect muscular butt, and her breath quickened, and her mouth watered. Maybe she could give it a whirl with him. Maybe this time it would be different. They weren’t getting married—she didn’t believe in marriage—so maybe she could break her
“I hear that you’re giving that guy Ryan over there a hard time,” he said, gesturing toward the men laughing in the corner of the room.
“Aw, Dominic, not you too,” Sophie cried in mock surrender. “I give up.”
“You girls are so hard on nice guys these days. First Holly, and now you. What does a guy have to do to get a girl interested?”
“I can’t speak for Holly,” Sophie said, “but dating’s hard in the new millennium.”
“What’s so hard? My Iris and I never had all these problems,” he said, referring to his now deceased wife. “You liked the way a girl looked, you asked her out. You saw a movie, had a hamburger, and talked. If you liked each other, you did it again. If not, you did it again with another person until you got it right.”
“Dominic, I wish it were that easy.”
Nick’s father harrumphed loudly. “I think you all make it too complicated,” he grumbled. “I talked to the guy this morning. He seems nice. He has a job. He doesn’t smell.”
Before Sophie could think of a witty or at least logical rejoinder, Holly was clapping her hands together getting the group’s attention. She redirected the kids to new gardening tasks and turned organization of the painting over to Dominic.
“Last time I checked, there was too much talking and not enough painting gettin’ done,” Dominic said, looking pointedly from Sophie to Holly. “So I’m changing things up. Holly, you and Nick are painting the pink and green rooms, and I’ll work with Sophie and Ryan to get the purple and blue-green rooms done. Hopefully we’ll be dry enough in time for the afternoon furniture deliveries.”
Sophie knew a setup when she saw one. First Holly, now Dominic. They were pushing her and Ryan together, and her rebellious nature made her want to push back. Not because she wasn’t attracted to him—it was getting very hard to ignore her attraction to him when they were in the same room together. But because it was starting to feel like a setup by a well-meaning mother or aunt. And Sophie knew how to handle those. First, she thanked them. Then, she made a date for drinks at a loud restaurant far from her house. And lastly if she could, she went by another name. Obligation fulfilled, she never saw the guy again.
Thank goodness Dominic was there to act as a buffer. If she could just get through today, then she could have time to think about what Dominic and Holly had said and decide if she was ready to act on her feelings.
The three of them worked in relative quiet, painting the first bedroom a soft lilac. Dominic was suspiciously efficient, and had painted the room’s edges and corners expertly.
“I gotta check on Nicky.” He paused meaningfully. “So …I’ll leave you guys to fill in these walls here.” And with that he nimbly—quite nimbly for an older man—sprinted from the room.
“Well, that was subtle,” Ryan said, laughing.
Sophie shook her head ruefully. “What exactly did you say to him this morning?” she asked. “He took a liking to you kind of quickly. I think he practically has us walking down the aisle.” She hummed Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” under her breath.
“I told him the truth,” he said.
Sophie’s stomach bottomed out. He liked her, he really liked her. Damn it, she sounded like Sally Field. She felt lighthearted and joyous all at once. Here she was, the blue-haired Goth girl, and this hot guy with beautiful blue eyes and thick leonine hair wanted to kiss her. She could scarcely believe it. As they finished the last wall, she glanced surreptitiously at the broad expanse of his back, the narrow hips, the perfect muscular butt, and her breath quickened, and her mouth watered. Maybe she could give it a whirl with him. Maybe this time it would be different. They weren’t getting married—she didn’t believe in marriage—so maybe she could break her
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