I took a step closer, lowering the bag to my side as I did.
“The best I’ve ever had.”
Her pupils dilated, so I knew she understood the double entendre.
I inched my face toward hers and whispered, “It’s at least worth a kiss, don’t you think?”
Her mouth parted slightly, and she leaned in.
Ding dong!
My brother had the worst fucking timing in the world.
Gretchen jumped back, like the spell between us had been broken.
Then the little minx snatched the bag from me and ran toward the door, giggling as she did.
Chapter Forty-Three
Gretchen
I had to blink twice when I opened the door.
There was no denying the man on my front porch was Gabe’s brother. There was a resemblance with Derrick, but this guy was the younger version of Gabe.
“You must be Beau,” I said with a bright smile.
He smiled back, revealing a dimple just like Derrick’s, and I wondered if he was a player like his younger brother.
“I am. And you must be Gretchen. Nice to finally meet you.”
I stepped to the side and told him, “Please come in,” then pointed toward the kitchen after he walked inside. “Gabe’s in the kitchen. He brought pizza.”
Gabe yelled, “And cheesecake!”
I snickered as I gripped the bag tighter.
Of course I was going to share. Not only were these guys giving up their Friday night to help me, but I couldn’t afford to eat five slices of cheesecake in one week and expect to fit into my jeans.
My empty plate was still on the counter, and I returned to the refrigerator, put the bag inside, and asked, “What can I get you guys to drink? I have Diet Coke, water, lemonade, milk, apple juice, or beer.”
“Lemonade, please.”
Beau nodded. “Yeah, lemonade sounds good.”
We sat around the kitchen island as we ate, and Gabe laid out his plan for the evening, although he seemed to be talking more to Beau than to me.
“Let’s get her refrigerator moved into the formal dining room, along with the microwave, so she at least has a clean place to make food. Then we can put up plastic in the doorways to minimize the dust to the rest of the house.”
I appreciated that he was thoughtful about mitigating the mess to the rest of the house. I had already been feeling twitchy with all the boxes of my kitchen contents stacked along the walls.
“That sounds like a plan. Which cabinets did you want to start with?” Beau broke out into a grin. “I brought my own sledgehammer. It’s in the truck.”
“I don’t want to demolish them. They’re in good enough condition that they can be donated to the Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore.” He turned to face me. “If that’s okay with you?”
“I love that idea.”
Not only were we recycling, we’d be donating to a great cause.
