“And help you finish the renovations after we get the alarm system working,” Alex adds.
“With cameras.” Blake crosses his arms as if someone would argue with his expertise.
“I guess I’ve been outvoted.” Amy stands. “Does anyone want anything else? I’m not sure what to do about dinner. I wasn’t expecting to feed an army.”
Eliot smiles. “After we finish here, we’ll hit the grocery store. We can take turns cooking.”
“I don’t mind. I’m happy to—”
“You cover breakfast, and let us take care of the rest,” I say. I’ll pay for the food for the guys, and most of them are decent with the grill.
“Fine. Does anyone need anything? I’m getting a cup of tea.” The guys decline, and she retreats to the kitchen—her safe space in this house.
She’s clearly unhappy with having six dominant men in her home, making plans to upend her life. I’ll give her a few minutes before I attempt to calm my sub, who’s reluctant to surrender to being mine. Maybe she’s showing better judgment than I am. This isn’t the time for emotional decisions. It would be too easy for someone to end up dead or injured if I’m distracted.
EIGHT
Tyler
The doorbell ringson the new entry system Blake and Alex installed. Amy leaps for the door, waving the image of a guy on her phone at me. “It’s Gabe.”
The groom from the wedding—he’s younger than I remember, probably closer to Alex’s age. Good-looking, with a big, friendly smile. And he’s currently hugging Amy. I grit my teeth. She has the right to have friends. I’m glad she does. Especially someone clearly capable of protecting her if she needed him to. But she doesn’t. I’m here. My friends are here.
“Gabe’s here, Tyler,” Amy announces as if I didn’t notice him from where I stood in the entryway.
I stick out my hand. “Nice to see you again. Sorry about the honeymoon. Sure you want to be sucked into this reno project?”
“I’d already rescheduled my jobs since I thought I’d be traveling. Once the fosters moved out, I’ve been going a little stir-crazy. Besides, I owe her.” Gabe nudges Amy.
She smiles up at him. “You don’t owe me anything.”
“Doesn’t matter. Put me to work.”
I’d like to. Maybe back home in St. Louis. That seems close enough. I shake off the jealousy. This is not who I am. Except around Amy, apparently. “Yeah, great. She’s got me painting the guest rooms. Alex is working on—”
“Can I get a hand?” Alex’s voice booms through the kitchen from the basement door.
“On it,” Gabe says to Amy. He’s through the kitchen door before I can get out another word.
“He’s great, right?” Amy asks me. “And so in love with Katherine.”
Married. My jealousy is unwarranted, but my inner caveman wants to drag Amy away by the hair and keep her all to myself. I don’t have to play to that urge. I can be a modern man. Maybe. “What are we working on today?”
“I’m finishing off the Lupine room. Maybe you could help Gabe and Alex?”
An argument forms on my lips, but I haven’t let her out of my sight except to go to the paint store since I got here. It’s not like she’s in any danger with Eliot, Cade, and Blake installing cameras on the outside of the house.
“Great idea.”
Her sigh of relief confirms my suspicion that she needs some space.
“If you need anything—” we say at the same time. I laugh and give her a nod toward the stairs. She picks up a box at the bottom and starts up. I take a step to follow. I should carry that for her.
“I got it,” she says without looking back.
My inner caveman and I still disagree when I head down to the basement.
After spending the day with Gabe, I can see why Amy likes him. He’s a great guy. He and Alex had me acting as a carpenter’s assistant, cutting wood for storage shelves. Amy has storage containers of holiday decorations down here. Everything from St. Patrick’s Day to Halloween, which I’ll likely be dragging upstairs soon. Gabe and Alex got into a rhythm where they worked in flow nearly without words. And I did what they told me. But I’ll still be the one to show off the results to Amy.
