Hawk surprised me by laughing. It was a short bark of sound, but the corners of his lips lifted, and he shook his head. After asecond or two, he explained. “You have no idea how right you are. They both turn fifty early next year.”
My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. Five years? Fivefuckingyears! That was all that separated me from his parents?
“Five…” I couldn’t say it out loud. “Fuck.”
This time, Hawk’s laugh was more real, and for just a moment, it distracted me from my internal freak out. Some of the tension left his body, and he lifted his coffee to his lips, taking a sip as he studied me over the rim. After he swallowed, he shrugged. “They started young. Like way too young.”
“I guess so,” I grumbled. I knew they had a whole passel of children, and Hawk was somewhere in the middle of the pack. Or was he actually in the younger half? I couldn’t remember and frankly, it didn’t matter. I steeled myself. “Right. So clearly, I’m too old for you. Which means it’s best if we’re just friends. Don’t you think?”
It almost hurt to say the words, because honestly, I wasn’t opposed to hooking up with younger men. But Hawk wasn’t a quick tumble sort of guy. Not in the least because we’d have to see each other for the next however long it would take to train Ramona. But more than that, I’d made this corner of Colorado my new home, and while the two neighboring towns were at least big enough that we could probably avoid each other, theywerequintessential small towns and it was more likely than not that we would run into each other. Even if we tried to avoid it. Neither of us needed that.
Hawk’s expression shuttered again, and I fucking hated that, but he was entitled to process his emotions any way he wanted. I finished my coffee and set the mug down, waiting for him to respond. Eventually, he did.
“Yeah. Yeah, you’re probably right about that.”
Relief warred with disappointment, and I did my best to keep that off my face. Hawk didn’t need to be burdened with my emotional state. Not about this. I pushed to my feet.
“Come on.” I turned toward the left and took three steps before I realized Hawk hadn’t stood up. I glanced over my shoulder. “Please.”
That made him move and I led the way down a short hallway and through to the three-season room, which took up one side of the entire house. It was a large, spacious room that had windows on three sides, almost floor to ceiling, and had a spectacular view of the property, which sloped gently. Unlike my sparsely furnished living room, this space was fully furnished with handmade sturdy wooden couches and chairs. I found a local artisan on one of my forays through town and paid for the full set. The cushions were thick, soft, and very comfortable. I’d loved it the second I saw it.
I’d installed a drinks fridge and a small bar in the corner as well, because while I didn’t have many friends yet in this town, I intended to make them. And this is where I planned on entertaining.
“Whoa,” Hawk muttered.
“Yeah. The view is pretty great, huh? And hey look, real furniture!” I waggled my eyebrows and Hawk smirked. I gestured to one of the couches. “Really comfortable too. Since we’re friends now, this is the ‘friend space.’ Have a seat.”
Hawk gave me a look as though he thought I was being strange. And maybe I was. But I had to do something to shove him into that box in my head, and on short notice, this was the best I could come up with. No more thinking he was gorgeous and imagining him being vocal in bed, that deep gravelly voice singing along my…. Nope. Friends. We were friends.
“I’m planning on making it a jungle in here too. It’s south facing, which apparently is great lighting for most plants. Ihaven’t done enough research yet. Or more specifically, haven’t had Marielle do the research yet.” At Hawk’s raised brows, I explained. “My assistant. She keeps me organized and on track. And pulls all the research I want to read.”
Hawk nodded like that made sense, but his focus was on his phone, which I hadn’t seen him dig out of his pocket. A second later, he was holding it up in front of him, and it was making that particular ring that meant a video call. A moment after that, the call was answered.
“Hello, brother mine. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?” A decidedly masculine voice said. He sounded a little bit like Hawk, actually.
“Kee. Check this out.” He tapped the screen and then panned the phone around the room. I heard this Kee suck in a breath and Hawk said, “What kind of plants would you put in here?”
“All the plants, Hawk.All of them.Holy shit, bro. Where are you?”
Hawk flicked his gaze to me. “A friend’s place. He wants to fill this room with plants.”
“What direction does it face? Is he willing to build? I can think of…so many things to do with that space!” Kee’s voice rose with excitement.
I closed the distance between us and sat next to Hawk, eyebrow raised in question. Hawk hesitated for a second, then flipped the camera back around so that both of us were in the picture. Kee looked like a Harrington, no doubt about it. And even though his mouth dropped open for a second, he fixed his face immediately.
“Keegan, this is Carter Cahill,” Hawk introduced us. He glanced at me. “Kee is getting his degree in horticulture. He knows a thing or two about plants.”
“CahillCahill?” Keegan asked, his voice shocked. Before I could figure what that meant, Keegan cleared his throat. “Nice to meet you, sir. I’m envious of all that natural light.”
I decided to let the hint of strangeness go and put on a smile. “Thanks. It’s pretty outstanding. And to answer your questions, it’s south facing and I would be more than willing to build. What would you do with the room to bring in the jungle?”
Keegan groaned, but in a covetous way. “So much. Rails above the windows for hanging baskets of trailing plants. Some statement plants, like a bird of paradise and a monstera, or maybe a Ficus or dieffenbachia for the corners. Shelves and shelves of plants around the window bases.”
“Would you be willing to design the space for me?” I asked, only for Keegan to freeze. I saw his nostrils flaring, so I knew the video hadn’t glitched. I quickly added, “I’ll pay you for your time.”
Keegan’s eyes cut to his brother. “Is he for real?”
“Yes,” Hawk and I said at the same time.
