Page 29 of Nailing Studs

With their help, this house could be mine. This town could be mine. They could be mine. And I could be theirs. Even if it was just physically, and temporary, I yearned for that.

“Great,” I said, suddenly unable to look up at them as I was too afraid my cheeks were beet red. “Thank you so much. I’m going to say yes. You guys are…the best.” I hoped it was clear to them exactly what “offer” I was talking about.

Taylor beamed that mega-watt smile again. “We haven’t even started, sweetheart.” He quickly added, “Since you’re saying yes to the renovation work, Dom and I will get started today. We’ll head down to the hardware store and buy everything we need for repairing those holes in the walls. Be back in an hour. Sound good?”

All I could do was gulp and nod. Then I blurted out, “You have to add the cost of replacing the kitchen faucet to my bill. No discounts on that, okay?”

Taylor froze, then shook his head and grinned. “You are one tough negotiator, lady. You got it.” After giving me a quick salute, he walked out, and a minute later I heard Dom and him leaving.

If someone had told me a week ago that I would be considering a threesome with two construction guys who came to fix a broken faucet in my house, I would have laughed. But there I was, considering it, truly considering it.

I flopped on my bed, heart still pounding. I let out a long sigh. It’d only been a few days with these guys, and I already felt as though each was determined to sear themselves into my brain. But I also felt something I hadn’t felt in months, maybe even years, and it put the biggest, goofiest smile on my face.

I felt alive.

9

Kayla

For the rest of the day, I hid out in my room, sitting cross-legged on my bed with my laptop perched on my knees, making minimal progress on my job hunt. I’d been right—there wasn’t much need for a food and wine critic in Fosterman, although the area seemed to be growing. It appeared that food and wine tourism was beginning to take off like a lot of other cities in central California, but no immediate need for a critic. There were a few positions for editorial work on lifestyle and a couple of food magazines in the Bay Area that I sent in applications for—some I could work remotely, which meant that if I got the job, I could stay in Fosterman while Taylor and Dom worked on the house. After it sold, I could move to the Bay Area to be closer to work.

Then I checked out rental prices in the Bay Area and almost fell off my bed. How much did they want for a studio apartment? And here I’d thought New York was bad! How had I thought it would be so easy to leave my entire life in New York behind, show up in Fosterman, and start in on this whole self-discovery thing?

And holy crap, was it ever hard to focus. Especially since every twenty minutes or so, either Dom or Taylor would drop by my room to ask me questions about the house—what to keep, what to scrap. Each time they’d go, they’d give me a little hint of sexiness—a lingering stare or a mischievous smile.

Taylor was all playful grins and teasing banter. A simple wink from him was enough to build heat between my legs and make me want to toss the laptop and spread myself across the bed in invitation. Dom, with his dangerous flashes under his hooded eyelids and the way he bit his lip as he got one last look at me before closing my bedroom door made me want to call him back in and allow him to crawl over my trembling body.

As soon as they’d leave, the fantasies would start playing in my head: Dom was the teeth sinking into the sensitive skin just below my hip, and Taylor was the kisses to soothe the delicious throbbing. I wanted both.

I needed both.

No, what I needed was a freezing cold shower.

Finally, sometime after five, I finally gave up on the job search after finding little to nothing. I sighed and closed my laptop. Lying back, I let my head rest on the pillow and my eyes focus on the cracks in the ceiling above me. Who would I want to kiss first? Earlier, I’d pictured Dom kissing me in the truck, but after Taylor had carried me to my room, I couldn’t stop imagining his mouth all over me.

Ye gads—my head wouldn’t stop having sex games with Dom and Taylor.

Frustrated, I wandered into the hallway, where I found Taylor standing in the stairwell, his attention on a light fixture that was on. Dom was on his knees in the small closet that held the breaker box.

“Not that one. Try the other breaker,” Taylor said, waiting while Dom flicked through the breakers.

“Hey,” I said.

Taylor spun around. “Well, well, the princess emerges.”

I grinned, enjoying the way his gaze flicked from my face to my body and then back up again. “If I’m a princess, then you must be my loyal subject, fixing up my kingdom. What are you working on?”

“Testing the breakers. Last item for today. Then we’ll be out of here. Leave you alone.”

“Oh. Okay.” Disappointment curled inside my belly. Granted, it was late afternoon and past time for any workers to get going, but these weren’t just my workers anymore—they were now my business partners. And even better, I felt like we’d become friends. Dom emerged and came to stand next to Taylor, expectant expressions on both their faces. I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, a nervous habit. I wanted something but I didn’t know how to ask.

“Need something from us?” The corners of Taylor’s smile turned up. He could tell I did, and I wasn’t going to deny it.

Luckily, Dominic spoke so I wouldn’t have to answer that loaded question. “Did you ask her?” He nudged Taylor with an elbow.

“I was about to.”

I blinked. “Ask me what?”

---