Page 103 of Ten Hammers

“Y’all need me here,” I say, matter-of-fact. “Stop pretending you don’t.”

“Y’all?” Gunnar crosses his arms as he looks at me with both eyebrows raised.

I lift a shoulder. “I got bored and started binge-watching a show called Designing Women. That southern twang is contagious.”

“Oh, no.” Leo peers around the corner from where he’s in the kitchen. He’s overheard what I said, and his nose scrunches adorably. “No, love. You weren’t watching that gross show where inbred meatheads are given a budget to turn their lady into their idea of physical perfection, were you?”

“The fucking what kind of show?” Jack says, staring at me.

“Yeah,” Leo says. “Complete makeover, including plastic surgery. Totally fucked up.”

“Um, no,” I say. “What the hell? I wasn’t even aware such a show exists.”

How gross, indeed. And now I’m especially overwhelmed with gratitude that I’ve somehow found not one but ten incredible men who wouldn’t change a freckle on my face.

I blush, thinking about how Gavin likes to play connect the dots with the freckles on my body… using that pierced tongue of his.

“Gun,” I say, before I start up with my fantasies and spin myself out of control again, “your tape measure is on the stairs.”

I point over to the stairs just as Max appears at the top of them. He sees me and stops.

“Oh, I thought I heard your voice,” he says. “I was just coming to get you.”

And suddenly anxiety strikes me. Max doesn’t seem particularly excited to see me, does he?

But then again, he doesn’t look unexcited to see me, either…

“I’m not supposed to be over here today,” I remind him.

My heart sinks when he frowns, and says to the other guys, “We’re done.” But then he holds out a hand to me. “Come on up, Win. Gav and I have something to show you.”

“She’s already seen Gav’s and was clearly not impressed,” Cruz teases. “Better luck to you, bro!”

I don’t miss the look Max shoots him. “Ignore him, please. This is about our secret projects for you.”

Secret projects?

I practically skip up the stairs to take his hand and I’m relieved when he smiles genuinely into my eyes. He squeezes my hand, tugging me toward the hall.

“Close your eyes, princess,” he says and I oblige, following as he leads me down what feels like smooth wood floors.

I wish I didn’t have to close my eyes, because I want to see all the changes I can sense. And to be honest, if I’m not meant to see, I wish he’d brought the blindfold. I kind of love that thing, and I’ve never been blindfolded with Max…

My stomach tenses up, an instinctual reaction, when I realize he’s leading me into my old room. I swallow hard, but I don’t open my eyes until Max tells me to.

When I’m finally instructed to open my eyes, I draw in a breath. For a long moment, I’m speechless. I cover my mouth with my hand as tears fill my eyes. Max stands behind me, kneading my shoulders while Gavin grins.

“What do you think, Pooh Bear?”

When this was my room, the walls were a dark shade of tobacco-stained white. Now they’re a sweet and calming shade of lavender.

The dingy brown shag carpet has been replaced by shining antique-washed oak floors. They’re in a herringbone pattern, stylish and sophisticated, exactly the same as one of my favorite floors done for 1 Girl, 10 Hammers.

The two small windows, which always seemed to be grimy and clouded no matter how hard I cleaned them, have been replaced by a ginormous bay window and a huge window seat, flanked on either side with built-in bookshelves.

“Look,” Gavin says, pointing to a rod above the window, waiting for the drapery. “It’ll be a cozy nook to hide away and read in. You get to pick out the fabric for the curtains, obviously.”

The longer I look at the window, the more beautiful details I take in. The glass sparkles and gleams, letting in so much light. Stained glass flowers along the top of the windows throw a rainbow garden onto the floor. Under the window is the most elaborate window seat I’ve ever seen, with storage drawers below.

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