Page 101 of Writing On The Wall

“Thank you,” I mouth to Ethan, and he returns a wink and a flash of his incredibly sexy grin. And suddenly, my biggest problem is having a boyfriend I find utterly irresistible. Well, that in addition to the fact that he knows it.

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

ETHAN

“I’m actually kinda sad about saying goodbye to this.” Ivy pouts, a paint roller hanging from one hand as we stare at our wall. Painting over our list is the final task before we can officially say we’ve completed this renovation. It’s crazy how quickly I’ve shifted into ‘we’statements and an even bigger miracle that I can say them without Ivy freaking out.

“It’ll always be here.” I smile, contentment in my voice. I wrap an arm around her, breathing her in. She doesn’t wear perfume, yet the scent ofherhas an astounding effect on my brain. I clear my throat before speaking again. “A coat of paint over it doesn’t take away its part in our story.”

“You’re right,” she agrees with a sigh and digs her phone out from the pocket of her overalls. Then she steps back to frame the shot before taking a series of photos to document our messages.

Dang. Now I’m gonna miss this thing, too.

But we’ll always have the memory of it. There’s no point leaving it up, even if we covered it with a mirror or a painting. Once we eventually get married, I’d like Ivy to move into myhouse and make itourhome. This place is cute. But it’s also very…cute, AKA too small for more than two people. However, I haven’t mentioned any of this yet, because I’m pretty sure I’m a few steps ahead of Ivy in our relationship and being very careful not to freak her out.

We release a collective sigh, neither of us making a move as we continue staring.

“Ready?”

“Can I use the ladder?” she asks, causing my brows to lower. I’ve still got PTSD from the last time.

“What for?”

Her eyes move around the room like she’s looking for a good enough reason. “ ‘Cause it’s fun?”

“Not for me,” I grunt, moving a strand of hair from behind her glasses. “Besides, we’ve got the rollers with the long attachments. No ladders required.”

“Boring.”

I grab her around the waist, making her squeal while I dip her back, letting my lips graze the side of her neck. “We could always leave it like this. I’m sure I can think of a few other things we could do with our time…”

She giggles, halfheartedly pushing me away while hooking an arm around my neck. “Tempting…but…” She pauses when I begin to pepper her collar bone with soft kisses. “ We’ve got to finish this last thing. I’ll reward you later with kisses…after we’re done.”

“Counter offer,” I begin, straightening to place another kiss on her shoulder. “I get a kiss after we tape the sides, after the first coat, and after the second coat.”

Her throat clears before she pushes me away, shaking my hand. “Deal.”

“Now, who says painting is boring?”

She responds by sticking her tongue out. “That only makes me wanna kiss you again.”

We get to taping the ceiling and walls, and a little over an hour later, Ivy’s managed two coats of paint on the wall and I’ve managed to turn a couple kisses into a makeout session. I wrap up the paint rollers before chucking them into the back of my truck to throw away later. Then I walk back into the house and find Ivy glaring at a corner of the wall with her fists planted on her hips. “We missed a spot,” she says without turning around.

“What?” I squint, stepping closer to inspect the spot she’s pointing at. “Huh… Look at that. I blame the kisses—they scrambled my brain.”

“Ladder?” she asks hopefully, her eyebrows raising with a giant smile.

“Nice try.” I grab one of the smaller, unused brushes and dip it into the paint, holding it out to her. “Hop onto my shoulders.”

“Do I look like a goat?”

“You’re a fox, baby, now get on.” I smile, crouching after turning my back toward her.

She steps closer with a grunt. “Nice save. How is this safer than a ladder?”

“ ‘Cause I’ve got my hands on you.” I grin, standing as she grips my hair.

“Ethan!” she shouts as she wobbles slightly. “Donotdrop me!”

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