Page 86 of Housebroke

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They chose vanities in black for both bathrooms, though they had more drawers than he had originally intended. She hadn’t gravitated to bargain-basement stuff, but not the most expensive items, either. She stayed within his budget, and that worked for him.

“There’s never enough bathroom storage,” she argued. “In fact, the primary bath has enough space to add a linen closet, which would be invaluable. You should do that.”

“Where?”

“South wall. You could place it just behind the door. It doesn’t have to be huge. It just needs to have shelves for towels and such.”

“Okay. I see your point. Linen closet it is.”

She grinned. “Perfect.”

After they picked out sinks for both bathrooms, along with faucets and hardware, they decided they were hungry, so they ended up at a nearby Mexican restaurant.

Hazel took a long swallow of her iced tea. “That was fun. Shopping for things with you. For the house. I think it’s going to look amazing when it’s finished.”

“I think so, too. And thanks for your help. You have an eye for this kind of thing. You know, I could use an apprentice. I could finish these jobs in half the time.”

She laughed. “Trust me, you don’t want to be around me when I’m wielding a hammer. You’d be risking your life.”

“Not your area of expertise?”

“I’ve tried it. I can manage with tools, but that’s about it. I’m certainly not apprentice quality.”

“Too bad. I guess I’ll just have to relegate you to shopping and design.”

She grabbed a chip and scooped it in the salsa. “Now that I can do. Clearly, you need me.”

He ate a chip and chewed thoughtfully.

Yeah, he needed her all right. The question that kept hovering around in his head was—exactly how desperate was that need getting, and when the time came, would he be able to let her go?

As he watched her draw her hair back from her eyes, he couldn’t imagine not seeing her again. But he hadn’t broached the subject of his feelings. Or asked about her feelings, for that matter. At some point they were going to need to have a conversation about said feelings. And since Hazel hadn’t yet brought it up, he supposed he was going to have to be the one to do that.

Except—he wasn’t a feelings kind of guy. Or at least a talking-about-feelings kind of guy. But maybe it was time to be that guy.Because he couldn’t plan his future—and maybe their future—without having a serious talk with Hazel.

He made a mental note to do that. Soon.

You’re avoiding.

He popped a chip into his mouth. Shut up.

It’s the truth and you know it. No time like now.

She sat across from him, smiling and finishing the last of her taco while she went on about how much fun she’d had today. They’d had a good day. Nothing was stopping him from bringing up the topic now.

But how, exactly, did one talk about feelings? About love? About a potential future in the middle of a Mexican restaurant?

He’d do it later.

Coward.

Fuck off.

“How about dessert?” he asked her, and she smiled, and he knew that later was the best idea.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

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