Page 92 of In Plain Sight

“Great.” I grinned at him like a moron. “I’ll text you tomorrow, and we can figure out the details.”

“Sounds good.” He stepped closer, stopping when his chest brushed mine. “Goodnight, Luka.”

“Night, Zander.”

I closed my eyes as he leaned in, anticipating his kiss. It was as soft and sweet as I expected it to be, and I was grinning again when he pulled away.

“Bye.”

The walk back to my building was a lot clearer than the walk to Zander’s, and I was still grinning like a fool when I was back in my apartment.

Tonight could have been a disaster, but amazingly, everything had worked out.

Zander and I were, well, not boyfriends exactly, but we were something, and that made me happier than I’d been in what felt like forever.

14

ZANDER

“You missed a spot.”

I turned, my paintbrush in hand, to find Ivy standing behind me, a shit-eating grin on her face.

“Where?” I motioned to the dresser Mark and I were working on.

Ivy loved to repurpose things, especially furniture, and their garage was full of half-finished and not-yet-started projects. She’d bought the dresser at an estate sale a few years ago and finally decided what she wanted to do with it last week.

Mark and I had spent the last few hours sanding and refinishing the dresser. Usually Ivy was right there doing the dirty work with us, but she’d spent the time rearranging the guest room, leaving us in the garage to finish up.

“There.” She pointed at the dresser.

“Where?” I looked between her and the dresser, trying to find the spot I’d apparently missed.

“Under there.”

“Under where?”

She dissolved into giggles. I sighed theatrically, and Mark rolled his eyes affectionately at her.

This joke wasn’t new for us, and Ivy never got tired of tricking me into sayingunderwearlike we were still ten.

“You’re a brat.” I balanced the paintbrush on the side of the paint can.

“Yes, she is.” Mark wiped his hands off on his jeans. “What do you think, hun?”

She stepped closer and peered at the dresser, scrutinizing it. “I’m not loving the color.” She pursed her lips. “It’s too ashy.”

“We could put another layer of stain on it once it dries,” Mark suggested. “We still have some of that mahogany one we used on the bookshelves in the office.”

“Yeah. I think that will do it.” She smiled at him. “Perfect timing too. I made coffee and cookies.”

“Cookies?” I perked up.

Ivy hated cooking, but she was an incredible baker, and her cookie recipes were some of my favorites.

“I’ll clean the brushes and get everything put away if you want to head in,” Mark said to me. “It’ll be a few hours before we can put the darker coat on.”

He was very particular about his garage workshop, and I’d learned long ago that it was best to not move anything or try to help him clean up.

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