Page 58 of Sass

I took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ll get on it right away.”

“Excellent.” He shot me a pleased smile. “You’ve got this.”

“Pfft. Well, of course I do.” I traded glances with Drew who’d stuck his head into the office to see how the call was going. “What’s a pressure cooker deadline and contracts worth tens of thousands of dollars? It’s what you pay me for, right? Whereas you’ve only recently cracked our point-of-sale machine after almost three years.”

Drew grinned and Rhys barked out a laugh. “And he’s back.” Rhys looked over my shoulder to the new colour on my walls. “I see you painted the office.”

“I, um, yeah.” My cheeks flamed without permission. After our littleexcursionSunday morning, I’d accepted Leon’s offer and we’d spent the afternoon doing just that.

“He and Leon did ittogether,” Drew added unhelpfully, and I shot him a warning glare. “Well, he did,” he insisted with a grin. “He even left his shoes and socks here, remember?”

“Shut up.” I threw the sample at him, but all he did was duck and wander back into the store completely unfazed.

“Leon, you say?” If Rhys had rubbed his hands together, he couldn’t have looked any more gleeful.

“He had nothing to do, and I’d have been stupid not to accept his help. It took half the time.” My gaze slid from Rhys to the walls. “What do you think? Too much?”

“No. It’s perfect for you. Good choice. So, I take it our new tenant is growing on you?” Rhys circled back. “Or at least, you haven’t killed him yet? I mean, socks and shoes?” He arched a brow.

“He didn’t want paint on them,” I hastily explained. “And no, he’s... fine.” I caught the horrifying edge of fondness in my tone as images peppered my brain of just how very fine Leon had been while bent over that bench in the shower for me.Had that really only been two days ago?

Rhys leaned forward, studying me intently. “Fine, huh? Don’t tell me you two have actually... talked?”

I tried and failed to hold his gaze. Rhys knew me too well. He’d sniff the truth out, regardless. “Define... talk. Do you mean actual words and shit?”

Rhys stared at me for a second, then gasped and fell back in his chair, his eyes bugging out of his skull. “Oh. My. Fucking. God. Jesus, Kip. Don’t tell me you two—”

“Then I won’t.” I drilled him with a glare. “And it’s none of your damn business, anyway.”

He started to laugh. “You fucked him? Holy shit. Wait until I tell Beck—”

“Nothing. You will tell Beck nothing.” I fired him a killer look. “It was a one-time thing, understand? Once, just to clear the air between us. Nothing more. So stop with the whole matchmaking-eyes bullshit.”

He blinked innocently. “I don’t have match—”

“Yes, you do,” I growled. “And you’re going to stay out of it. I’m not looking for a relationship with Leon. Or anyone else, you know that. We’re just friends, that’s all.”

Rhys held up his hands. “Okay, okay. I get it. Cross my heart. No interference.” But he couldn’t hide a smile that threatened otherwise.

“No interference in what?” Beck appeared over Rhys’s shoulder. “Are you causing trouble with our resident tattoo artist again?”

I put my hand over my chest. “Why is it always my fault?”

They simply stared at me.

I might’ve flushed. “Okay, so don’t answer that.”

Beck laughed. “So, whathaveyou done?”

“Nothing!” I tried to sound appalled, then caved. “Much.”

“He fucked Leon,” Rhys offered bluntly, and I shot him a glare.

“So much for keeping your mouth shut.”

He shrugged. “We could always discuss all those times you took the piss when I was dating Beck—”

“No, let’s not do that,” I grumped. “Okay, okay. But the fucking was very definitely mutual. You make it sound like I deflowered the guy, for fuck’s sake. And I repeat, it was just fucking.” But the heat in my cheeks wasn’t exactly helping my case.

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