Page 66 of Desired Hearts
Mason pulled out his phone, looking at it. Putting his beer down, he pushed himself away from the counter. “Guest is locked out.” He rolled his eyes. “Be right back.”
There were spare keys to all the rooms hidden in various places, but that was exactly why changing the doors to keypads was Parker’s next job. The fact that Mason’s dad had never had a problem with getting broken into, despite the fact that the hidden keys weren’t a huge secret around town, was shocking.
“Log cabin construction.” Beck put the last of the taco dinner leftovers in the fridge. “Interesting. Do you need a special permit for that?”
“No,” I said. “But a portfolio wouldn’t hurt. That’ll probably be the biggest issue. I may have an idea on how to tackle that too.”
“Do tell.”
“Yes, do tell,” Pia said as she and Delaney came back into the kitchen. Hopefully that would ensure no more talk about the pact. Remembering the exact discussion that had led to it gave me a queasy feeling in my stomach. “What are we telling?”
“Boring stuff,” I said.
“Parker’s finally thinking to pull the trigger on his own business, niching down into log cabin home construction,” Beck said.
Pia smiled. “I may have heard something about that already.”
As usual, Delaney was smiling. The term “sunny disposition” was invented for her.
“Oh, yeah?” I asked, looking at Delaney. “Are you the culprit here?”
“Maybe,” she said cheekily.
“What else do you ladies talk about, I wonder?”
“I can guarantee it’s not the same thing as you boys.” Pia turned to Delaney. “I’ve overheard more of their discussions living here than I care to admit.”
“First of all”—Beck closed the dishwasher—“men, not boys. Second of all”—he appeared genuinely confused—“you all don’t talk about sex?”
Delaney pressed her lips tight together, trying not to laugh.
“Of course we do. I was talking about the other 80 percent of your conversations.” Pia looked at me. “Aka, sports.”
“But you do talk about sex? Among your own kind?” Beck asked.
The brother/sister rapport between Pia and Beck was unique.
“Our own kind? We are women, Beck. Not an entirely different species.”
He snorted. “I’m not sure about that one.”
“What has you so confused?” I asked. Beck’s face scrunched up in mock concentration. He really was one of a kind. I could somewhat see why every female in Cedar Falls lost their mind over him. Besides being good-looking, he was endearing, in an airheaded, surfer dude kind of way. At least, that was how he presented. Very few people knew that he was anything but. If I had to put money on it, I’d put his IQ above even Cole’s, although no one who had met both of them would ever believe it. Beck was mostly show. The guy masked a lot of shit he never wanted to talk about.
Since I hadn’t stared at her in all of about the last two minutes, I peeked over at Delaney. Sitting at the kitchen island sipping her margarita, she was listening to Beck and Pia. What would she do if I walked up to her, pushed her hair to the side and kissed her neck? All night I wanted to touch her so badly, but I didn’t know if she was ready for public displays of affection in front of friends. Despite Crystal Peak, there was a hesitancy about her still that most likely related back to the ex. I got it, not wanting to jump in with both feet. On the other hand, staying away from her wasn’t an option for me.
She looked over.
I lifted the margarita glass to my lips, made sure neither Pia nor Beck were looking, and stuck my tongue out, just slightly. Twisting the glass to where salt still remained, I licked it off and then took a sip.
Delaney swallowed. Shifted on her stool.
Smiling, liking this game, I put my drink on the counter and pulled out my phone.
Hi there, cupcake.
I watched as she pulled her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans.
Hi there, yourself.
