Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
“I make sure we don’t go over budget,” Reid said. “Oh, and I got the permits, too.”
“You need permits to renovate a house?”
“For significant changes, yes.”
“Reid’s the king of getting permits approved—even last-minute ones,” Jackson said. “Anyway, we wanted vaulted ceilings in the living room. That’s a popular feature many buyers want.”
That made sense, but… “Aren’t those rafters needed to keep the roof up?”
Jackson grinned. “Some of them. It’s our job to know which ones. Well, Hunter’s job.”
Somehow, I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the thought of Hunter being in charge of keeping the roof from crashing down on our heads. Jackson seemed to think highly of his skills, but so far, all I’d observed was Hunter tearing things down with his sledgehammer. And staring. That was another thing he seemed to do a lot of.
Staring at me, to be precise. Not in a leering way, not exactly, but… well, I couldn’t quite get a read on him. All I knew was that it had been a long time since Jeff had looked at me like that.
A really long time.
“Okay, but then what’s going on over the master bedroom? Will there be vaulted ceilings there, too?”
“We’re building a loft up there,” Jackson said. “It can be an extra bedroom.”
“Or a home office,” Reid said.
Jackson flipped open his sketch pad and showed me a surprisingly detailed rendering of the loft. A spiral staircase in the corner of the living room would lead up to it. A wall separated the loft from the living room.
I was impressed. “That would make an awesome kid’s room.”
Reid frowned. “Wouldn’t be safe with those stairs.”
“I don’t mean a toddler, but a kid in elementary school. It would be like living in a treehouse.” The more I looked at Jackson’s sketch, the more I could visualize the loft in my mind’s eye. “I would’ve loved something like this when I was a girl. You could have your privacy but also still hear everyone down below.”
Hunter grinned. “It’s the perfect place to spy on the rest of the family. Sounds like fun.”
“Exactly.”
“Well, we haven’t decided what the extra space will be for,” Reid said. “Right now, our biggest concern is getting it done.”
“Looks like you’re off to a good start.” I handed the sketch pad back to Jackson. For a moment, I had a vivid memory of showing him my sketch of his naked body. Hopefully it was too dark out here for the men to see my blush.
“Thanks.” Jackson closed the pad. “Now it’s all on Hunter to make it happen.”
“And then we need a buyer,” Reid added.
“Do you have to furnish the place and everything by the end of your ten days, too?”
Reid shook his head. “After we do our part, a crew led by our realtor will set the stage with borrowed furniture. Then the people come, some of them make offers, and we get rich.”
Jackson grinned. “That’s simplifying it a bit, but yeah, that’s the plan.”
“Have you ever had a house not sell?”
“Not so far,” Jackson answered.
“Not ever,” Hunter said smugly.
“And we don’t intend to start,” Jackson added. He popped a piece of pork in his mouth. He was as good with chopsticks as he was with the pencil that was always tucked behind his ear. “We’ve got something else we need to discuss before I take Penny to get her stuff.”
“The wedding week,” Reid said.
The food I’d just eaten suddenly seemed heavier in my stomach. “I won’t let it take too much of your time. I just need someone to go with me for the most important events.”
Rather than being placated, Reid looked annoyed. “We said we’d be your fake boyfriend this week. That’s the deal.”
“Anything worth doing is worth doing right.” Jackson winked at me. “But we need to know more about what we’re getting into. What have you told your family about your new guy?”
“As little as possible.”
“Good girl,” Hunter said, and I felt oddly pleased.
“Do they know his career? Last name? Or even first name, for that matter.” Reid was all business.
“No. I said I didn’t want to jinx my new relationship by talking too much about it.”
“Smart,” Jackson said.
Hunter was less sure. “And they bought it?”
“I think so.” Maybe not Tanya and Jeff, but everyone else seemed to tiptoe around the subject since they knew how hard I’d taken it after Jeff cheated on me.
“That makes things easier on us,” Reid said. “So who should we be?”
“What do you mean? Like make up a name and a backstory and all that?” I wasn’t very good at that kind of thing.
“No, we just need to pick which one of us to be. So that instead of us acting like three separate men, we pretend to be the same brother,” Jackson explained.
That was a bit hard to wrap my head around. “What makes the most sense?” I was kind of hoping it was Jackson, but he and Hunter both said “Reid” at the same time.