Page 19 of The Handy Men
Paige left as quickly as she could. She tossed out the bag with the broken glass after retrieving her batteries from it then stocked up on scentless candle tapers. Her mind was flitting all over the place. Jack and Dean might have a daughter or son out there. They liked women. They’d shared a woman. Her heart was thudding in her chest as a haze of lust came over her.
She remembered how they stood waiting for the ferry. So she hadn't imagined their erections, after all.
"Oh crap. The ferry.” Paige had to get home and make sure they were on the last one and safe and secure in their beautiful home on the mainland before the storm hit.
7
They missed the ferry. Paige caught up with them at their house on Dune Street. Apparently, their last tenants hadn't left the place in pristine condition. It was obvious that they loved the place. Jack mentioned they were going to move in someday when they were ready to start a family, but Dean just shook his head.
It didn’t have any power, so Paige offered to let them stay at the inn. She wasn't sure if she was relieved, terrified, or anxious. Probably all three. Jack and Dean acted like it wasn't a big deal, but she was sure they'd rather be on the mainland. Storms on the island weren't much fun.
They managed to put a few boards up in her front windows to protect the glass from the winds, just in case. The ocean was rolling, and they had to drag Dean away when he made a comment about wishing he had his surfboard with him.
They made it inside before the rain really started coming down. Jack set up the game board while Dean did some last minute things around the inn. Paige swore they were more nervous about the storm than she was. It was just a squall, nothing too serious.
Of course, they lost power a few hours later. Luckily, the steaks and baked potatoes had finished cooking, so they had dinner by candlelight while the wind howled and shook the house.
"She'll stay together," Jack said after one particularly hard rattle.
"Sorry about the lights," Dean said. "It's not the wiring. It's the island's power grid. The generator should have kicked on, though. I'll make that a priority tomorrow morning."
"I hope we don't have to buy a new one," she said.
“I’ll make it work.” He winked at her and Paige flushed, remembering Caillie's words. She was dying to know about the child Stephanie had, but in all their conversations about friends, family, and life in general, they never brought up that they were bisexual or that they had a kid. Had Caillie been lying to her? Or didn’t they trust her with that information?
After dinner, they helped her with the dishes and then brought another bottle of wine into the living room. Dean made a fire in the fireplace while Jack lit every candle they had and placed them around the room. It made everything cozy and warm. The fuzzy edges from the candlelight blurred further as they cracked open the second bottle of wine.
Jack, who had a one-track mind when it came to Monopoly, had set up the board on her leather ottoman and tossed pillows on the floor so they could sit around the board and play. As per usual, Jack and Dean were losing. Paige wouldn’t give them a break, even as they tried to wheedle their way out of paying rent by offering free passes on their properties or trading her a utility. She'd gotten all three light blue properties early in the game and put hotels on each of them. It wasn't a game winner, but it was a hit in the pocketbook almost every time they passed Go.
Leaning back on the couch, Paige happily watched the two of them take their turns. Jack's long blond hair hung loose on his shoulders, and his T-shirt showed off his biceps and the koi fish tattoos on his arm. Dean scowled at the board. His shirt clung to his chest, reminding her that he had six-pack abs hidden under there. Her mind wandered a little about their Stephanie, wondering how to bring her up.
Thunder boomed and Paige jumped, spilling her wine over her blouse. "Shit," she said.
Dean took her glass out of her hand while Jack quickly unbuttoned her shirt. "We need to get some seltzer on this," he said.
As his fingers made quick work of the buttons, she swallowed hard. She had a moment of sheer embarrassment and a flash of lust when his finger brushed over the cups of her bra. So this was it. Jack was going to strip her and make wild love to her. Paige caught her breath in excitement. But then, Jack was whisking the shirt away into the kitchen.
She was an idiot.
After removing his shirt, Dean popped it over her head. The fresh scent of clean laundry and lime citrus cologne tickled her nose.
As he helped her get her arms through his sleeves, she tried not to be aware of how great he smelled or the slight darkening of hair on his cheek as his five o'clock shadow grew in.
"You're such a klutz," he said.
"It's not my fault. It sounds like World War Two out there," she grumbled. In the kitchen, water was running. "Just leave it, Jack. It's an old shirt."
"He thinks it'll give him some brownie points if he lands on Connecticut Avenue."
Paige snorted. "Then he hasn't been paying attention."
Leaning back against the couch next to her, Dean's arm brushed against hers.
"Can I ask you a personal question?" she said, feeling if she didn't ask him about Stephanie she would burst.
"We should be playing truth or dare if we're going to do that." He grinned at her.
"Okay. Truth or dare?"
