Page 46 of The Other Side

I invisibly wince, knowing the compliment revolves around his taste more than my talent as the architect on the job. I don’t need the compliment, but my god, the second-hand embarrassment is fucking strong.

Regardless, I throw him a subdued smile. “I’m really glad you like the plans. Did you want to show Callie?”

Jesse rotates his attention to her, narrowing his gaze as he drapes an arm around her shoulders. “I don’t know if she’s interested. Right, babe?”

Her full lips part, and she stumbles over the first syllable. “I-I am interested.”

She pivots her eyes to me, my smile launching her own. Then I look at the table, lifting the piece of paper with the chosen layout. “Here.”

I swallow thickly, burying my hand in my jeans pocket when she holds the other end of the drawing. “Wow, this is…this is wonderful,” she says, her eyes dancing across the design. Her teeth barely sink into her bottom lip, but I witness it. She’s milking every second she can to appreciate my work without Jesse growing suspicious. “How long did this actually take you?”

“A little less than a week.”

Callie snaps her eyes up to me, cocking a brow. “Impressive.”

“I’m glad you both approve. That’s the way it should be with how big of a project this is.”

Her lips fold, and then she’s laying the paper back down. She sets her tote bag on the table when she responds. “I’m going upstairs to change, then get some gardening done.”

“Alright,” Jesse says. “I’ll be in the office once Brant leaves. I’ve been going back and forth with a big client for the past couple weeks. About to close in on a deal.”

She nods her approval before panning her focus to me. “I like to give flowers away from my garden. Do you have a girlfriend you can give them to? Or a family member?” My brows groove, missing her insinuation like a moron. But she catches me before I face plant on the ground. “If so, you can come outside with me, and I’ll let you leave with some.”

Oh, I get it.

I gently nod. “Yeah, sure.”

“Callie’s always obsessing over her garden,” Jesse interrupts. “She fought with me tooth and nail to plant one in the backyard.”

My jaw ticks, aggravation settling deep in my chest. But Callie shines her bright smile my way, and all is okay in the world again.

Just like that.

“I’ll go get changed so I don’t keep you too long. I know you have to head back to work.”

“Awesome,” I tell her.

Callie turns to head upstairs, and Jesse’s gesturing a hand after her. Almost in disbelief. “It’s the little things that make her happy.”

I lean over the table to begin rolling up the drawings. “Maybe they aren’t so little to her,” I suggest kindly. “Meaning can be subjective depending on the person.”

“I’m sure Callie will be happy to talk about all the different flowers in her garden. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he quips.

When I straighten up, I toss a half-grin to appease his ego. “I’ll email the list of subcontractors we work with by the end of the day.”

“Great, we’ll be in touch.” Jesse points to the opposite side of the house. “I’m going to head to my office. Callie should be down soon.”

“Good luck with your client,” I say with a small wave.

I lay the rolled designs on the table, then run a hand over my short hair. My chin pokes down, reflexively checking my solid flannel for stains or holes that could’ve magically appeared in the last hour.

It’s pathetic.

Pointless, really.

I wander aimlessly around the dining room, wondering what the hell it is that I’m doing. What we’re doing. Can’t she just drop this asshole and run to me already. Be done with all this fancy shit that doesn’t make a lick of sense.

Sure, she looks sexy as hell, but she’s missing something.