Page 22 of Elijah’s Whim

While I wanted to claim complete responsibility for Sebastian’s social and emotional growth and maturity—because that was the kind of guy I was—I knew it was partly Abbigail’s doing. Kaisan probably played a part in the transformation too. Even though the infant was merely a couple months on this planet, we’d seen changes in the man since he became a father.

When we settled down to work, it was clear Jake hadn’t been idle while he was away. The new drawings he brought depicted the next phase of construction, and he carefully laid them out on the table’s flat surface. Much like the first time we met with the talented architect, we were almost speechless.

“Wow, Jake,” Grant finally said. “These are incredible.” He scanned the drawings from left to right and back again and then chuckled. “I don’t know where to look first.”

“Well, unfortunately, I already know the first revision that will have to be made on these. The city just passed an ordinance about view obstructions at about twenty-five stories. So, these balcony overhangs will probably have to be shortened by nine to twelve inches.” He took a step back and regarded his drawing from that position, and when Bas, Grant, or I didn’t add anything to the conversation, he finally looked up to meet our stares.

“Is that a deal breaker?” he asked Sebastian. And I swear, if Bas had said yes, he would’ve marched on City Hall to have the ordinance reversed.

In lieu of an answer, my friend chuckled. He thumped Jacob on the back and squeezed the guy’s shoulder to put him at ease. “No, man, it’s not a deal breaker. Do what you need to do. I’m sure no one will even notice nine to twelve inches.”

“Not according to Elijah,” Grant mumbled but then barked out a laugh at his own ridiculous joke. The look on poor Jake’s face was so comical, I couldn’t hold in my own laughter then either.

“Twombley, I can’t help your dick envy, man. You’d think at your height, size wouldn’t be an issue, wee man,” I teased.

Sebastian folded his arms across his broad chest and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “Jesus Christ, will you two get it together?”

The architect decided to steer us back on track, and it was probably a good thing, too, or Bas might have ruptured something vital. I was sure we’d be getting an earful when the young guy left the meeting.

“Now what are your plans for interior design? I can start putting some feelers out with my colleagues who design on this scale—”

“I already have someone hired,” Bas said, cutting him off before he could finish.

“Oh. Okay. In that case, if you wouldn’t mind sending me the firm’s contact information so I can introduce myself and do some preliminary inquiries?”

“She may actually be in the building. If you have a few minutes, I can introduce you right now.” Sebastian didn’t wait for Jacob to respond before he was striding across the office to his desk. If I had to guess, he was either going to have Craig track Pia down or he had access to her calendar and would just look for himself as to her whereabouts.

When I sneaked a glance Grant’s way, I found his blue gaze waiting on my inquisitive hazel one. Apparently we both had the same impression that our best friend was acting a little impatient when it came to introducing Jacob and Cassiopeia.

Then it hit me. Someone was feeling like adding matchmaker to his résumé this afternoon. Interesting.

“Jacob.” I offered my hand to the talented man. “Great work, as usual. Unfortunately, I have to head to my next appointment. I look forward to seeing you soon, though.” We shook hands, and Grant used the same excuse and was out Bas’s door on my heels. He probably didn’t want to face our buddy’s wrath alone, so whether he had an appointment or not, he was having his exit visa stamped at the same time.

Out in the hall, I smacked him in the taut abdomen with the back of my hand. “Dick. You know he’s not going to drop that shit.”

“You have to admit it was funny though,” Grant said, grinning.

“Yeah, it was. But what the hell with Pia? Do you think our boy is trying to fix them up?”

“That’s what I was thinking. Cole is a baby, though. Pia would chew a guy like that up and spit him out before the dude even knew what hit him.”

“Truth, my brother. It would be really fun to watch, though, wouldn’t it?”

We both laughed then, even louder than we should’ve at Jacob Cole’s expense. He really was a good guy.

When Grant was quiet for too long, I looked up to see a wistful expression on his face.

“What?”

“Hmmm?”

“Where’d you go just then?”

“I was just thinking that it would be really nice to see her happy. She deserves it, you know?”

“I couldn’t agree with you more, man.”