Page 53 of Reckless (Adventures in Love 3)
Chapter 16
JADE
I’m standing with Cybil, Everly, and Margret. The four of us watch my dad, Tanner, Blake, Maverick, and Mason place a large beam in the ceiling between the coffee shop and the store.
I want to cheer them on as they work, but I don’t think that would be appropriate, even if I am excited that this is finally getting done. If the wall hadn’t been load bearing, the guys probably would have had it out and the space repaired within a couple of days, but the wall was one that provided support, so it took a little longer to get all the stuff to complete the job properly.
As Tanner hammers the beam into place, my eyes go to Maverick, and I watch his muscles flex as he holds his arms over his head. Even with my parents here he’s made a point to come spend the evenings with me, and I haven’t fallen asleep without him since the first time we slept together.
The only thing that sucks is he’s normally gone in the morning before I even wake up. I know I should be relieved that he’s not there so questions won’t be asked, but I’m not. Even if I’m also not 100 percent sure that I’m ready to tell people that he and I are seeing each other, I’ve gotten to the point where I no longer care. Things between him and me are good, better than good, really, and even if things tend to be good at the beginning of a relationship when it’s new, fun, and exciting, I’m past the point of worrying about that. Now the only thing really holding me back from telling the people I care about that he and I are seeing each other is the fact that I feel like I’ve been deceiving them.
“All right, we’re all set,” Tanner says, getting down off the ladder, and I hold my breath. Honestly it seems like the massive beam now in the ceiling should be held up by more than a few nails and pure physics. “Now we just need to patch up the ceiling and the walls; then we will be done.”
“How long do you think that will take?” Cybil asks, and he shrugs.
“We’ll get the drywall placed today along with the first layer of mud. Tomorrow we’ll make sure there isn’t another layer of mud needed, and if there’s not, then we’ll start to paint,” he tells her as she walks to the temporary plastic sheet between the coffee shop and store and pulls it aside to peek between the spaces.
“Can I tell Liam that he can open the store tomorrow?” I ask Tanner but feel Maverick’s gaze on me.
“I’d say it would be best to give it one more day. We’re going to have to do a lot of sanding, and even with the sheet between stores now, there’s still going to be a lot of dust in the air.”
“Okay, I’ll let him know.” I pull out my cell phone and snap a picture of the work the guys completed and then send it to Liam, along with a text letting him know that it’s going to be another day yet before he’ll be able to open back up again.
“What’s the plan for tonight? I was thinking that we could all meet up at the end of the evening,” Blake says, looking at the group of us girls.
“No boys are allowed,” Margret tells her brother, waving one freshly manicured hand out toward him, and he glowers at her.
This morning Cybil and I left Claire with my mom and went to meet Everly and Margret for manicures and pedicures. Before we met up, the plan was for all of us to spend the entire day together. But while we were getting our nails done, Everly mentioned that Sam wasn’t feeling great due to teething, so she didn’t want to leave him all day with her mom and would feel better if we all went our separate ways, then met back up this evening for dinner before going out for a couple of hours. Still, sometime between the salon and all of us heading home, we somehow ended up here to watch the guys finish placing the beam in the ceiling.
“I think all of us meeting up at the end of the night sounds like a great idea,” Everly says, ignoring Margret.
“It’s settled then.” Blake smiles smugly at his sister, then kisses his soon-to-be wife. “Where are you heading now?” he asks her.
“I’m going to pick up Sam from my mom,” she tells him, causing him to frown. “I don’t feel good about leaving him for so long when he’s not feeling his best.”
“Babe, you know your mom would call if he needed you.”
“I know, but I would feel better if he was with me.”
