“Tour?” Josh said a little too loudly. Noah lifted his brows at him.
“Is that okay?” Grace asked.
“Sure.” Noah gestured toward the living area. He wondered if she and her friend would have any preliminary thoughts. He could take them under advisement, but the firms he worked with on design back in New York had more than a few years under their collective belts. They definitely weren’t newbies not even done with their degrees yet.
“The ladder?” Grace asked as they followed Noah into the open space.
“Right. What are you doing?”
She eyed him curiously. “Does it matter?”
He grinned, feeling that push-pull feeling again. “Is it a secret?”
“Gutters.”
Josh and Rosie moved farther into the mostly empty room, but Noah stopped in front of Grace. He heard them chatting like reunited best friends behind him.
“Problem?” Grace crossed her arms over her chest, her mouth turning down on one side.
He ran a hand through his hair. “No. Not a problem, per se. Just wondered if you have your gutter-cleaning license as well.”
Grace’s gaze went a few degrees cooler. “Why? You want to hire me to do yours?”
He sputtered out a breath. Jesus. She twisted everything he said. “No. I just don’t know if it’s a good idea to lend you a ladder I don’t own. If you get hurt doing your gutters, I could be liable.”
“I don’t think you would be, technically,” Josh said from beside them.
If Grace were a cartoon character, she’d have plumes of smoke coming out of her ears. He lifted his hands in retreat. “Sorry. Forget I asked. Just be careful.”
“Sure thing, Dad.” Her smile was not friendly.
Josh snickered. “As you can see, this is the living area. Noah had that wall removed. It’s opened the place up considerably.”
Noah turned, shoved his hands in his pockets. “I take it you’re giving the tour?”
Josh mimed zipping his lips, making Noah laugh.
“What he said. That wall really made it feel smaller. I like open spaces.”
Grace let out a sigh that made his blood run hot. She and Rosie walked side by side, surveying the open kitchen, talking in some sort of hushed code. When they came back near the guys, Grace’s expression lit up.
“I love the bay window. It’s gorgeous. It would make a perfect seating area; put in a bench, built-in shelves, you’d have a reading nook. You read, right? The financial section or something?”
Josh’s laughter cut through any tension that might have existed. “Don’t paint him into a box. He also likes to surf.”
He was oddly pleased to see that gentle flush spread over Grace’s cheeks.
“The rest of the tour?” she asked.
Pulling himself together, he showed her the four bedrooms, including the master that had a kick-ass tub.
Rosie let out an exaggerated sigh, putting one hand to her head. “I’d marry this tub.”
Josh snickered. “I think he’s partial to it.”
Noah cleared his throat. “I never said I took baths.” His brothers would have a field day if they knew that.
“Nothing wrong with loving them,” Grace said, eyeing him with amusement.
