Oliver’s jeans were also smeared with dried paint—a reminder of why he was round there in the first place.
“Did you bring your laptop?” Ed asked, remembering the other part of their deal.
“Oh, yeah, one sec.” He nipped out into the hall where he’d left his tools and came back in carrying a rucksack over his shoulder. Handing it over, he shuffled from foot to foot, looking like he wanted to ask something but not sure whether he should.
Ed had a good idea what it was. “When would you want it back. Ideally?” he added, sensing Oliver wouldn’t give him a truthful answer. “Soonish?”
Oliver rubbed the back of his neck. “Ideally, yeah. Betty was a bit anxious when she realised I was taking it away.”
She hadn’t struck Ed as the anxious type, but then he’d only met her twice. “But she knows I’m fixing it, right?”
“Yeah, I reminded her this morning.” He sighed, and Ed wondered if he was debating whether or not to elaborate. “I think Elise’s death took the wind out of her sails a bit. Ever since, she’s been a bit...” He waved a hand about. “She forgets things sometimes, can get anxious at change.”
“Oh.”
“It’s not all the time or anything, and the doctor said there’s nothing to worry about. But he did suggest getting her some help around the house.” He looked up, the flash of sadness in his eyes taking Ed by surprise. The conversation had taken a turn he wasn’t expecting. “Another reason for me to stay with her a bit. Finding the right person to help might take some time.” He cleared his throat, and Ed looked away, not commenting on the sudden sheen to his eyes.
“I’ll fix it as soon as I can,” he said quietly.
“Thank you.”
Their eyes met, and in that moment, Ed saw a weariness in Oliver that he’d missed before. Ten years wasn’t much of an age gap really, but Ed had met plenty of twenty-somethings that made him feel old. Oliver wasn’t like that. Didn’t seem it anyway. And Ed wasn’t sure whether that was good or bad.
Or relevant since you’ll be gone in a few months.
Wanting to shake this weird tension suddenly surrounding them, he reached for the laptop bag and plucked it off Oliver’s shoulder. “I’ll just go put this somewhere safe.” Once in the quiet of his workspace, Ed took a moment to catch his breath. The weird and most unwelcome fluttery feeling in his chest took him by surprise. He hadn’t moved here with the intention of meeting anyone. Sex had been about as far from his mind as you could get. The thought of fucking anyone in his aunt’s house made him shiver, and not in a good way.
Attraction often took a person by surprise, but nothing said he had to act on it.
Oliver was studying the colour charts when Ed returned to the living room. Ruth had left them on the coffee table, their selections circled in red. He looked up when Ed walked into the room and tapped a finger on one of the circled colours. “Is this for in here?”
Ed nodded. “In here, the hall, and my office, actually.”
“I like it.” Oliver smiled, glancing around the room as though picturing the paint on the walls. “Warm, yet neutral enough to appeal to a prospective buyer.”
Ed snorted. “You sound just like my sisters.”
“Judging by the little touches they’ve added already”—he gestured around the living room—“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Even Ed had to grudgingly admit something as simple as a few cushions and strategically placed air freshener sticks had given it a more homely feel it definitely didn’t have before. Of course, there was still a lot that needed doing. “I’m not quite sure where to start.” He ran a hand through his hair, gaze landing on the colour charts. “I guess getting some paint might be as good a place as any.”
Oliver shook his head. “If I were you, I’d get that wallpaper off first.” He nodded in the direction of the hall. “Anywhere else got any?”
Ed frowned, having to give it some serious thought. And, well... shit. He couldn’t remember what was on the bloody walls. “Um...”
To his credit, Oliver didn’t laugh or look pissed off at Ed wasting his time. Instead he reached out and snagged Ed’s wrist, his loose grip burning into Ed’s skin. “Why don’t we have a walk through the whole place and come up with a plan of action.” At Ed’s short nod for him to go ahead, Oliver tugged him out into the hall right back to the front door. “How much are you wanting to spend?”
Now facts and figures were much more his scene. He’d discussed this very thing with his mum and sisters the day before. “We’ve already spent a good chunk updating the kitchen and bathroom. I’d like to keep costs to a minimum elsewhere if I can help it.”
Oliver hummed as he looked down at his feet. “You keeping all the carpets, then?”
“Yeah.” He toed the fraying edge of the hall carpet. “I know they’re not in the best shape, but won’t people want to buy their own?”
“Maybe.”
“I’m aware it’s an added expense for anyone buying the place, but I’m not sure it’s worth us stripping out the old ones and replacing them.” They weren’t that bad. “I was thinking about maybe having them cleaned, though. Need to get some quotes.”
“Just seems a shame to have old carpets when you’ve got a brand-new kitchen and bathroom.”
