“Amazing, and like I’m the luckiest man on the planet to have a boyfriend who enjoys the sort of thing most people put off doing for decades.”
Or they never get around to doing it, they die, and unsuspecting house buyers inherit it.
He shrugged. “I like making things better.”
“You make everything better,” I said fervently. “You really do.”
“Good. That’s the plan for later.” He yanked me closer, making me yelp. “Plan for right now is, I’m going to bang that mood clean out of you.”
“What mood?”
Instead of playing along with my mock-outrage, Kevin touched a light fingertip between my brows and stroked. “This one. The one that’s got you frowning. The one that’s got youlooking like you used to.” His warm brown eyes held mine. “Don’t like you being sad, Charlie.”
I opened my mouth to argue with him and brush it off, but instead I said quietly, “Yeah.”
Kevin put the photo album back into the dusty box and closed the flap. “Get naked,” he said, and picked up the box. “I’m going to stick this in the garage and wash up. You’ve got five minutes, and you’d better be ready for it.”
Before he could move away, I leaned in. “Leave it,” I said. “I want you right now.” I drew him close for a teasing kiss, compressing the box between us.
Something inside the box slid and hit one of the cardboard walls with a tiny thump.
I went rigid. “Kevin?”
“Yeah.”
“You did say you checked the box for mice. Yes?”
“I did say that. Yes.”
I swallowed. “Right. And I remember asking if you double-checked it.”
“Yeah. I remember that, too.”
“Didyou double-check it? Because I don’t actually recall if you answered that question or not.”
“I’m going to be honest, Charlie. No. I did not double-check it.”
“Get it out! Get it out of my kitchen!”
Kevin winced. “You can screamsohigh. I had no idea.”
I scooted backwards over the table and as soon as I had clearance, I twisted, slid off the other side, and ran.
6
Kevin came back from the garage and headed down the hall to the downstairs bathroom. The toilet flushed and the shower turned on. After a few minutes of vigorous splashing sounds, the shower went off.
I was sitting on the sofa with my e-reader, perfectly positioned to watch as half-naked Kevin stalked past the open doorway, his body still gleaming with water and a towel wrapped around his waist.
I listened to his footsteps pound up the stairs, tracked his progress to the bedroom by following the creaking boards overhead, and smiled when the footsteps thudded back along the landing to the top of the stairs.
“Get your arse up here right now, Charlie Galloway,” he bellowed.
“No, thank you,” I called back. “You brought vermin into my house. I’m not going to reward that behaviour.”
“There was no mouse. I looked.”
“Mm-hmm,” I said.
