Page 32 of Finding Home

“Seriously?” Blake's eyebrows are halfway up his forehead, and he nods, taking a sip of beer.

“Yep, there are millions of tutorial videos on there. I found a few and have been practicing. I’m all thumbs, and half the time it looks nothing like what they are doing, but I’m getting better.”

“I can’t decide if that freaks me out or makes me want it for myself someday,” Blake absentmindedly remarks, almost more to himself than me.

“Speaking of somedays, there was another reason I invited you out tonight, Blake.” I stare into the flames, watching them dance in the gentle breeze. Each flicker bending the shadows, stretching them, before the flames snap and curl, reforming them. “What would you think about becoming my partner in the business?”

That got his attention. The front legs of the chair he had been tipping back, clunk onto the floorboards, beer sloshing over his hand, making him curse under his breath. “What did you say?”

“I asked if you want to help me grow the business and come on as an equal partner. I’ll give you some time off to get your contracting license, and once you are licensed, we can get the paperwork completed, splitting the business.”

Blake stares at me, too stunned to speak, so I go on, “Look, you know I don’t want to move back to Portland, I hated living there. Coming here really cemented that for me. Even if things don’t work out with Harper, I find myself feeling so discontent with the way things were. Doing the woodwork for this project has been more fun than I’ve had in ages. I think between the two of us we could expand and keep the construction going but also allow me to focus on the custom builds for projects.”

“Don’t you want someone with more experience? A known name in the community to be a partner?” Blake, who is normally so self-assured, seems a little lost and more than a little uncertain of himself. I’m nipping that in the bud.

“Blake, you have more than proven yourself over the years, and in the last year especially. Customers love you, the crew all respect you, and more than anything, I trust you completely. There is no one I would be willing to make this jump with but you.” His mouth opens, but nothing comes out. He ends up taking another swig of beer and staring into the darkness beyond the porch. “You don’t have to give me an answer tonight, or even this week. Just think about it, and if you don’t want to make that move, your current job still stands. But if you do want to give it a go, well, then we can sit down and make a plan together on what that will look like.”

Blake’s smile returns as he stands up, extending his hand to me. “I’m with you ‘til the end of the line.” His cocky smirk that I’m well acquainted with is back.

Recognizing the quote, I chuckle before grasping his outstretched hand. “Alright, Captain America, let's do this.”

“How about we work out the details on Monday?” Blake grins happily. “Tonight, we need to make sure everything is ready for your date tomorrow. Then, we are going to watch one of those hair tutorials, and I’m going to show you how it’s done.”

Laughing, I stand, pulling him in for a quick hug. “You’re on, and just so you know, it’s much harder than it looks, so don’t feel bad when you fail.”

We head inside and get a few more things prepped for tomorrow then have a battle of the hair. Blake, the little motherfucker, catches on quickly and destroys my attempt at a fishtail braid, but I own him in French braids, so we call it a tie before turning on the TV to hang out and catch up.

Chapter 24

Harper

Glancing at the clock for the hundredth time, I huff in annoyance that it’s only five o’clock, then check my phone because I swear it was 4:50 an hour ago. Someone knocks at the door before walking in. “Harper!” The sing-song voice of Wren flits through the house. I called Wren and Bree after Jace left, and they were both in tears over what he had done, declaring him endgame material. When they heard about the date planned, they insisted on being with Lizzie and helping me prep. I’ve never been so happy for amazing girlfriends.

“Finally!” I yell, not leaving my room. “Get in here.” Wren and Bree walk in, both with raised eyebrows at the disaster that is my bedroom. Clothes are everywhere. “I can’t decide what to wear. I haven’t been on a date in over a year, and let’s face it, I didn’t really care about the last few guys, so what I wore didn’t matter. All Jace said was nothing fancy, just to dress warm and comfortable. What the fuck does that even mean? I can’t show up in leggings and a hoodie like I don’t care, but if I dress nice, it’ll look like I tried too hard, which is embarrassing, and lord knows I have already done enough embarrassing shit in his presence.”

“Shit balls, Harper. Did you breathe once through that whole tirade?” Wren looks baffled, and Bree is laughing her ass off. Flipping her off, I march back to my bed and rifle through the outfits laid out.

“Love you too, Harp.” Bree laughs, coming to my side and turning me from my clothes. “Girl. Stop for just a minute and take a breath. This is Jace you’re talking about. He’s so gone for you that you could show up in a purple tutu, and he would still have stars in his eyes and gush over you.”

“Well, shit, now I have to say the worst phrase ever.” Her grinning face makes this all the worse. “You’re right and thank you.” Bree does a little spin and pumps her fist in the air.

“Now, let’s get you ready. As much as Jace would love the current silky robe look, I think I can speak for both Wren and me, we do not want to hear the escapades that follow him seeing you like this.” She points at me, her hand moving up and down. Biting my lip and fighting the grin, I turn back to the piles of clothes.

In the end, I land on wearing my favorite pair of jeans because they make my ass look, well, like I actually have one. Brown ankle boots, and a fuzzy cream wrap style sweater that is impossibly soft. Bonus feature, with a tug on the satin ribbon at the side it unravels. Whatever we are doing, I’m hoping like hell it ends in us both naked. My confidence is boosted when I remove my robe and both Wren and Bree start clapping at the sight of my new very expensive and very sexy lingerie underneath.

“Jace is going to blow his load in his pants when he sees that,” Wren exclaims, and my face turns beet red. They think it’s cause I’m embarrassed, if only they knew it was because he did just that a week ago in the sunroom. Not gonna lie, that has been on replay in my mind and had me reaching for my favorite vibrator at least once a night. Wren does my makeup while Bree styles my hair. They are just finishing when I spot two bags by my door.

“What are those?”

“Overnight bags. We came prepared to sleep here,” Bree says while Wren gives me an exaggerated wink.

“And you should pack one too, just in case,” Bree supplies.

“I usually choose to go in unprepared and just wear their clothes if it becomes an overnight thing.” Wren shrugs.

“I can’t do that! How presumptuous would that look! I mean, if I drove myself maybe, but not when he’s picking me up. Plus, I’m not sure I can stay away from Lizzie all night.”

“Stop overthinking everything, Harper.” A knock at the door has us all jumping like we were caught doing something naughty. I laugh as Wren takes off to get the door. Bree squares my shoulders, lowering her voice. “Harper, sweetie. Just see where things go. If you want to stay with Jace, stay with him. If you want to come home, do that. You are free to do whatever you want. There’s no pressure, we just want to see you happy, and hun, you look so happy when you’re with him.” Tears blur my vision and I wave my hands in front of my face to stop them. Bree blots under my eyes, and I hug her tight before heading out to the living room.