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The yard itself somehow managed to have this controlled chaos to it, as if the plants were a bit wild, but it was all planned and bent to the will of an expert gardener. Standing there, Gio had the feeling of stepping into an oasis of peace and beauty. Something inside of him relaxed, and he simply felt at ease standing there, as if the place welcomed him.
A snort escaped him and Gio turned toward the stairs. There was a bit of wishful thinking. Inwardly laughing at himself, Gio walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. Some of the front windows were open, allowing in the light, warm breeze while the dog’s excited barking echoed through the house. It was a pleasantly warm day in the midsixties, the sun shining overhead in the open blue sky. The summers here might be a bitch, but the mild winters more than made up the awful humidity.
There were a few shouts inside in relation to the doorbell and then some brisk footsteps. A couple of seconds later, the front door was opened by Grey, the man with dark hair that was graying at the temples and disarmingly steel-gray eyes. Something inside of him flinched at meeting this man’s gaze, but Gio held on to his smile and stuck out his hand while trying not to feel disappointed that Calder or Lucien wasn’t there to greet him.
“Hi, we met before. I’m Gio. Dane called me in—”
“Yes, of course. I remember,” the man replied, shaking his hand briefly. “Lucien and Calder showed you the attic the other day, correct?”
“Yes. Exactly.”
Grey narrowed his eyes on him, and Gio swore it felt like a cool breeze riffled through his thoughts. He shivered and forced his smile even wider, feeling like an idiot.
“Please, come in,” Grey said suddenly, stepping out of the doorway as if he’d just remembered where they were and what they were doing.
“Thanks.” Gio walked into the house, blinking a few times in the darker interior, willing his eyes to adjust. The inside was nearly as beautiful as the outside. It was clear the contractor was still working on his own restoration projects in the various rooms Gio could glimpse from the foyer. While the colors were neutral and all the old wallpapers—and likely delicately hand-painted murals—were long gone, it looked as if Dane had gone to a lot of trouble to preserve and restore the old wood all throughout the place.
He smiled at the dog sitting patiently at Grey’s side. “Who’s this? I don’t think we officially met on my last visit.”
“Ruby. She belongs to another of our roommates. We also have a cat named Queenie around here somewhere. Are you allergic?”
Gio shook his head and smiled. “No, I love animals.” He held out his hand and Ruby immediately came to his side, sniffing his fingers before she thrust her entire head against his palm. Gio chuckled and scratched behind her large ears. “She’s beautiful.”
“And a pretty good judge of character.”
“Thanks.” He straightened and smiled at Grey. “I sent Dane an estimate for all the large pieces that I was able to catalogue on my last visit. He told me to focus on those to start, and then we could revisit some of the smaller pieces at a later date. But I also brought a paper copy of the estimate along.” Gio held up the thick stack of paper secured in a folder with his company’s logo.
“Excellent. I will…” Grey trailed off when he heard hurried footsteps echoing through the house. Lucien thundered down the main staircase while Calder jogged in, cutting through the dining room from where he’d likely been in the kitchen.
Gio’s heart sped up in his chest and it was an honest-to-God struggle to keep the goofy grin off his lips to see both of them hurrying through the house like they were excited to see him. He glanced over at Grey in time to see the man roll his eyes, but there was something of a sardonic smile on his lips.
“Hey,” Gio greeted, but it came out all breathless and needy, which was damn embarrassing. He shoved his empty hand through his hair, pushing it back from his forehead while trying to keep both men within his line of sight.
“Gio! Good to see you!” Lucien boomed.
“Hey, Gio,” Calder said more softly.
“Yeah, since Lucien and Calder helped you the first time, I’m going to leave this in their hands. I’ve got a book to write.”
Calder’s brow furrowed. “I thought you just turned your book in.”
Grey glared at him and shook his head. “I’ve always got a book to write.” He strolled the way Calder had come and waved one hand in the air. “Nice seeing you again, Gio. And stay out of trouble.”
Alone with the two men he’d very much wanted to see, Gio suddenly found himself tongue-tied. Would it be wrong to pull them both in close and steal several deep, dirty kisses?
