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“That’s good. You should call Hallmark and get that on a card.”
We picked out paint brushes and rollers while we waited for the cans to be shaken. When it was ready, we carried everything to the checkout counter.
Chase stepped in front of me. “This is being taken care of, so don’t even take out your wallet.”
“No, no. This paint is for my room, so I’m going to pay for it.”
“Nope. Beverly’s orders. This is all part of getting your apartment ready. She would be painting for any tenant that moved in.”
I sighed. “I guess you being difficult runs in your family, huh?”
“Oh, and she wants you to come to dinner tonight. After we finish painting.”
I tried to hide my unease.
Once we were back at the apartment, Chase began laying out all of the materials. I set up my phone to play the best of the eighties while we painted. There was no conversation, which was nice for a change. We hummed along to a song every now and then. Painting felt therapeutic. The sound of the paint brushes swishing up and down was calming. It didn’t hurt that I got to steal a glance or two at Chase while he worked. He had muscles in his arms that I didn’t even know existed, as they contracted with every push and pull of the roller. I also happened to notice the way his shorts curved around his perfectly round rump. I was foolishly staring when he unexpectedly turned around.
“How does it look from down there?”
“What?”
“The paint. How does it look?”
I bit my bottom lip to keep from laughing. “It’s perfect.”
He nodded in agreement. “We’ll let it dry, and paint the second coat in the morning. It will be ready for you to sleep here by tomorrow night.”
I glanced at the time on my phone. Two hours had gone by like seconds. “I’d better jump in the shower to get ready for dinner.”
“See you at six.” He gave me a wink and carried away the brushes and rollers.
When I heard the door close, I typed out a text to Brody: I need a big favor - can you drop off a bottle of wine outside my apartment please?
I hit send and stepped into the shower. I refused to show up to dinner emptyhanded with the Brooks family, and Chase would have told me that wine was not necessary. How I was counting the days until I could be rid of this sling, and drive wherever I wanted – even though I had nothing to drive. I put on jeans and a plain black V-neck shirt; I didn’t want to look like crap, but I also didn’t want to look like I was trying too hard. Dinner with the entire Brooks family was intimidating. I made a single-handed attempt to run some gel through my hair so the curls didn’t look so frizzy. I smiled when I saw the bottle of wine sitting on my doorstep outside my front door. I walked down the stairs, across the front yard, and rang the doorbell next to the fancy giant double doors. Then, I took a deep breath.
To my surprise, a tiny blonde-haired human opened the door. “It’s her!” she shouted. “Come in. Do you like my dress?” Khloe twirled and waited for my response.
I smiled as I stepped into the grandiose entryway. “I love it. Yellow is my favorite color.”
“That’s what Chase said. He is very excited you’re coming to dinner. So is my mom. She said that Chase doesn’t bring a lot of girls home, so this is big.” Her hazel eyes widened to put emphasis on the last word.
I laughed as she took my hand and dragged me into the dining room.
“Chase! Look! Merry is here!”
Chase and his father were setting the table.
“It’s Merritt, you knucklehead.” Tanner waltzed into the room. He gave me a nod before sitting down to await the food.
“It’s fine,” I reassured Khloe. I could care less what she called me. I walked over to Tim and handed him the bottle of wine. “I wasn’t sure what to bring.”
Chase smiled and shook his head while Tim gave me a hug. He still smelled like the shop. It reminded me of my father. “That was very kind of you. You didn’t have to bring anything.”
Beverly appeared in the doorway from the kitchen. “You did not have to bring a single thing. This is your special dinner.”
“I don’t need a special dinner. The apartment is more than enough. I don’t know how I can ever repay you for everything.”
“I should be the one getting a special dinner. You took my apartment,” Tanner grumbled.
