Page 6 of Developing Hearts (Pine Point Fixer-Uppers #5)

Chapter six

David

“The electrical has always been fussy, but it’s fine.

” They’d gathered together in David’s living room once the guys finished their walkthrough.

They’d brought in their own folding chairs, even though David insisted he could pick some up.

It wouldn’t hurt to have seating for guests anyway.

“I was using the chance to try and redo some of the lighting, but…well, you can see how well I managed that. I got frustrated and just sort of stopped.”

Aras nodded. “So you got sold shitbox.”

David shrugged. “A shitbox with an incredible view and a hell of a price tag. I overestimated my capacity to fix things up, and I overestimated my ability to find a good contractor to do what I couldn’t.

That’s on me.” David gestured out the floor-to-ceiling windows to the Puget Sound.

“But how can you put a price on something this gorgeous?”

Aras snorted. “Hey, you’re just lucky we made it here.

I have a nasty suspicion that your wiring is one stray spark from lighting up this whole building.

And if I’m right, I’m having words with whoever controls the condo complex.

Or the city. Or the former owner. Whoever can give me the proper head on a pike. ”

“Easy, champ.” Mason patted Aras’s wrist. “So, obviously we have some work to do here. If you’re ready, we want to bring in our contractors.” He winked. “If they look familiar, shout and jump up and down so we can find someone else. But we vet pretty well and haven’t had an issue yet.”

David chuckled. “I’ll make it very obvious if something looks hinky.” He scanned the living room and everyone in it. “I’m good if you are. Just tell me where to be to not get in the way.”

“Oh, we’re putting you to work.” Ozzy cracked his knuckles, the sound like firecrackers in the open-concept condo. “We’ve got a big moving truck that we’re going to use to store everything, and we’re looking for all hands on deck to move stuff downstairs.”

David nodded. “All right. Just don’t be shocked if I collapse.” He pressed the back of his hand to his forehead. “I’m more frail than one of those Victorian romance heroines.”

“Don’t worry,” said Mason. “We’ll keep you away from any particularly strong breezes or overstuffed pillows.”

“I was more referring to being too beautiful.” David lifted his chin and tried to make himself look as good as he could. “I’m sure I read a book where someone died from being beautiful.”

“Pretty sure that was tuberculosis.” Mason got up and clapped his hands. “And if you have TB, we have bigger problems than moving your couch.”

“Worth a try.” David rose as well. “All right, point me in the right direction.”

The others all moved off, already beginning to gather stuff and get going, but Mason approached him once again. “All the paintings in your bedroom. I don’t want to have just anyone handling those, so if you could take that on for now?”

David cringed. “I should have taken those down before you all came up, shouldn’t I?”

“I’ve seen naked men before.” Mason clapped him on the shoulder.

“But they’re one of a kind pieces and I wouldn’t want anyone damaging them while we’re trying to clear this place out for you.

” He stepped away, but almost immediately turned back around, pointing at David.

“Oh, and I found your Chemex. It’s a good idea, but it’s kind of unfinished. ”

“Me? An unfinished piece of art? Can’t be true.”

Mason shook his head as he turned back around and David…well, David was still quite taken with Mason, and he filled out those jeans spectacularly. So David took in his butt as he walked away.

He’d also seen naked men before, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t mind seeing one more.

David only saw the problem he’d created once he was already enveloped in it.

He’d started by going full-on cleaning mode, helping haul stuff out to the service elevator.

Then he did find his coffee fountain and started thinking about that, how much he really would like to get back around to it.

It took him an extra couple minutes to pass that off to someone, but in the process, he caught sight of the charcoal flower sketches he’d done a few years ago.

Well, the ones he’d started. It was supposed to be a study of the arboretum over on Lake Washington.

One flower a week. He’d lasted about six weeks.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t go back to it, now that he’d seen them and been reminded.

He had an image in his mind of a coffee table book, all his sketches bound together so guests could flip through it and take a look.

When Mason found him in the back of the moving truck, David was frantically typing notes into his phone of the projects he’d uncovered so far.

He wasn’t going to go back to all of them, after all, so he was winnowing down.

He’d decided against trying to pick up needle felting again and…

well, that was the only one he’d firmly decided to set aside so far, but if he could catalog them, he’d be in better shape to handle everything.

Mason hauled himself into the truck and set down a box of dried out clay.

“I don’t know if you want to keep this. We can go through all this before we bring it back in.

Everything okay?” Mason looked over his shoulder, and when he met David’s eyes again, his brows knitted together in the middle of his forehead.

“I know this can be a lot, and we really can handle this if you need to just head to the hotel and chill. We’ll get hold of you when we get to stuff where we need your input. ”

“Oh. No.” David laughed, and it was a bit too loud and a bit too sharp, and he clapped a hand over his mouth. “I’m sorry. This is totally not about my feelings. This is my self-indulgence. Like a kid playing with all the toys he forgot about after his mom says to clean his room.”

Mason chuckled. “I get it. Just flag me down if it ever gets to be a little too much.” He pulled out his phone and scrolled a few times. “Looks like you head back to work tomorrow. Are you usually pretty dead after you get home, or are you going to have some energy to spare.”

He had a cubicle job, designing and maintaining the front end of a bunch of client websites. “I’m usually pretty ready to do something different when I get home. What do you need?”

“Well, you used to watch the videos. Remember when we’d make the design collages?”

David grinned. “Right up my alley.”

“Cool. Is it going to be better for you to meet here, like we did this morning, or at a meeting room in the hotel?”

“Right. Hotel.” David had gotten a little bit lost in the moment.

“I guess I should pack a bag at some point before all my clothes are tucked away in the back of this truck.” He shook his head.

“Let’s meet at the hotel.” He set down the little box he’d been holding, full of tiny polymer clay charms, from the few months when he’d sold bracelets and necklaces as a side hustle.

“And I’ll go get ready. It might actually be nice.

” There was a strange squirming in his gut, even as he tried to convince both himself and Mason that this was a good thing, but feeding into that would only make things worse.

Act happy and you’ll be happy . At some point, he could figure out what about all this struck him odd.

“I’ll have my own working bathroom, someone to do my laundry, change of scenery. ”

“We aim to please.” Mason tucked his phone away. “I’ll text you the details once we have everything settled.”

“Groovy.” David shot finger guns at Mason then turned around to head to the service elevator, trying not to burst into flame from the embarrassment. What the hell convinced me to shoot fucking finger guns at him?