Page 25 of Structure of Love

I couldn’t refute him. “Guilty on most charges. I do have outside hobbies too, though. I love to kayak, camp, and hike. I’ll hop on the bike and do long rides sometimes, just let the wind and sun wash over me. It’s a good way to de-stress. Recently, I’ve been working on my spare bedroom. It has become a sort of catch-all for stuff, but with Erin moving in soon, I’ve got to get it into shape.”

Gage paused. “Wait, when you said soon, how soon did you mean?”

“About six weeks.”

“Whoa. That’s soon.”

“Yeah. She’ll be eighteen right before she starts her senior year. One of those August babies. She’s relieved she can move in with me at that point, because at least in her senior year, she can be her authentic self. It doesn’t give me a lot of time to unearth that bedroom, though.”

“It really doesn’t. Need help painting or anything?”

Wow, what a lovely offer. Seemed Gage had not only good looks, but also a good heart, and it was sexy as hell. Look at him volunteering without even realizing how bad my spare room was. “I will not turn you down. Frankly, I’m at the stage where I’m losing energy, but I’ve got to get it done.”

“Then just tell me a day and time. I’ll make it happen. Do you have a color picked out?”

“Erin chose a very cool green and I think it’s a great choice.”

“Green, eh? Hard to go wrong with green.”

“Agreed.”

“Is she one of those kids who has to have things just so?”

“Well…hard to tell, since she’s never had any kind of control over her environment. My plan is to paint, shove furniture in there, and let her do whatever decorating she likes.”

“That does sound saner,” Gage agreed. “Because teenager.”

“Exactly. All right, now, what do you do for fun?”

“Aside from reading and tabletop games? I like the old game shows, those are a comfort watch for me. And I do outdoor activities as well. Love to swim. Hiking’s always fun. I don’t have a lot of experience with kayaking, but I love anything water, so we should do that together before winter hits.”

Something else in common! Oh, you could bet I’d be taking advantage. Especially if it resulted in this man wet. I needed a wet Gage in my life, for sure. “I’m all for it. I’ve got two kayaks, so just name the day.”

“Excellent.” Gage extended his hand across the table, taking mine, his thumb softly brushing over my knuckles. “I haven’t been on a bike in years, but I do love a good ride.”

The feel of his hand on mine shouldn’t have been this evocative, but dammit, his touch sent sparks of pleasure up my arm. He was just so distracting. Wait, was that an innuendo? I squinted at him suspiciously.

He grinned—like, gremlin grinned—completely unrepentant. “Innuendo too soon?”

“You are not as advertised. You’re a little shit, aren’t you?”

“I am. I’m not even sorry.” Using his free hand, he circled his face with his pointer finger. “This should be taken as a promise and a warning label all at the same time.”

He had mischief and sass in him. Right, now I knew we’d get along great, because he could dish it out and take it. My kind of people.

“Granted, the face has gotten me into things I do not necessarily want,” he tacked on, nose wrinkling up. “I, uh, do have one weird thing I’ve been roped into.”

Why was he blushing? “This I’ve got to hear. What?”

“Two friends of mine write webtoons. Do you know what those are?”

“Considering I read an unhealthy amount of them, yes.”

Gage must not have expected my response. Oh look, a milder version of the Pikachu face was back, dropped jaw and all. “Really?”

“Sure do. What’s their author name?”

“I have no idea, to be honest. I’d have to ask. The only reason I’m involved is they like to use live models for some of their art, and I’ve gotten voluntold to be a model.”