Page 63 of This Time Around
“Ha! That was fast,” Maegan said. “He said he’s filming in Nashville right now but plans on coming here as soon as he wraps up.”
Another door slammed loud enough to make us jump.
“Anthony sounds pissed,” I said. The doorbell rang, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. “Pizza delivery,” I told them breathlessly.
I left Maegan and Memphis laughing at my jittery reaction while I retrieved our food and drinks. When I got back, Andy had joined them.
“Gimme, I’m starved,” he said when he locked eyes on the pizza.
“We know,” Maegan and Memphis said at the same time.
I shrugged when Andy looked at me. “We’re not as sneaky as we thought.”
“Make sure you deduct your make-out sessions with my brother from the hours you put on your bill,” Maegan teased.
“I smell pizza,” Elijah said, coming through the door.
“Oh my,” Maegan said with a mouthful of pizza. Elijah did have a very striking appearance. He was tall, strong, and looked damn good with a badge clipped to his belt and a shoulder harness strapped to his back and shoulders. “Babe, I need to show you something.”
I expected her to show Elijah the journals, but instead she took him upstairs. I snorted and went about eating my pizza.
“Always the bridesmaid, never the bride,” Memphis said wistfully.
“That’s all about to change,” I told my friend, earning a doubtful frown.
“Yeah, right. Lyric Willows isn’t just going to roll in here, take one look at me, and fall in love.” I looked at his messy, curly hair, big brown eyes framed by black-rimmed glasses, and firm lips that hid a breathtaking smile. I believed enough for both of us.
“You’ll see.”
With everyone pitching in to help, Maegan’s dream home was ready for her to move into by mid-June. It wasn’t fully renovated, but only a few rooms remained untouched. Maegan said she’d worry about them when she was ready to fill them with kids. All her main living spaces weren’t just habitable, they shone like polished gems. Maegan truly had an eye for diamonds in the rough. As pleased as I was with the interior work I did, I was proudest of the exterior work.
Bliss House was once again an architectural feast for the eyes instead of being a dilapidated eyesore that leaned toward creepy. I admit that I didn’t have Maegan’s same vision when I first toured the house, but I quickly got on board with her plans. After finishing the interior, I focused all my energy on the exterior. I had inspected the cedar board siding, stone, stucco, and mortar looking for cracks and other concerning damage beyond the normal things you’d expect to find on a house that old. Beyond filling and sealing a few cracks, all the exterior issues were as cosmetic as the interior.
Ivy had covered the entire east side of the house, which actually looked natural on the stately home. Unfortunately, I had to cut it all away to inspect and repair portions before I could power wash the entire structure to prep for painting the stucco, cedar siding, and trim around the roof, windows, and ornate pieces fastened to the stucco sections.
Maegan chose an ivory paint for the stucco and a deep-brown color for the trim, which accented the diverse colors of stone on the rest of the house. Elijah helped me do all the exterior work while Maegan, Milo, Dennis, Jackie, and Memphis worked on the landscaping. I don’t mean they simply cut the grass and cut a few shrubs either. They had to cut back decades of overgrowth before they could even see what they were working with. I learned that Milo had a green thumb and was passionate about landscaping. It was fun watching him take charge and oversee the grooming, relocating, and planting. I liked it even more when I glanced down and saw his perfect ass on display, until I nearly fell off the ladder.
We worked tirelessly as a unit to help make Maegan’s dreams come true. When we were done, Maegan hosted a cookout to celebrate and thank us for all that we did. As much as I loved barbecued or smoked meats, my favorite things were the abundance of side dishes. I couldn’t get enough of the potato salad, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, and seven-layer salad.
Once it got dark, we sat around the firepit and stared into the flames while roasting marshmallows for s’mores. I wasn’t sure where I was going to put the gooey, chocolate treat after eating two helpings of strawberry shortcake, but I was going to give it my all.
The problem with making s’mores was that you had to be patient, and it took technique to make good ones. You needed to hold your marshmallow above the flame just so and let the heat toast the marshmallow, because if you just stuck it in the flame, it would catch fire. That meant the outside was charred while the inside remained firmer than I liked for my s’mores. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the crunchy charred ones on occasion, but not for my s’mores. So, I kept rotating my metal stick until all sides were a golden brown then assembled the perfect s’more; graham cracker, section of Hershey’s bar, marshmallow, another piece of chocolate, and the top graham cracker. Then I squeezed it together so the marshmallow would start to melt the chocolate.
“How do you do that?” Milo asked, pulling his stick out of the flames. His marshmallow was a raging ball of fire, sizzling as the sugary substance lost its form and plopped to the grass. “Well, damn.”
“It takes patience,” I told him. “Kind of like winning someone’s heart back after you broke it.” I leaned over and kissed his pouty lips. “I love you.”
Milo smiled sweetly and said, “You know what you can do to prove it?”
“Teach you how to toast the marshmallows properly?” I asked.
“I guess that will work too,” he groaned.
I crooked my finger at him, and Milo sprawled across my lap, making sure to wiggle a little extra to entice me into doing his work for him. I handed him my precious s’more and demonstrated my toasting technique.
“Mmmmm, so good,” Milo said around a mouthful of s’more. “What?”
“You’re supposed to be paying attention so that you can do this for yourself next time,” I said then nipped his earlobe. I felt a tremor of awareness move through his body.