Page 174 of Clinically Bewitched
“And I love you.”
“I love you too, but—”
“And those men are here to help us. That’s all. They could look like literal Greek gods and it wouldn’t matter because I’m married to you.”
“They do look like literal Greek gods,” I muttered.
She laughed. “Come on. Let’s go back. I want to hear about their timeline.”
We returned to the living room, where the contractors were studying my whiteboard with expressions of genuine interest. “This is impressive,” Jasper said, pointing to the electrical phase. “You’ve accounted for everything.”
“I try to be thorough.”
“Thorough is an understatement,” Clint said. “This is military-level planning.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“Absolutely.”
Athena settled onto the couch, the only piece of furniture we’d moved into the house so far, and the contractors immediately shifted their attention to her. “Are you comfortable?” Bo asked. “Do you need a pillow?”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
“Water?” Chase offered. “We brought some.”
“I’m okay.”
“If you need anything,” Gavin said, “just say the word.”
“You’re all very sweet,” Athena said again.
My eye twitched harder.
My sister Vivian arrived twenty minutes later. I called her because I needed someone to help me finalize some design decisions, and she had excellent taste. What I didn’t need was her reaction when she saw the contractors. “Holy shit,” she said, stopping in the doorway.
“Vivian,” I said warningly.
“No, seriously. Holy shit.” She was staring at Mason, who was measuring the kitchen doorway. “Are they real?”
“They’re contractors.”
“They’remodels.”
“They’re contractors who happen to be—”
“Gorgeous?” she finished. “Because yes. Yes, they are.”
Mason looked up, smiled, and walked over. “You must be Vivian. Julien mentioned you’d be helping with design choices.”
“I... yes. That’s me. Vivian. Helping. With choices.” She was still staring.
Oh my God.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Mason said, shaking her hand.
“Nice,” she repeated. “Yes. Very nice. Extremely nice.”
I closed my eyes and groaned. “Vivian, can you focus?”
