Page 48 of Better Together

Again, those three words hovered on the tip of her tongue. She needed to pull herself together. She placed a hand on his arm and stepped around him to open the door.

“Hey, Maggie.” Her smile broke free once again, and Maggie pulled her out of the room and into the front bedroom. She glanced over her shoulder to see Zeke’s eyes glimmer with desire.

“Omigod, Alexis. Tell me everything.”

Alexis put a finger to her lips. “Shhh, not here.”

Maggie nodded. “Right. I gotcha.”

Alexis whispered, “Short answer, yes and epic . . . but that’s all you’re getting since he’s your brother.”

Maggie jumped up and down and made the motion of clapping her hands, then hugged her. “It’s about time,” she quietly stated.

Zeke stood in the doorframe. “Stan has a question about the tile in the bathroom.” He glanced from Alexis to Maggie. With a smirk, he shook his head and left the room.

“Uh-oh.” They giggled like schoolgirls and went to talk to the tile setter.

Curious about which tile Maggie picked, Zeke met the ladies in the master suite. He stepped into the room, where Sean was working on the trim, and noted the smoky gray on two of the walls, and a light ivory color on the rest. “It’s looking great in here,” he said.

Sean stood and joined him in the center of the room. “I agree. My favorite is the bathtub. The plumber finished up late last night.”

Zeke slapped him on the back. “Thanks for staying so I could knock off early.”

“Not a problem.”

He stepped onto the subfloor and walked toward the large soaker tub. The tile setter stood near the walk-in shower. The closet door creaked behind him, and he turned . . . “Ahhh!” He cursed and jumped out of the way as a skeleton fell into him. He pushed the bones off him, and his hand flew to his heart. The whole house had gathered in the bedroom, and the tile guy shrugged. Alexis and Maggie were bent in half with their hands on their thighs, laughing so hard they were crying.

“Wow. You got me.” Zeke’s heart still racing, he looked down at the pile of bones. He kicked the skull off his shoe, and it rolled into Alexis.

Their laugh was contagious, which had him laughing along with everyone else. He walked up to Alexis, picked up the skull and held it out in front of him. She heaved in breaths of air as she tried to speak. “You screamed . . . like a girl.”

He whispered in her ear, “Maybe, but I’ll enjoy hearing you scream tonight.”

She tilted her head, no longer laughing. “Promise?”

Zeke needed to get out of there quick before he tugged her into a closet. “Okay, show’s over!”

* * *

“Wow, Alexis, I know he’s my brother but . . . wow! You could have lit this place on fire with the sparks flying between you two,” Maggie said.

“Do you think anyone else noticed?”

“Nah. They all went back to work.”

After consulting with the tile setter, they decided the dark gray and light gray tiles looked best in the herringbone pattern in the shower.

“I think you should go with naughty librarian for your costume tonight,” Maggie said. “After I’m done here, I’ll run home and get a few of my clothing items and set them on your bed. I have the perfect glasses for the ensemble.” She glanced over her friend’s body. “Yep, I have the perfect skirt, leggings, and shoes. My brother will come unglued when he sees you.”

Alexis hoped so. “Thanks, Maggie.”

Familiar voices rang out as they entered the kitchen.

“Yoo-hoo . . . anyone here?”

Zeke replaced the baseboard in the living room and stood at the sound of Rosie’s voice. His grandma and Emma followed close behind. They each had a bakery box in their hands. “Good morning.” Zeke rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “What have you got there?” He placed a kiss on his grandma’s cheek.

Emma opened the lid to reveal an assortment of bars and cookies. “We were next door, delivering goodies to your competition.”