Page 4 of Tangled With You

“So many errands,” Nikki said, then hurried closer to givehim a hug. Maybe it was just his imagination, but it seemed a little tighterthan usual, as if she was silently giving him support.

She pulled away, then called for the girls to follow. “Don’tlet him work you too hard,” she said to Trevor. And then after a flurry of hugsfrom the kids and an order from Jamie to call her later, they disappeared.

He was alone with Trevor.

He was alone with Trevor.

He shoved his free hand into the front pocket of his jeans.

“Sorry,” Trevor said.

“What? Sorry? Why?”

He nodded toward the glasses in Ollie’s hand, then at thecookies and whiskey that Nikki had left on the ledge in front of the fireplace.“I think I interrupted family time.”

“What? No. They were just in the neighborhood. Stopped by tosee my progress.”

“Just like me.”

“Yeah,” Ollie said. “Just like you.”

Except not. Really, really not.

“Except not really,” Trevor said, and it was a good thingOllie hadn’t yet poured and sipped the whiskey, because right then, he wouldhave spit it out from shock.

“Not? What do you mean, not?” And when had hisvoice gotten high and squeaky? He was losing it. He might as well just meltinto his brand-new teak flooring and be done with it.

If Trevor noticed that Ollie had turned into a blitheringmess, he didn’t show it. He simply moved closer and took the glasses fromOllie, leaving Ollie with nothing left to clutch like a security blanket. “Justthat I came to help, not simply to check out how much you’ve done.”

He crossed to the hearth and put the glasses down next towhere Nikki had left the whiskey. “What do you say?” He opened the bottlewithout waiting for Ollie to reply, then poured them each a shot. “Shall wepick up a couple of brushes and knock out this wall. It’s going to lookincredible in that blue.”

He returned, handed Ollie his glass, and remained standingjust a little too close for comfort.

Ollie took a sip, then stepped back, hoping to find the airbreathable again.

“Right.” He cleared his throat, trying to remember Trevor’slast words. “I mean, yeah. I think the color’s going to really make the room.”He wanted to head-thwap himself, if only to knock his thoughts back intoalignment and banish any errant fantasies to the deep, dark recesses of hismind where they belonged.

Except why did they belong there? Why couldn’t thosefantasies be front and center?

Because Trevor was a friend. And Ollie didn’t want to take afalse step and screw up a friendship.

A statement that was one hundred percent true. And not thereal reason at all.

The truth was, Ollie was pretty damn certain that Trevorwanted more than just friendship. They may have started out that way—evendespite Ollie’s disconcerting initial jolt of attraction—but then Ollie noticedthat Trev had started touching him from time to time. Nothing major. A hand onthe shoulder as they waited in line for a movie. A tap on the arm while theychatted at a bar. Casual touches. Subtle.

At first, Ollie only noticed the touches. Then he’d cravedthem.

Dammit, he truly had wanted—no, did want—more.

And the only reason he wasn’t going for it was that he was ahypocritical, fucking coward.

“—just go?”

“I’m sorry, what?”

The corner of Trev’s mouth curved up, revealing a smalldimple. “I said that if you’d rather, I can just go. You seem a littledistracted. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“No, it’s okay.” Ollie gave himself a swift mental kick inthe ass. “I am distracted. The air-conditioner,” he lied. “I was thinking aboutsomething Jamie said right before you got here. That I need to get that thingfixed before we’re into full-on summer.”