Cody and Spencer were in the master suite and it sounded like Spencer was still busting out the wall that divided the closet in the den from the one in the master bathroom while Cody worked on the old tub. The prospect of demolition duty had put a spring in their steps as they’d carried Sawzalls and sledgehammers down the hall earlier.
Cody’s phone began to ring where it was plugged into its charger on a nearby outlet.
The caller ID read only the number so he wasn’t sure who it was. He knew who he hoped it was as he accepted the call. “Hello?”
“Cody?” The velvety, tentative-sounding voice on the line sent a thrill zipping up his spine. He tried to be silent as he jumped up in the air and did a fist pump.
“Is this Maizy?” he asked playfully, wanting to set her at ease.
“Yeah. Hi, Cody.”
“Actually, this is Heath. How was your first day of school?”
He heard her soft exhale and chuckle. “Hi, Heath. I teach kindergarten. The first week is always a big adjustment. But it was very good, thank you.”
Heath grinned, thinking that she’d make a perfect kindergarten teacher. He couldn’t seem to wipe the grin off his face. “Did they wear you out?”
“Yes.” She paused as if collecting her thoughts. “I need to ask you about something. I’ve talked to Lucy Carter.”
Heath smacked his forehead. Shit! “Did ya?”
“Is it true that you’ve bought a house and you’re fixing it up for the woman you’ve been looking for?”
“When you put it like that, it sounds kind of stalker-like, doesn’t it?”
“A tiny bit. Did you?”
“We were sure—I was sure—that we’d find her eventually,” he replied, employing her same impersonal language, hoping to set her at ease. “Ready to file a restraining order yet?”
Maizy chuckled. “No, but it feels strange to know that the three of you would make that kind of commitment. What if I’d been taken already?”
Treading carefully, he said, “It may look presumptuous on our part, but we’ve known since last fall that this was the lifestyle we wanted—to share a woman—so we considered it an investment in the future, regardless. But we believed we’d find you.”
“You’re not assuming that I’ll just jump on board with your plan, are you?”
Heath stood up straight. “No. No, baby. We don’t expect that. We just want a chance to get to know you. All we wanted was one date.”
“Just one?” She almost sounded playful.
“To start with.” He looked around the kitchen. “I’d love to cook a meal for you here but our kitchen is torn up at the moment. Could we take you to O’Reilley’s?”
“Sure. This will be a tiring week for me, so I’d rather not do it on a weeknight.”
“Understandable. We’re scheduled to work Saturday night, though. What about Saturday at lunch? Would that be okay?”
At first he’d thought that she might not like that, since they worked most weekends but she quickly said, “That sounds perfect. I had plans with Lucy and friends for Saturday night anyway.”
“Oh really? Any chance you might come out to the club?”
Maizy giggled. “We’ll be doing some shopping for her wedding and some planning for the reception but I could talk to her.”
“Great. If you let me know, I can reserve a table for you. The club is always busy Saturday nights. Do you have something to write with? Let me give you our cell phone numbers.”
“Sure. Hang on.” She rustled around for a minute and then took the numbers down.
“Did you want to talk to Cody? I know he’d like to talk to you.”
“Um, sure. If he has time.”
He unplugged the phone from the charger and headed down the hall. “For you, honey, he’ll make time.”
When he pushed aside the drop cloth covering the bathroom door, Cody and Spencer both looked up from their work, cutting the old tub into pieces for removal from the house. He mouthed “Maizy” and Cody pulled down his dust mask, grinned, and reached for the phone.
Spencer looked at him and lifted his chin in a nonverbal questioning gesture. While Cody greeted Maizy, Heath gave Spencer a thumbs-up gesture and whispered. “She said yes. We’re taking her out this Saturday for lunch.”
Spencer nodded but he was also frowning slightly. “She was okay with lunch?”
“It was perfect.”
Spencer let out a slow breath and nodded. “Good.”
They took a break while Cody sat on the outdated bathroom counter and chatted with her. In the hallway, Spencer stopped him. “She wasn’t just placating us was she?”