“I better get to work,” he said, his gaze slipping to my chest for a split second. “Let’s make sure what few items you do have on the countertops are removed. There’s space on the workbench in the garage to put things.”
“Okay,” I said, my voice coming out in a high squeak. Had I just imagined him checking me out? “I’ll get to clearing the counter.” Putting on some upbeat music, I set to clearing out the kitchen and had it finished in minutes since almost everything was still in boxes.
Because the boys were still busy unloading items, I opened the sample cans of paint and took out a brush, painting a stripe on the wall.
I glanced up to find Toby beside me. “Looks pink to me.”
Brax stood in the doorway. “The granite you picked out is a touch yellow.”
Damn, it had been my favorite of the three. Plus, I had paid seven bucks for that sample, too.
“You could always use it in the bedroom if you really like it,” Brax suggested.
Day one of the actual renovation and already I was failing at home improvement. “I should have brought you with me, Brax.”
“Hey, no worries.” He gave my hand a squeeze. “You can use it in another room.”
As always, with even the slightest contact, I got excited.
He dropped my hand and I crossed my arms, focusing on the wall color. Now that the paint had started to dry, I could see what Toby meant about the pink.
“Try another,” Toby said, stepping back, waiting to shoot me down again, no doubt.
Under the steady eyes of both men, I painted two more stripes.
“Hmmm…” Toby clearly wasn’t liking any of the choices.
“The one on the right looks too gray to me. What do you think, Brax?”
Brax hesitated. It was obvious he didn’t want to hurt my feelings. “Do you remember the quartz countertop that had the pieces of mirror in it that you picked out for the guest bath?”
“The one that was mostly white?” I said, resting the paint brush on the can’s lid.
“Yeah. Maybe we could go with that color in the bathroom. That way we’re mixing it up a bit.”
Bless his heart, he was trying to make me feel better.
“Okay, so I’ll buy a gallon of that, but now I have nothing for the rest of the house and kitchen.” I felt deflated. Maybe I’d just buy white paint and call it good.
“We can head up to the store and take another look. Do you mind?” Brax asked Toby, who shook his head. “Hey, I’m on your dime. Just remember, I’m paid by the hour.”
“Make yourself useful then,” Brax said, grabbing a sledgehammer and handing it to him. “That is, unless Amanda wants to take the first swing.”
He didn’t need to ask me twice. I grabbed the sledgehammer and hit an upper cabinet with little result. After a few more tries, I was both embarrassed and a little ticked off.
“Here,” Brax said, sliding in behind me and putting his hands on either side of mine on the sledgehammer. There wasn’t an inch of the front of his body that didn’t touch the back of mine. “You ready?”
I nodded, imagining the cabinet was Ross’s face.
With one swing, we sent the side of the cabinet flying off. It was exhilarating, and after a few more practice swings with Brax, he let me go so I could continue.
I think he was a little shocked by how into the destruction I was, and my brother loved it, actually egging me on and pulling pieces apart and tossing them out the back door so I could get another go at it.
Within ten minutes, we had the kitchen cabinets and counters in pieces and I was completely out of breath. “That was fun,” I said, looking around in satisfaction and imagining what it would look like soon.
Toby slung the sledgehammer over his shoulder, looking winded but satisfied. “Why don’t you guys take off and get the paint and I’ll clean up here.”
Neither of us argued.
Brax and I went to a little hardware store where the friendly owner went out of his way to help us. “What are you attracted to?” he asked, and I glanced at him with a smile. Now that was a loaded question.
I gravitated toward the beiges.
“Don’t be afraid to try something new and different from what you’re normally used to,” Brax said. The tone of his voice wasn’t the only thing that caught me off-guard. The way he watched me, with an I-dare-you expression, made me wonder if we were still talking about paint.