Chapter Thirty-Six

Blake

 

I was praising Saint Theresa for giving me a man that owned a construction company, complete with workers who were willing to work on weekends, and mostly for free. The garage apartment idea was much more work than I’d dreamt. What a mess.

I felt bad watching Aiden assess the situation, the situation I’d created. I opened my mouth far sooner than I should have—that much was certain. But, still, he looked at me so lovingly, as if he thought I hung the moon.

“The roof needs replacing,” one of Aiden’s workers suggested; they both stood in the garage, looking up as if in agreeance.

Ugh, what had I started?

“It’ll be fine,” Aiden promised as tears started to flood my eyes.

As two guys climbed up to the roof, I believed him. Aiden gave me a sense of comfort, a strong feeling that together, we could get anything accomplished, even this garage.

Luke helped Liam carry in drywall, which they quickly started hanging on the walls that were once rafters. It was starting to look more and more like an apartment, and less like a garage.

I knew Aiden didn’t want to leave his workers, but I asked him to go with me to pick out the flooring, fixtures, and paint. His hand slid to the small of my back as he guided me through the hardware store. It was overwhelming with all the choices, but Aiden made it easy.

“Nothing too fancy,” he insisted with a smile.

I was looking at flooring, loving the smooth bamboo style, and he agreed it would be easier for the walker to glide across, and of course, a wheelchair, if that day was to come, but I couldn’t imagine Anna-Marie in a wheelchair.

“Are you okay?” he asked as I stared into space, my thoughts lost with the old woman who I’d always known to be one of the strongest people I’d ever met.

“I’m fine. I just want everything to be perfect,” I smiled.

He leaned in, pushing my back against the large containers of hardwood on the shelf, his lips pressing hard into mine. He smelled of work, sweat, and masculinity, and my body started to ache from his touch. We’d worked so hard all day that we hadn’t had time alone.

“I can’t wait to get you alone,” he growled in my ear.

I looked over his shoulder at the empty store. I knew the clerk was still up front, and there had not been a bell sound above the door since we entered. We were as close to being alone as we could get, at least for a while.

I reached down, letting the palm of my hand graze at the front of his jeans. His cock was hard, and it made me purr.

Aiden chuckled nervously, pulling back slightly as his eyes gazed into mine with a hunger that made me wild.

“You’re bad,” he teased.

I grinned and then started to blush. I knew it wouldn’t have gone much further, but it was fun watching him squirm.

“We better get this loaded,” I smirked, leaving him with his own ache between his legs.

The ride home, I sat as close to Aiden as possible, pressing my body up against his. We pulled back into his driveway, our driveway. I was really getting used to the idea that this was our home.

Aiden honked his horn, alerting the guys we were back. They all came out, grabbed boxes from the back of the truck, and loaded them into the garage.

I was shocked when I walked in, with all the drywall hung, wiring placed and built-in shelving, countertops, and cabinets installed; it was really looking like a nice apartment.

Everything was low: the counter tops, the cabinets, and even the door handles. Aiden had thought of everything.

While Aiden helped Luke finish the flooring, his shirt got caught on a nail, ripping it just along the seam. He ripped it off, tossing it aside, and gave me the most glorious view of his muscles. My heart raced, my body ached, and arousal slicked between the folds of my pussy. I wanted him so bad I could taste it.

“You’re driving me wild,” I whispered in his ear as I handed him the nail gun.

He just looked up at me and grinned. He knew what he was doing to me, and he loved every second of it.

After all the flirting and teasing, I was certain Aiden and I would fall into one another’s arms after that first day of work, but instead, we fell fast asleep, both exhausted from everything we accomplished. I didn’t mind. I found it sweet to just snuggle up under his arm and go to sleep, all my aches of desire replaced with aches of hard work. Luke had us up first thing in the morning, holding a box of donuts at the edge of our bed.

“I’m leaving today,” he announced.

Aiden slid out of bed, his eyes still groggy and his body stiff.

“Today?” he mumbled, still trying to wake up.

“Yeah. I got the call; they are ready to start, and I promised I’d be there to get it going,” Luke smirked proudly.

Aiden slapped him on the back, congratulated him, and turned back to me with a wink. It was clear he was proud of his friend.

I made coffee, dressed, and swiped one of the donuts from the box before meeting the guys outside.

As I entered through the door, the one attached to our kitchen, I nearly fell back. The guys had arrived early, finishing the drywall sanding, and painting the walls. The floor was complete, a bathroom was framed in and ready to paint, complete with a large shower that would accommodate a wheelchair, and a small kitchenette was situated in the corner. Another door, leading outside, had a ramp with a railing, so Anna-Marie could use her walker or wheelchair to get in and out. It was gorgeous.

“Wow,” I gasped, unable to say much else.

“These guys are amazing,” Alyssa said softly, sliding her arm around my waist.

We both stood there, in awe at the transformation, until Gunner pulled us out of it, slamming into the back of my legs.

“He’s going to need to be trained,” I laughed, realizing that he had little to no grace.

Aiden nodded, and Luke shook his head, still obviously wondering why Aiden chose such a large dog. I loved him. He was perfect. Big, but perfect.

The guys drove two trucks to Anna-Marie’s to find items to add to the apartment, while Alyssa, Holly, and I went off on a shopping spree for new items to brighten up the place.

“So, things are going really well?” she nudged me, smiling so wide it looked as if her face would rip.

“Better than I could ever have imagined,” I admitted.

“Liam wants to have a goodbye dinner for Luke,” Alyssa noted, running her hand over a selection of throw pillows.

I was already looking at sofas, realizing that Anna-Marie’s was old and worn out. She needed something with a recliner, one that pushed her up, like in those commercials.

“Is Liam okay with all this?” I asked casually.

Alyssa smiled and nodded. I knew she understood. It bothered me that I’d lied to Liam before, but this time, it was real, and his blessing was important to me and to Aiden.

“He’s extremely happy for you,” Alyssa admitted.

“What about this?” I asked, pointing to a beautiful, plush sofa.

“We’re supposed to be getting a few décor items,” Alyssa warned.

Holly plopped on the couch, hit the button on the side, and demonstrated the recliner that not only pulled back, but pushed forward, helping the user to stand to their feet.

“That is amazing and useful,” Alyssa smiled.

“Then it’s settled. I’m buying it,” I grinned.

We got back to the house, and all the guys had unloaded the stuff they collected from Anna-Marie’s. I told Aiden about the sofa, and he agreed, stating they ended up leaving hers since it was in such bad shape anyway.

We got to work adding all the finishing touches, and finally, all stood back to take a final look.

“Once the sofa is delivered, it will be perfect,” Aiden noted.

He squeezed me into his side as I looked up at his wide smile. Gunner sat at our feet, acting so very well behaved that it made me laugh.

“He must’ve heard me talk about obedience school,” I smiled.

Gunner’s head turned sideways, and his ears perked straight up.

“Oh yeah, he heard alright. Maybe that threat will be enough to keep him calmed down,” Aiden laughed. “Who’s up for steak?” Aiden boasted loudly, gaining everyone’s attention.

He motioned towards the door of Anna-Marie’s apartment, ushering everyone out.

“Thanks for everything. My treat, let’s hit the steakhouse and give Luke a proper send-off,” Aiden added.

I watched as Aiden gripped Luke around the neck, pulling him into his as if he were giving him an awkward hug. I rolled my eyes in their direction, shrugging at Alyssa. I would never understand the close relationship they shared. I was just grateful for it and loved seeing Aiden so happy.