Page 25 of Nailing Studs

Dom looked at Taylor. “No… to us renovating the house?”

“Well, no to you renovating the house for free and not letting me reimburse you for your work.”

They both frowned. “But you don't have the money to reimburse us.”

I smiled sadly. “I will when I sell the house.”

“Kayla, I don’t know what you’re saying. Do you—”

“She means she’ll let us fix up the house,” Dom interrupted Taylor, his eyes on me. “But only because she’ll sell the house and pay us back from the proceeds. Isn’t that right, Kayla?”

I nodded. “It’s the only acceptable solution. I can’t take advantage of you, and if we did what you originally offered, that would be taking advantage. But you’d still be doing me a favor if you do the work on the house upfront. Then I can sell it and get what it’s worth instead of having to fend off lowball offers. In turn, you still get what you need for your company. We’ll make sure you have plenty of time to show the house to clients before I turn it over to the new owners. It’s a win-win for all of us, and I get to walk away feeling good about myself.”

“Yeah, but you still walk away,” Taylor murmured.

“I have to,” I said, even as my heart warmed, thinking that I’d already made such a good impression on Taylor that he didn’t even want me to leave Fosterman any time soon. “I’ll look for a job in the Bay Area. Sell the house and move there. I’ll be able to cover my expenses, something I don’t see being able to do, even if you renovated the house for free and I stayed here. I’d still have the property taxes. All my other expenses. It’s just not feasible.”

Dom and Taylor both stared at me, and then at each other, and then Dom nodded. Taylor said, “If that’s what you insist on doing, that’s what we’ll do, Kayla. The only thing we insist on is giving you a substantial discount on the work. Fifty percent off what we originally quoted.”

“Fifty percent? No, that’s too much!”

“It’s not too much, Kayla. It’s a legitimate business expense and negotiation. We are not hurting for money, and what you’re going to be giving us will be huge for our business. So we’ll agree to do the work on the house, and when you sell it, you’ll pay us a fair fee for the work we did. If that’s not something you can agree to, then…”

Then I don’t get to live in the house for a few more months. Then I don’t get to spend more time with Dom and Taylor. Then I don’t get to explore what they were suggesting about spending personal time with both of them.

Only wait. They’d said that accepting their help on the house and accepting their offer for more personal things were completely separate. Had they meant it?

“So what if I say no to your offer and put the house on the market tomorrow? Do you still want to date me?”

“Hell, yes.”

“Fuck, yes.”

They both spoke at the same time, and the sheer vehemence in their voices made me laugh. “Really?” I said, still smiling. “Because I’m attracted to both of you. When I’m with one of you, I want even more time together, and when I’m with the other, I think the same. But you guys are friends. I don’t want to get in the middle.”

“Trust us, you in the middle would be just fine with us.” That fabulous Taylor smile came out to play, and my mind went into overdrive. The fantasies of me between them, of Taylor dropping to his knees, of Dominic spreading my legs apart…

“Whatever happens, happens,” Dominic said, when I couldn’t find words to respond. “If you want to be with only one of us, great. If you want to be with both but separately, great—”

“But if you want to be with both of us together…” Taylor raised an eyebrow. No smiling now. Which was even sexier than his bright smile. Just a smoldering, serious look that made me feel bare and vulnerable and very, very excited. “We want you to know that would be okay, too.”

I gulped.

Okay, so I’d considered this possibility. And now they’d just made it crystal clear everything I’d been fantasizing about could in fact become reality. Not just dating them at the same time, separately, but dating and fucking them at the same time, literally.

All I had to do was say yes.

I opened my mouth.

I wanted to say it.

I tried to say it.

But looking at the two of them, I just couldn’t.

Instead, my heart beating rapidly, my breathing turning harsh, I managed to get words out of my mouth, although what I said probably wasn’t what they were expecting. “I think I hear my phone ringing,” I blurted out.

Then, like a ninny, I turned around and ran to my room.