Page 82 of Unlikely to Stay

Chapter 19

“So, Freckles.I have a question for you.”

They had finished tiling all the floors and added all the baseboards to the walls.They’d built the walls for the studio and bathroom and the third room CC added at the last minute for her tanning beds.She decided to move them from her beauty shop so people could tan anytime they wanted instead of just the hours her salon was open.

Wyatt’s dad had come to install the keycard entry for people with a membership and shown Colleen how to activate the cards on her iPad.His brother-in-law had finished the plumbing for the bathroom and installed the toilet and sink.She had also been keeping Barry the FedEx manverybusy with all the workout equipment that was being delivered almost on a daily basis.

Painting the walls to the studio were one of the last things they needed to do.They had already painted the outside walls to match the walls of the big workout room and had now moved into the more intimate space of the studio.She said she had saved that for last because she knew how dreadful he was at painting.

Regardless of her reasoning, he preferred this space much more than the large one.He got to steal random kisses…when he was reaching for more paint on his brush, he could kiss the back of her neck.Meeting together at a corner they were painting and snagging kisses on her lips.He wanted to help her, he did.He also wanted to push her against the wall and kiss every part of her body.

“What’s your question?”she asked.

Brant grinned when he saw the fleck of yellow right above her eyebrow.She probably didn’t even know it was there.They had been painting for a couple of hours.It was about time to call it quits and text Sadie for their dinner.That had become a habit, too.Sadie loved being sneaky and bringing them the special of the night like she was James Bond on a secret mission.

“Want to go with me to the city and meet my mom?”

Her eyes went wide and the brush she was holding slipped from her fingers.“What?”

He laughed softly.“Don’t look so scared.She doesn’t bite.I asked if you wanted to go meet my mom.She was asking about you the other day when I was chatting with her.”

“You chat with her?”

“Yep.On Skype.That was part of our agreement when I decided to move two and a half hours away.She wanted me to buy her a computer so she could see my face and talk to me every night.”

CC smiled softly.“That’s so sweet.You have a good mom.”

Brant nodded.“I do.”He couldn’t help but think she was comparing her mom to his.“So, what do you think?Want to meet Betty Billings?”

“Do you think she’ll like me?”

Brant dropped his brush on the floor, walked over to her, and placed a kiss on her forehead.“I think she’ll love you.”

“What makes you so sure?I’ve got crazy colored hair, I’m just a ha—”

“Don’t you say what I know you’re going to say.We’ve already discussed the fact that it’s dumb.And, to answer your question, she’ll love you because she’ll see how happy you make me.”

“I make you happy?”

“Do you really think I’d be coming over here every night for two months, working for free, if I didn’t adore you?”

She smiled her crooked smile at him and her eyes twinkled.“I don’t know.I thought you maybe wanted to improve on your painting skills.”

Brant returned her grin.Everything was so easy with her.“Nope.I was perfectly okay with being a subpar painter for the rest of my life.”

“Brant, you weren’t a subpar painter.You were one notch above horrid.”

“Horrid?I’ll show you horrid.”Grabbing his paintbrush, he swiped yellow paint down her nose, laughing when she gasped in shock.

“This has become a bad habit of yours that I don’t like,” she said.

“When have I done this before?”

“You painted me like a Native American warrior in war paint the night we first started painting!”

“Oh, yeah.I totally forgot about that.”Brant was lying.He totally remembered that.He also remembered the cute look she had gotten on her face when she was mad.It was the exact same one she was now sporting.“My bad.”

“My bad?I’ll show you my bad.”Colleen picked up the roller she had been painting with and swiped it down the middle of his face and shirt before he could defend himself.