He was equally eager and terrified of the thought of seeing Paul there. From the short time he’d known these brothers, it was clear that wherever he saw Steven, he would see Paul. But after the disastrous morning after a week ago, Ace didn’t know if he’d ever see Paul again except in his fevered dreams.
He managed pretty well to keep thoughts of Paul out of his head during his waking hours well, managed to yell at his brain every time those rogue thoughts popped up. Which was pretty damn often.
But at night, his subconscious seized control and let him live out every impossible fantasy, hear every sweet word Paul would never say out loud. At least not in front of people.
Still, as he pulled off the highway and navigated to Steven’s house, Ace was looking forward to seeing Holly and her fiance. It hadn’t taken long at all for Holly to make herself comfortable in his life, and Ace found he welcomed the intrusion. Even after a year in his new town, he didn’t really hang out with many people apart from Erik and the Olive and Vince tag team very infrequently. It would be nice to expand his circle of friends to include Holly and Steven.
Which was insane, of course. Being friends with even just Holly meant that he would be automatically thrown in the way of Paul, who tended to bolt whenever there were witnesses. How many times could he let himself get hurt like that?
Apparently at least one more time. He pulled into Steven’s driveway and braced for the sight of Paul.
Holly opened the door at his knock with a big, cat-who-ate-the-canary grin on her face.
“It’s the magician!” she beamed. “Come and see what you have wrought.”
“There’s been something wrought?” Ace joked. “You should put some ice on that.”
In the foyer he was hit with the melting aroma of fresh chocolate chip cookies. It was an old realtor trick but it was highly effective.
“Smells like David is here,” he said.
“Chocolate chip cookies are my signature odor?” A trim, brown-haired man appeared from the kitchen, wearing a “Kiss the Cook” apron. “Well, that explains some things.”
“It just means you’re very good at your job,” Ace said. “Fresh baking is an easy means of seduction.”
David gave him a head-to-toe appraisal and smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Ace cleared his throat and pulled his camera out of his pocket. “Better get my shots.” He turned to Holly. “Lead the way?”
They started in the master bedroom, the farthest room from the kitchen. Holly had clearly been shopping. The bed featured a cerulean comforter and artfully arranged pillows, and new coordinating artwork filled the wall across from the doorway.
“Someone’s been busy,” he said. “I love what you’ve added in here. That is absolutely my favorite shade of blue.”
“I just love having an excuse to shop,” she sighed. “And you called new bedding an investment. I’m going to keep trying that one on Steven to see if he falls for it.”
Ace took a number of photos from different angles and moved to the next room.
“So,” Holly said, sidling up to him. “Did you catch that look from Realtor Dave?”
Ace rolled his eyes briefly. “Yes, bubbe. That seems to be his typical look for me.”
“Not your type, right?”
“Not exactly, no,” Ace said. “I mean, he’s a great guy and definitely cute. But he’s not for me. And I’m not sure how to tell him that without upsetting him and causing him to stop sending me work. So I’m sticking with my policy of feigning ignorance.”
“Does that work?”
“For now. Eventually I’ll have to show proof of a boyfriend to keep him at bay.”
“And that’s where I come in.” Holly bounced with excitement.
“Yes, one of my legion of yentas,” Ace smiled.
“Um, president of the legion of yentas, thank you very much,” Holly said.
They moved to the guest bathroom, and Ace froze at the sight of the room. The last time he’d been in there, he was trying to keep his heart from leaping out of his chest while Paul did wicked things with Ace’s dick.
“You okay, sweetie?” Holly touched his arm and looked at him closely.
He shook his head to clear it. “That’s a good candle for this room,” he changed the subject. “Very vanillay.”
He snapped more photos, trying to stay on task, but the room had reminded him that Paul might pop up in any of the next rooms. He didn’t dare ask Holly if her future brother-in-law was planning to join them because it might give something away. Why should the interior designer be asking about the client’s brother? A sharp-eyed matchmaker like Holly would definitely pick that up.
And while he didn’t agree with Paul’s closet policy, he wasn’t going to be the one to give away his secret.
Ace escaped the scene of his hot, dark encounter and bumped into Steven in the hallway.
“Hey, you made it!” Steven shook his hand vigorously. “What do you think?”
“You guys have been remarkable,” Ace said. “It’s really impressive.”
“Man, this is all you,” Steven said. “If David hadn’t recommended you, I would have just, you know, vacuumed and made my bed and called it done.”
“I hate to break it to you, but your work isn’t done yet,” Ace said.
Steven’s face fell. “Seriously, we’ve painted every wall in this place. There can’t be anything more to do,” he wailed.
“I meant the vacuuming. The cleaning. You’re going to have to keep this place this clean for a while to come,” Ace said. “Barring any selling miracles, it needs to stay ready for a showing at all times.”
Steven’s face cleared somewhat, until he considered the implications of that statement.
“Don’t worry,” Holly said, linking her arm with Steven’s. “It will be good honey-do practice.”
“Lord preserve me,” Steven sighed with a smile.
“Whipped,” David whispered in Ace’s ear. Ace startled at the sound. Even without Paul here, he kept tripping over awkwardness.
“Let’s keep going,” Ace said to Holly, ignoring the lingering look David gave him. “Living room, then down to the man cave.”