with his family and the house, then I had a feeling that after his brother visited, which he was apparently doing soon, Kelly was going to need some stress relief. Whether or not he’d ask for it, I couldn’t predict, but I’d mention it to Will later, and we’d both keep an eye on him.
Will would probably be on the same page as me—whatever Kelly needed after something like that, we’d be happy to give it to him.
And for tonight, we were all going to get what we needed from each other: a relaxed night of cuddling on the couch, watching a movie, and eating takeout.
All things considered, I couldn’t complain.
Twenty
Kelly
In all the time I’d been living in my dad’s house, I had never been as productive as I was today. Will and Aaron were coming over tonight, and suddenly I had a fire under my ass because I did not need them seeing what a disaster this place had become.
Admittedly, I took some shortcuts. I had been in the slow process of going through everything in the kitchen, and today, I shoved everything I wasn’t using into boxes. Then I stuck those boxes in the garage, carefully keeping them separated from the other piles—my stuff from storage, crap that needed to go to the dump, and things I planned to donate. In the house, I still had some stacks and boxes designated for each of my siblings, and I tucked those away in the remaining guest room.
By the time I’d shoved, stashed, and stowed everything that was unsightly and disorganized, the house looked…decent. Lived in, but not a disaster. I also had about twenty minutes before the guys showed up, so I took a quick shower and made sure I didn’t look like a bag of ass.
In the kitchen, I glanced around. Okay. My house was presentable. I was presentable. I’d even done a grocery run to make sure I had food and drinks—iced tea or, if we all decided to just hang out and not play, a couple of bottles of the white wine the guys had recommended. I was ready. All I needed was—
The doorbell rang.
My heart went into my throat. I wasn’t ready. I looked like hell. The house was a disaster. What do I—
Breathe. They’re here. Get a grip.
I took a deep breath, let it out, and headed for the front door.
Pulse pounding, I put on a smile and opened the door. “Hey, you found the place!”
They both smiled as they came in, and Aaron said, “The GPS got us right to your front door.”
“Good.” I shut the door as they took off their shoes. “At least you don’t have to rely on shit like MapQuest anymore.”
“MapQuest.” Will chuckled. “Haven’t heard of that in a while.”
“Ugh, I’m so glad those days are over,” Aaron muttered. “You are the worst navigator.”
“Not my fault you can’t follow simple directions that don’t involve kneeling or sucking dick.”
Aaron and I both laughed.
“Well, thank God those days are over,” Aaron said.
“Hear, hear.” I gestured for them to follow me. “Come on. I’ll grab us something to drink.”
They followed me out of the foyer, and just as I stepped into the living room, something in my peripheral vision caught my eye. I looked, and horror slammed against my ribs.
I’d left two paintings up on the accent wall.
Two of my paintings.
I’d hung them up earlier this week, and in all my frantic attempts to square away the house today, I’d completely forgotten about them. They weren’t subtle, either—against that deep purple wall, they stood out in a way that had made me beam with pride when I’d hung them, but made me want to shrivel up and die now.
And there was no way to take them down now. The best I could hope for was that no one noticed. Especially not Will.
Please God, don’t let Will notice.
I turned around to offer some drinks, but Will’s eyes went right to the paintings, and my stomach fell into my feet.
As best I could, I played it cool. “So, um… iced tea? Coffee? I’ve got wine if we’re just going to chill, but…”
They glanced at each other, and both grinned. Will looked at me. “Iced tea is fine.”
Ooh, playing was still on the table. Awesome. That could distract me from Will being in the same room as something I’d painted.
While I poured our drinks, Will moved closer to the paintings, and Aaron smiled fondly, as if he thought it was cute how Will was drawn