“The dark brown tiles are going to be the countertop. We’ll grout them to that wood countertop.”
“Why not just stain and seal the countertop? Maybe add your logo under the sealant?” Wells asked. It was a good question. Why not?
“Oh, that’s a good idea. And it would be easier to keep clean. Anyone know someone that does epoxy tables?” Sawyer asked.
“Do we have time for that? The inspection is Tuesday morning,” I reminded them.
“Oh, probably not, then.” Wells shook his head.
“Drat. That’s a really good idea, and you should keep it in mind for later. When you get a more permanent coffee counter installed,” Sawyer said.
I nodded and set the bucket down. “Will do. Okay, so how does this work, then?”
“Well, first, your grout is two different colors. Did you realize that?” Wells asked.
“Yes. I wanted to use the darker grout on the top since coffee stains and use the gray on the sides to hopefully match the wall more,” I said.
“Okay, that makes sense. But this is just the grout. Where’s the mortar? You attach the tiles and bricks to the counter with mortar. Then after that sets up, you grout it, then after that sets up, you clean it off. You’re cutting it close, but it can be done. Do you have heaters you can use to help speed up the drying?” Wells asked.
I looked at Sawyer, and he looked at me. “Well fuck. Mortar? We need mortar? We can’t grout?” Sawyer asked.
“No. It goes between the tiles. The mortar is what holds them to the surface. Did you two not get any?” Wells asked.
“Umm, no,” I said. Sawyer’s face fell, and I knew he felt bad. We’d even asked the guy in the store that night what all we needed to do our project. He’d told us grout and the tiles.
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll get it taken care of,” Ford said. He placed a hand on Sawyer’s shoulder, and I sent my cousin a glare. When he smirked in return, I pointedly looked at his hand on Sawyer’s shoulder before I shoved it off.
“Mine,” I said. Ford snorted, Wells coughed, and Sawyer looked at me with wide eyes.
“Umm…” Sawyer said.
“So we’ll go to the store and grab some mortar while you two work that out,” Wells said. He quickly walked past us and headed for the door.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Ford asked.
I didn’t have much choice but to follow my cousin when he took off for the hallway again. I didn’t want to leave Sawyer, but I wasn’t given much of an option.
“What’s up?” I asked as we entered my office.
“You and Sawyer? I thought you were just coworkers. But yet today, you were kissing when we arrived.”
I rubbed the back of my neck.
“That’s why you asked if he batted for our team, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah. He’s staying with his friend Chris, and I’m not quite sure they’re just friends. I mean, who comes over three hours to see a friend and ends up staying longer? Am I crazy?” I asked as I walked over to the other side of the office and looked at a picture I had of me and Ford hanging there on the wall.
“You’re only crazy if you let that man go without even trying. And with the way you’ve been behaving, I’d say you’re quite interested in him,” Ford said. This time it was my shoulder that his hand landed on.
“Yeah? You don’t think I’m crazy for starting something with my employee?”
“You have already said more than once that you know he’s not going to stay here in the bookstore. So why would that matter, then?”
I took a deep breath and let it out before I shrugged.
“I guess it shouldn’t. I haven’t been this attracted to someone in a long time, Ford. I’m not sure I know what to do.”
“Seems to me you were doing just fine when we interrupted. I’m going to go join Wells. We’ll be back in a bit. Save us some pizza and wings,” Ford called over his shoulder as he walked out the office door. When he turned right, I realized that was why I hadn’t heard the door chime when they came in. He’d used his key and came in the back. The sneaky shit.
I left the office and went back to the front. I found Sawyer almost where I’d left him, at the coffee counter, only he was behind it and reorganizing the things in the back cabinet.
“Hey,” I said, letting