A Million Little Things (Mischief Bay, #3)

He put his arm around her and led her back down the hall. She saw the guest bedroom had tools stacked in a corner and a pair of sinks by the window.

“I’m going to wait to paint all the bedrooms at once.” He gestured behind them. “The master is that way,” he said. “Best not to go in there.”

“Too messy?”

“Too tempting.”

Her stomach clenched. She liked that he was being a gentleman, but not too much of one.

On the other side of the house were two more guest rooms that were untouched and a big bathroom that had already been updated. The quartz countertops gleamed. There was a big walk-in shower and a tub, along with a linen closet. He’d chosen cool colors—white and various shades of gray—but they worked well together.

“Nice,” she said. “Did you pick all this out yourself?”

“I wish. My mom helped. She’s good with that kind of stuff. I wanted neutral tones. At some point I’m going to settle down. I’m guessing at that time, the lady in question and I will want to get a house together so we can make it our own. This would become a rental property.”

He showed her the remodeled family room. A big-screen TV stood at one end, with comfortable, oversize leather chairs forming a seating area.

“The surround sound is built in,” he told her.

She laughed. “Of course it is.”

There was a wide sliding door that led to a big backyard. There was a big grassy area, a few scraggly-looking plants and a covered patio with a large barbecue.

“I haven’t done much out here,” he said. “I landscaped the front last fall and then got busy with the inside of the house. I’ll tackle this part in the spring.”

“I’ve always wanted raised planting beds. I want to do some at my house. I’m just not sure how.”

“I can help. They’re easy.”

“That would be nice. Thank you.”

They went back in through the kitchen, then around the corner.

“Tell me what you think,” he said, stepping back so she could walk into the small half bath.

It was like stepping back in time. The floor and counter were done in 1950s light and dark blue tiles. The ones on the counter were square, but the ones on the floor were six-sided, with the darker tiles on the inside and the lighter tiles as a border. The walls were an even lighter blue. The mirror was round and the toilet was medium blue.

Zoe started to laugh.

“Is that good laughter or bad?” Steven asked.

“I love it.”

“Yeah? I’ll admit my first thought was to tear out everything and start over. But the longer I live with it, the more it grows on me.”

“If we were talking about the kitchen or the master bath I’d tell you to remodel, but this is just a half bath. Why not keep it? It goes with the era of the house and it’s actually really appealing.”

They went back to the kitchen. Zoe set out the appetizers. She spooned the hot dip into a bowl and they took everything into the living room. Rather than sit on the sofa, they sat on the floor at the coffee table. Soft jazz played from hidden speakers.

“You have a nice setup,” she told him. “Is this your first house?”

“It is.”

“You did well.”

He grinned. “For a man. Admit it. That’s what you were thinking.”

“Maybe. Of course, you have an unfair advantage. You’ve been in the construction business for a while. You’ve been exposed to different styles of architecture.”

“I still think beige is a perfectly good color.”

She laughed. “Okay, that is very much a guy thing, but you don’t think it’s the only color.”

“That’s true.”

She looked around. “You don’t have Lulu. I know your mom’s out of town.”

“Lulu is a special girl, but I don’t think I’m ready to take her on just yet. She’s with my mom’s friend Shannon.”

“Afraid you’d have to walk her?”

Steven considered the question. “I’m fairly comfortable in my masculinity, but I have to admit, Lulu might be a little too over-the-top for me.”

“Maybe if she was wearing something in camouflage.”

He grinned. “I think the bigger problem is her wearing anything. She is a dog.”

“Not in her heart.”

“Mason would never wear clothes,” he said.

“Mason’s a cat. It’s different. I think Lulu looks adorable.”

“Then if I have to babysit her, you can walk her.”

“In a heartbeat.”

“So what’s new in the world of work?” he asked. “Any exciting manuals to translate?”

She wrinkled her nose. “No, which is why I’ve been thinking a lot about doing something else. I’m still at the ‘I’m not sure what’ stage.”

“Any ideas? Still thinking about going into teaching?”

“A question I’ve been asking myself. I’m thinking about it. Substitute teaching would give me a way to test the waters again, without making a big commitment.”

“What age range?”

“I’ve been checking out the requirements and I’m pretty sure I can handle them all. My degree is in English, so at the high school level I couldn’t sub for any of the sciences or PE, but most of the other classes are fine.”

He winked. “You’d be that hot new teacher all the guys are after.”

She held up both hands. “Thanks, but I doubt that. I’ll be the new, awkward teacher who doesn’t know what she’s doing.” She spooned some dip onto a cracker. “Your mom has talked to me about her volunteer work. That sounds interesting, but I don’t really have business experience. Still, I’m going to explore some volunteer opportunities. I’m also thinking about grad school. I’m going to talk to a counselor at Cal State Dominguez Hills.”

The college was close and had an excellent graduate program.

“That’s where I went,” Steven told her. “It’s a commuter school, but I had a good time.”

“I’ve heard about your wild days. A different girl every night. Any fond memories?”