But they weren’t assholes about it or anything. They were nice. And very, very pretty.
Levi had this boyish charm, there was something young and free about him. His dark hair and green eyes offset each other in such a brooding way, it was hard to look at anything else. Except Tate. He was just…light, and airy. A breath of fresh air. His light hair and blue eyes gave him that same easy feel.
“So, um, how does this work? I’m not really sure. I’ve never had to use a construction company before.”
The two of them stood in the archway between the dining room and foyer. Levi flashed a crooked smile and shook his head.
“You aren’t using us, technically. It’s more like willing manual labor.” He grinned. Tate shot him a look, but Levi’s eyes were already passing over my body in a way that both unnerved and excited me. I wasn’t wearing anything special. But he looked at me like he wanted me out of my clothes just as much as he liked seeing me in them.
I cleared my throat nervously and managed a nervous laugh.
“Oh. Right.” I stuttered. I felt my face growing hot.
I had to talk myself down. They were just here doing their job. I had to get a grip.
“Let’s just take a walk around. Then we’ll uh, go from there.” Tate offered a kind smile. It reassured me somehow. I did feel more at ease
with the whole thing, but I was still nervous about the pretty men in my house.
I was still getting used to this even being my house.
“Okay. Um, I’m not very good at giving tours. The house is still kind of new to me.”
“No worries. We do this a lot.” Levi smiled that grin that could mean so many other things.
Then Levi stepped in front and Tate followed him. I hadn’t noticed Tate holding a tablet, but he took it out and then straightened his face as he did some tapping. Levi walked into the kitchen and I just followed them both. They didn’t seem like robbers or impersonators or anything, where I felt like I had to constantly supervise them; I just wanted to watch them as much as I could.
Levi started talking construction speak about the baseboards and the foundation. The appliances, wiring, a bunch of technical stuff.
“Were you wanting any structural changes?” Tate asked me after we went from the kitchen to the living room.
The couch I slept on was the only thing that even looked live-in at the moment.
“Structural changes?” I stared back at Levi, blinking like a deer caught in the headlights. He just gave me a kind, reassuring smile and explained.
“Yeah. I mean, do you want to change anything like removing walls or something like that?”
“Oh. No, I don’t think so. I just want it updated. I know it really isn’t right now.” I crossed my arms and shifted my weight. That nervous guilt fell over me again. They must have realized I hadn’t taken good care of my grandmother. She had been living in these conditions and I didn’t help her. I wouldn’t have had much money, but I would have insisted she live with me. My apartment wasn’t much better, though…I supposed things were just supposed to run the way they did. This was it.
“Cool. Gotcha.” Tate and Levi looked over something on the tablet and then they pressed forward.
They checked the dining room and then walked up the cramped staircase to the second level. Being alone in their presence was definitely intimidating. They were both so broad and tall. They could easily grab me and have their way with me, and I wasn’t sure why I was more intrigued by that than afraid.
“The place has a lot of charm,” Tate said.
“Thanks. Is that bad?” I bit my lip nervously and glanced between them both. Levi chuckled, a deep sexy rumble I felt in my toes.
“We’re not finished yet, hun.” Levi winked and crossed the landing to the first bedroom.
The master was very old fashioned. I vaguely remember seeing pictures of what this had looked like when she bought it. From the real estate listing. It had been cute at one point. A cottage feel. The bed and dresser were very dark wood. The bed sat on a high platform and had four posters. The couch and all the furniture were covered in tarps, too.
They went through the room and then through the bathroom as well. There were a lot of stolen glances between all of us. I got the feeling they were both checking me out, and it wasn’t even from an over-confidence standpoint. I could literally feel it. I just didn’t know if they both knew each of them was looking at me like that.
Or maybe they did. And that was almost more unnerving than anything else.
“The only other room is the library.”
I led them to the small hallway that would otherwise be missed. I remembered it from when I walked through the night before. There were barely any books and the curtains were so dark no light was even coming through. The built-in shelves were barely hanging on, and most of the books were almost out of their binding, too.