Chapter 4 #2
“Absolutely sure. The beams run in the right direction, and there’s no framing for interior walls to this level.
In fact, someone added walls later, and they’re not tied into the joists at all.
Cohen’s right, those interior walls were added much later.
We can knock all of this down and not touch the structure of the building whatsoever.
Also, from what I can see from here, the beams are solid.
I don’t see dry rot, damage, nothing. I want to do a full inspection of the beams once everything is down, make sure nothing needs to be shored up, but it’s looking great from here. ”
“Music to my ears.”
I took a step down, then realized Logan had moved closer, sliding a hand onto the small of my back and giving me a shoulder to brace myself on as I climbed down.
The feel of his warm hand did things to me.
A shiver danced along my spine, those fantasies from earlier making a comeback with a vengeance.
I didn’t dare look at him, certain my face would give my thoughts away.
His efforts were completely unnecessary, of course. The ladder only had four steps.
Did I melt under the thoughtfulness? Like ice cream on the Fourth of July.
Please stop being sweet if you’re straight, I’m only so strong.
I started praying harder Logan was gay, or at least not straight.
Somehow, I managed to play it cool and give him a smile in thanks as I got boots back on the ground. “Shall we go up a level and do this again? I want to check what’s going on upstairs.”
“Sure.” Logan pointed toward the ceiling. “So wait, how high is this ceiling?”
“A good ten feet. It was a fad at different points to have lower ceilings. Something about heat and cooling being more efficient, which was kind of a lie, but anyway. You’ve got wonderfully tall ceilings here.
I’ll let Asher figure out the best way to use them, but you might be able to do a sort of industrial look here, if you’re interested. ”
“Sure, sounds cool. Who’s Asher?”
“Ah, sorry, he’s our interior designer. He’ll salivate over this place.”
Cohen laughed. “You’re not wrong. All right, up the stairs.”
We trooped up the stairs to find another small foyer at the top of them, which made sense—you had to give an upstairs landing for the two apartments as well.
I popped open another dropped ceiling tile, and when Logan came in closer to offer support, I wasn’t as surprised.
He wasn’t shy about it, his hands firm without being pushy.
Some part of me yearned for bare skin. Every place he touched left a phantom imprint that ached for more.
Damn, I needed to get laid. I shouldn’t feel this antsy under a man’s hands. Every place he touched sparked joy, and I hadn’t felt this sensitive to a man in years.
Focus, Gage, fucking focus. My flashlight panned the area as I took a solid good look. “Yup, same up here. I think this was originally one big open room. I do see some damage to some of the joists, but it looks like water damage? Melissa, has there been any inspection on this building?”
“Roof’s old,” she admitted. “I’m not surprised there’s leaks. Is there enough damage to warrant replacing the joists?”
“I can’t tell from here, honestly, but it’s something we need to factor in, that roof repair needs to be a thing. I want to tear down all this Sheetrock so I can get a proper look.” Walls frustrated me for that reason.
I came back down, Logan once again steadying me.
I tried to stay calm and not flirt. A mantra played itself like a broken record over and over in my head: Do not flirt with client during consultation, do not flirt with client during consultation.
Difficult to manage with this man giving me all the right signals. Or was I projecting?
Very strong possibility I was projecting.
At least I could give him the answer he wanted. “The short answer is yes. Yes, you can open everything up and we don’t need to put a support beam in place, saving you a lot of money. Still want to buy it, knowing the roof needs replacing?”
Logan shrugged. “I figured a building this old would need work. It’s the location I absolutely must have.”
I mean, that figured, and I couldn’t blame him.
Logan looked between Cohen and me. “Quick estimate, how much will it cost to renovate?”
“You’re looking at about a hundred and fifty thousand,” Cohen said.
He opened an apartment and took a look inside.
“Hmm, yeah, at least that. Maybe a bit higher. A lot of the cost is demolition, honestly, because we have kitchens and bathrooms to tear out, and all the dump fees that go along with it. We’ll need to completely redo the plumbing, electrical, all of that as well.
I’m seeing signs of knob and tube wiring, which isn’t great. ”
“It was retrofitted with A/C,” I said, as you could see the duct work. Hence the dropped ceilings, I’d bet, to cover up the ducts. “But I wouldn’t trust the system works. So that’s part of the cost as well.”
Most people would wince at the cost and amount of work, but it seemed Logan had expected our answer. He smiled happily at Melissa. “Then I’ll buy it.”
She high-fived him. “Love your answer. Let’s go back to my office and do some paperwork.”
“Sure, I’ll meet you there.”
Now, I’d expected some sticker shock from him, at the very least. But no, this man had done his homework.
He knew what he was getting himself into and had clearly prepared for this eventuality.
So he was the responsible type, too? One who could plan and work to achieve a goal?
Oh, that be sexy as hell. I loved men with ambition and work ethic.
The meeting coming to an end made me kind of sad, but I had other work to finish today. We all trooped back downstairs, Melissa pausing at the door to lock up again. For some reason, Cohen took the stepladder from me and headed for my truck. Eh, why? It wasn’t heavy, I had it.
A warm hand tapped my shoulder and I turned toward Logan, not sure what he intended to ask me.
“Hey, I realize this is a bit awkward”—his sunny smile looked only remotely apologetic—“but I have to ask. If your company is called Gay 4 Renovations, does that mean you’re gay?”
It was a fair question and one I got rather often. “Yes, I am.”
“Phew, great. I don’t know if you’re interested, but would you like to go on a date? Maybe dinner?”
What was this? Did a heavenly chorus just break out?
He was gay too? And interested?!
A “yes!” almost blurted out of my mouth, but I managed to cage it and form an actual adult response. “Dinner sounds great.”
Logan lit up, beyond pleased, and someone help me. This man smiling should come with criminal codes. Mostly because it made me want to do deliciously bad things to him.
“Let’s exchange numbers. I don’t want to keep Melissa waiting, but I’ll text you and we can arrange a good day and time, yeah?”
“Sure.” I switched phones with him long enough to input his contact info, then handed it back, our hands grazing. Goddammit, why was I reacting like a hormonal teenager at the simplest brush of skin?
I immediately texted him to make sure his number was correct, and he shot me a wink.
“Got it. Let’s try and find a time this week.”
“Would love to. I’m not too busy.” I had no idea, actually, but I’d move something to plan a date with Logan.
“Oh, I’ll make time for you,” he purred. Paired with his slightly growly baritone, that purr should be illegal. He blew me a kiss, then turned and walked to a…Oh god, I was in for it. He’d just hopped onto an incredibly sleek bike. He rode, too. Of course he did.
God, why did you make a man who embodied the personification of all my weaknesses? This wasn’t fighting fair, dammit.
Logan revved the engine, caught me staring, and gave a small wave before he took off. I waved back and tried hard not to imagine myself on the back of that bike with him driving, my face in the wind.
Kinda failed.
I’d be saving Logan as Kryptonite in my phone.
I managed to shake myself and get into my truck, then sat behind the wheel and watched him speed off. Released a whimper.
“Get his number?” Cohen asked with a knowing tone.
I turned to my friend. “Was it so obvious? That I’m attracted?”
“You were hiding it pretty well, for the most part. Logan didn’t even bother.
He was finding ways to get hands on you.
Melissa picked up on it, too. It’s why we both found a reason to give you two space for a second.
” Cohen grinned, eyebrows waggling in a ridiculous fashion.
“Glad to see you back in the dating game.”
Yeah, me too. I prayed this worked out well, because damn, for Logan, I might be willing to make a few bad decisions.