Taivon: Book Three of the Cantrell Brothers Series

Chapter Twenty-Two

There was the yellow siding, the white for the trim, and the door with the birds on it. It was exactly like the house he and Holly had lived in down in Florida. That was why he'd made it this way, as soon as he'd moved here.

Now, as he stood outside after his run, Taivon wasn't too fond of it.

The colors had been Holly's idea, all pastels and minimalist appeal, and Taivon had liked the house when they'd gotten done with it. But he knew it was just because they'd done it together. It wasn't the choice of the colors or the type of designed shutters they'd chosen. It was what he'd done with Holly.

Again, he didn't like the colors of it. The yellow was too pale to really suit him, and white was just a bland color. The birds on the screen door were actually really feminine when he thought about it. He wasn't a feminine type of guy. It didn't fit him. It had never fit him.

Wiping the sweat dripping down his brow, Taivon went inside and took off his soaked shirt. He took only a few seconds to chug down a glass of water before going down to the basement. Weights took him about forty-five minutes, and his body hurt like a bitch, but with the way Alix's eyes widened every time she saw his half-naked body, it was well worth it.

Upstairs, he went to the kitchen for another glass of water when the color of the wall caught his eyes. Gray. A plain gray that fit well with the couches. It was simple. All of the items were remodeled after his and Holly's home.

Gray was so dull. Sure, he'd been called a dull person more than once in his life, but for walls? Gray just wasn't the right choice for a living room wall. He wanted something bright. Something spontaneous. Something that made a person's jaw drop and say, “wow.” Something like Alix Romaro.

A thought came to him, then, spurring him on as he found his phone. He was just going to change one little thing. One little thing, and he'd be happy. He picked it up with shaking hands and looked over to his keepsake box. Holly's picture was in there. Maybe, he shouldn't touch it. Maybe, he should try to talk without it, just to see if he could.

But then that smile on the picture appeared in his mind, and Taivon knew he had to have it. Taking it out of the box, he placed it in the palm of his hand and dialed Alix's number. It was 9:02, on a Saturday morning.

“Hello?” she asked, voice groggy. As he'd expected it to be. Alix was not a morning person. She was one of the deepest sleepers he had ever met. When she was out, she was just out. Unless – like he did when he had those nightmares – somebody physically woke her up. Which he had that one night, when he'd first slept over at her house. She'd later told him that he'd shoved her out of the bed.

“Hey,” he said. “Wanna do something today?”

“Do you have any idea what time it is?”

He checked his watch. “9:03.”

“Way too early.”

“It's a Saturday, Alix. You can always sleep later.”

“If it was anybody else...” she grumbled, and he could hear the covers shifting as she most likely got out of bed. “So, what's up?”

“How good are you with home renovations?”

“Shitty.”

He smiled. Definitely cranky this morning. “I'll pick ya up in thirty minutes, okay?”

“What are we doing again? 'Cause if you expect me to move furniture and sweep your floors or dust anything, I won't do it. I'm just gonna tell ya that now.”

“Nah, nothing like that. Just a little paint job on my place. I thought you could help. You know, for bonding time.”

“Okay,” she sighed and then perked up a little bit. “Could we do one of those cute couple things where I wear one of your shirts with the buttons, even though it's too big for me?”