The following week, Wren announced that I was going to be redesigning the interior of his dad and stepmom’s new house during dinner with my family at Grandpa’s nursing home.
“You’re going to be the interior designer for Falcon’s new house?” my mom said, covering her chest. “That’s amazing.”
“Congratulations, Son,” my father said proudly. “Nice work.”
“Cool. Does he have an indoor pool or bowling alley?” Kristy asked.
“When do you start?” Grandpa wanted to know.
“Wait a minute,” I said, holding up my hand. “Nothing has been decided yet. I sent some preliminary proposals to Samantha to look over, and we’re meeting later in the week to look at my 3D renderings.”
“Babe, you’ve got this job,” Wren said calmly. “You let me read the email she sent you in response to the proposals. What part of ‘OMG! You are simply amazing!’ gives you the impression that she’s thinking about going a different direction?”
“You know my philosophy, Wren. I don’t consider them a client until they sign a contract.”
“It’s a good plan, Dare,” my dad said. “You’re pretty damn practical for a creative person.”
I snorted. My dad believed people were either A- or B-type personalities, when a lot of people had tendencies from both, even if they leaned stronger in one direction over the other.
“I understand, Sparkles, but my gut tells me that you’ll be designing that house. I think this could open a lot of possibilities for you. I think you’re one design away from seeing your dreams become a reality.”
There were so many things that I loved about Wren, but his commitment to seeing my dreams come true was near the top of the list. Of course, I teased him about wanting to get a break from me. Working together and living together was bound to take its toll eventually. I suggested that perhaps I was wearing on his nerves and he was getting sick of me. Wren blew it off, or blew me, to prove that wasn’t the case at all.
“Thanks, babe.” I only called him Ruler in private. I didn’t want people getting the wrong impression about our relationship. Of course, he didn’t hesitate to call me Sparkles in front of anyone.
Sparkles and Ruler, two very different nicknames for two very different men. We didn’t just mesh though; we gelled. Like all successful couples, we pulled from each other’s strengths and learned from our weaknesses. In Wren, I found a man who surpassed any fairy-tale knight I’d ever dreamt of, who put my dreams and concerns above his own, and showed me in the most beautiful ways how much I meant to him. With me, Wren knew his fears and sorrows were as sacred to me as his heart, his smiles, and his laughter. He recognized that no one and nothing would get in the way of my love for him.
“Wow, Falcon’s house,” my mom said, earning a glare from my dad. He didn’t mind her crush when the rock star idol from her youth was nothing more than a fantasy she would never meet, but it was different when I started dating his son and could get her access to the legend.
“He lives there with his wife and infant son,” my dad reminded her.
Grandpa cackled, and I smiled at him. It did my heart good to see him smile and laugh. He caught me staring at him and winked at me. “Say, Dare, do you want to be my euchre partner on Wednesday night in the tournament?”
“Sure, Grandpa. I’d be honored.”
“Good, we need to work on silent signals to communicate. I hear that Bob and Teddy win every single year. They’re a bit too cocky for my taste, and I’d like to put them in their place.”
“Wouldn’t you rather do that by winning fair and square?” I asked.
“Not really,” he said, dismissing the idea.
“Sure, we can work on silent signals.”
Wren and I stuck around for a while after Mom, Dad, and Kristy left. Grandpa instructed me to wear a ballcap and sunglasses when I showed up for the tournament.
“This isn’t poker, Grandpa.”
“Don’t sass me, boy. My reputation is on the line.”
“Yes, sir.” I bit my lip to keep from laughing and Wren coughed to cover up the laugh that escaped him.
We rolled through some signs, but nothing too obvious, and Grandpa found ways to change them up so that the other players didn’t catch on to us. The signs were touching my earlobe, the bill of my cap, or bringing my hand to my chin while I pretended to ponder my hand. After Grandpa assigned the meaning of each gesture, he gave me strict instructions to follow.
“Listen, we need to throw in some fake signals to confuse them. Like looking over your glasses at your cards or something. We need to have a sequence of signs like a baseball coach, so only you and I know what we’re saying. I need you to look natural when you throw out a few fake signals. Two fake, the real deal, then a final fake one. If we make it to the semi-final and final rounds, we’ll change the order around for the real signal,” he said seriously. “Let’s practice.”
“I understand, Grandpa,” I told him.
“I still want to practice a few times,” he insisted. “Just to be sure.” It didn’t take him long to realize that I had well and truly caught on. “Okay, get on home so I can get some rest,” he said shooing me out. “And, Dare,” he said after I kissed him and headed to the door. “Congratulations on landing your first big client.”
“Grandpa, I—”
“I know,” he said ruefully. “You don’t like to count your chickens before they hatch, but I have a really good feeling about this.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m so proud of you, Dare. I couldn’t ask for a finer grandson.”
I felt myself tearing up beneath his praise. “I’m proud of you too, Grandpa. We’re going to kick some serious euchre ass on Wednesday.”
“You damn betcha!”
Wren slipped his arm around my shoulders as we headed for his truck. “I know it’s still hard to leave him here, but surely you see how happy he is, Sparkles. There’s no faking that kind of fighting spirit. It’s something you’re born with and life brings it to the surface.”
“I know he’s doing really well, but yeah, I miss him.”
“I’m sure he misses you too. When the weather warms up, we can pick Grandpa up and take him someplace for the day.”
“Okay, but can we pretend like we’re busting him out of there?”
“You got it,” Wren told me. “Have I ever told you how special you are?”
“For loving my grandpa?”
“What you do for him goes beyond love,” Wren said. “Trust me, all those nurses talk about how special you are.”
“All of them or just one?” I asked.
Wren narrowed his eyes at me. “Is there one nurse in particular that you’re most concerned about? One that wears his scrubs two sizes too small so everyone can notice his assets?”
“You’ve obviously been paying a lot of attention to Jake.” Jealousy didn’t sound good on me.
“I’ve noticed him noticing you.”
“Not that again,” I said, rolling my eyes. I was about to say more, but my phone rang. “Hey, Andy,” I said into my phone. “What’s up?”
“We sold the house!”
“What? Already? You’ve only showed it one time.”
“They gave me full asking price too. Becker told them the house would go fast when he showed it. He said they should hurry if they wanted to make an offer, and so they did.”
“Wow! Congratulations, Andy.”
“I couldn’t have done it so fast without you, Dare. Since this flip was so successful, I’m thinking about trying it again soon. Are you interested in doing the interior design if I do?”
“I’d love to,” I replied. Wren narrowed his eyes, although I have no idea what he thought I was agreeing to with him standing right there. “Let me know the next time you buy a house to flip.”
“I will. Say, are you interested in advertising your business on my website. I’m thinking about adding a section for my business partners to make it easier for people to find q
uality work and services.”
“Andy, that would be amazing. I would like to do the same for you on my site. Wren and I are so thrilled with the work you did at our garage apartment. We have a potential tenant looking at the space on Tuesday.”
“It’s a great apartment, and you’ll have it rented out in no time.”
“I hope so,” I told him. We chatted for a few more minutes before I said goodbye to Andy and pocketed my phone. “Andy sold the house,” I told Wren, looking at him across the bed of his truck.
“I guessed as much from hearing your side of the conversation,” Wren replied wryly. “Get in the truck, Sparkles. The faster we get home the quicker we can celebrate.”
“Oh, wow. This apartment is much bigger than I would’ve guessed,” our potential tenant, Julius Shepherd, said. “Especially for the rent you’re charging. I paid three times as much in my hometown and my apartment would fit in the bathroom of this one.”
“Where’s your hometown again?” Wren asked. He was going for casual, but I saw through him. He was sizing the guy up to see if he could be competition. Okay, the guy lit up a bit when I answered the door, but he dialed it down when he saw Prince Chest Thumper join us on the porch.
“Philly born and raised,” Julius said proudly.
“Blissville is a far cry different than Philly,” Wren said.
“It was time for a new beginning,” Julius explained. “Plus, the science program at Blissville High School is ranked in the top five percent in the entire country. I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to teach there.” He had that nerdy science guy thing down to an art, but it was adorable on him. “I’m ready to fill out the application and get the ball rolling.”
Julius followed us back to the house and filled out the application. After he left, I ran credit and background reports while Wren called his references. An hour later, I called Julius and let him know that the apartment was his.
“First and last month’s rent up front,” I told him.
“No problem,” he said. “I’m staying in a hotel in Goodville. Do you mind if I come by tomorrow to sign the lease and pay you?”
“That sounds great, but can you do it before five? I’m in a euchre tournament with my grandpa at his nursing home.”
Julius chuckled. “Sure thing.”
He ended up stopping by the salon at noon. Julius was all smiles and happiness until he saw the client sitting in Wren’s chair. When the new superintendent, Romeo Bradley, looked over and caught the young science teacher staring at him, Julius looked away quickly and turned a pretty shade of pink.
“Um, I’ll just sign this so I can be on my way.”
Did I just let it go? Do you even know me? “Hey, isn’t that the new superintendent of Blissville schools?” I asked.
“Um, yeah,” Julius said casually, staring at the form he had read the day before. “That’s him.”
“Silver fox,” I said, practically purring.
Julius shrugged, but his face turned a brighter shade of pink. I glanced over at the silver fox in question and saw that he seemed pretty taken with the teacher also. Only after Wren asked him a question did he return his focus back to my guy. I wondered if Wren saw the exchange too. If so, we could place bets on how long it would take before Julius started staying away at night or we caught Superintendent Silver Fox sneaking away from Julius’s apartment. I was suddenly glad we had ringside seats for this little romance.
I might’ve chalked it up to my wild imagination, but I caught Julius checking out the older man from the corner of his eye a few times. He stiffened when Romeo Bradley stood up and headed in our direction. Julius picked up the pen to sign the leasing agreement, but it was out of ink.
“Oh dear,” I said. “Try this one.” I handed him another. It didn’t work either. “What the heck is going on? These pens were working just fine.” I knew fate was at play, but I kept my mouth shut and kept looking for a pen that would work.
“Here, use mine,” the older man said smoothly as he stepped up to my desk. “Hello again, Julius. It’s good to see you.”
“Hello, Mr. Bradley.”
“It’s Romeo or Rome,” the older man told him.
Julius signed the lease and handed it to me along with the envelope containing cash for the first and last month’s rent. Then he returned the pen to Romeo and said, “Thank you, Mr. Bradley. See you in a few weeks.”
“Safe travel back to Philly, Julius.” Romeo had no difficulty addressing the teacher by his first name. He stared after the younger man a few seconds after he left then turned his attention back to me. “Can I schedule my next appointment with Wren before I leave?”
“Sure can. Let me pull up his schedule. Does this day of the week and time slot work okay for your next appointment, or would you like a different time?”
“I would prefer something around four so that I don’t worry about taking too long on my lunch hour.”
“Does four thirty on April fourteenth work?” Romeo checked his schedule and confirmed the time and date. “We also have an app where you can book appointments around the clock. Are you interested?”
“Sure, where do I go?”
I told Romeo where to find the app and gave him a tutorial on my phone before I collected his payment and Wren’s tip. After he left, I walked Wren’s tip over to him. Had we been alone, I would’ve shoved that ten-dollar bill in the waistband of his ass-hugging jeans. Maybe asked him to dance for it, but Wren wouldn’t find my antics funny at work.
“Ten dolla to make you holla,” Wren whispered suggestively in my ear. Or maybe he would.
“After the salon closes,” I told him.
“No good, we have the euchre tournament at the home.”
“Stop calling it that.”
“That’s what Grandpa calls it,” Wren replied.
“He’s allowed because he lives there.”
“Oh.” Wren hooked his finger in my belt loop before I could walk away. “Raincheck on that mixing room after-hours action?”
“Definitely.”
Wren and I left the salon at four o’clock so we could eat dinner with Grandpa before the tournament. I was a nervous wreck, but Grandpa looked as cool as one of those professional poker players.
“Did you give him extra meds?” I asked Jake. “He seems extra mellow.”
“He’s in the zone,” Jake explained. “He’s determined to win at all costs, so he started getting in the mindset after his nap.”
“I think he’s still asleep,” Wren suggested. “It’s hard to tell with those ridiculous aviator sunglasses on.”
“Hey, he borrowed those from me,” Jake said. “I think he looks badass.”
I walked over to where Grandpa sat in his chair. “Ready to whip some ass, Goose?”
“No way,” Grandpa said, shaking his head. “I’m Maverick, and you’re Goose.”
“If you say so, Grandpa.”
“I do,” he said. “I could’ve easily been mistaken for Tom Cruise in my day.”
I looked just like my grandpa and no one ever told me I looked like a young Tom Cruise. I believed in letting him think what he wanted as long as he was happy and healthy.
“We’ll call Wren Iceman,” Grandpa said.
“Great,” Wren said dryly.
“Just don’t chew gum like him, or I’ll slap you out of your chair.”
“Yes, sir,” Wren told Grandpa. “We better get to the dining room if we want to fuel our bodies for the big fight.”
Grandpa was getting around so much better, but he grew tired at the end of the day and needed the assistance of a wheelchair. Wren always pushed him, and I always got a rush of love from how gentle my giant could be.
Grandpa ate his meatloaf and mashed potatoes like it was any other day of the week while I was too nervous to eat more than a few bites. “Get it together,” Grandpa said when we headed toward the rec room. “Those two card sharks will eat you alive, Dare.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I�
�m counting on you.”
“I won’t let you down, Grandpa.”
We played Irv and Gilmore the first round, and we didn’t need to deploy many tricks to beat them. We played Betty and Millie the second round and had to step up our game quite a bit to make it to the semi-finals where we played Mo and Jessica, a husband and wife team that had been playing cards together for sixty years. I figured it would be hard to beat a team so in sync with each other, but we did it. I would’ve felt guilty, but I saw Jessica giving her husband a few signals and they weren’t I can’t wait to get you alone signs either unless Mo had an earlobe-tugging fetish.
“Look at them preening about,” Grandpa said about Bob and Teddy as we neared the table set up for the finals. “Wren, make sure there are no mirrors or windows the old geezers can use to look at our cards.”
It was all Wren could do to keep from losing it. Grandpa acted like they had pink slips to their race cars on the line.
“This shouldn’t take long,” Bob said to Teddy. “We’ll be back in our rooms in time to watch Jeopardy.”
I lowered my voice so only Grandpa could hear. “Let’s rip these arrogant bastards to shreds.”
“You’re my favorite person on earth, Dare,” Grandpa said emotionally. To our rivals, he said, “Quit your yapping and let’s deal.”
The match stretched out three times as long as the others, but it had more to do with the four of us trying to out-cheat one another than any real skill. In the end, only two men took home trophies.
“Congratulations, Ralph and Darren,” Tiffany, the events coordinator, proudly said. “You’ve fought a hard battle and you get these beautiful trophies and an extra chocolate pudding to celebrate.”
“Yippee!” Grandpa said when they handed him his small trophy. “Dare, spending this evening with you means more to me than this trophy. I’ll have you know that.”
“Aw, thank you, Grandpa. I feel the same way.” I leaned down again so only he could hear me. “I love you so much that you can have my pudding too.”
“Yes!” he said, waving his trophy in the air as Wren wheeled him back toward his room.
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