Chapter 36

Winnie

“W here exactly do you think you’re going, Winifred?”

Jack’s voice startles me, and I turn to find him standing there, clad in faded jeans that mold to the contours of his sculpted legs. Yum.

But his eyes betray his lack of sleep, and I can’t help but notice the weariness etched on his face.

Oops. Totally my fault.

It’s been four days since my camping trip, and going by the original plan drawn up, it’s meant to be Max’s turn for the next date. But for some reason, Max hasn’t brought up our date – or lack thereof – yet. And I haven’t pressed the matter, hoping it’s just because everything has been full steam ahead with the reno.

I don’t know, but I’m trying to go with the flow and enjoy every moment. Thankfully that hasn’t been a difficult plan to follow when a different Hammer has been in my bed each night.

Last night, as Jack and I stretched out in my bed, he held me in his arms and we chatted for hours. It was a throwback to childhood, thick with memories of our best times together. At one point, we made each other laugh so loudly the guys in the rooms surrounding mine banged on their walls multiple times to shut us up. Naturally, that only made our laughter worse.

I know how it sounds, having a different guy in my bed every night. But it hasn’t been a nonstop fuck-frenzy. Far from it. We talk and we cuddle and there’s plenty of kissing and affection, but that’s as far as it’s gone. After taking Cruz, Axel, and Diesel all in one night, my body really, really needed a break.

Maybe that’s why Max hasn’t mentioned the date? To give me a chance to rest?

Or maybe Max is just taking extra time to plan a special date for me?

Whatever it is, I’m so excited for it. Just the thought of being alone with Max makes me giddy. I miss our private time together.

“Winnie, I mean it. Where exactly do you think you’re going?” Jack repeats, this time with a frown. “You’re not even supposed to be over here today.”

“Hey, Jackalope,” I grin.

He closes the gap between us, lifting my chin so my mouth meets his in a sweet kiss. Then he spins me around, so I’m facing the front door I’ve just come through .

“Go.”

I turn right back around. “I’m only here for a second. I just…”

I glance around. This renovation has been unorthodox in a lot of ways. For starters, you know, sex on the stairs. That’s new and different. But also the guys have been pretty much treating the upstairs and downstairs as completely different job sites.

Not to mention, they won’t allow me upstairs at all anymore. When the triplets and I returned from our date, an elaborate scaffolding had been erected in front of the house, with tarps completely shielding everything behind it from my view.

I peek into the living/dining area, which has been pretty much completely neglected until now, and see that the insulation has been installed and a bunch of the guys are putting up drywall.

“Which one of you douchenozzles took my measuring tape?” Gunnar demands.

He sounds incredibly grumpy and I smile. It’s around this point of every job that Gunnar gets impatient.

“Why?” Cruz calls back. “Checking to see if your micro-weenie has had a growth spurt?”

“I can assure you, Cruzie,” I pipe up, “there is nothing micro about Gun’s weenie.”

Cruz glances over his shoulder and sees me. He grins, nods. Then he stops and frowns. “Hey, what are you doing here? You’re not allowed to be here.”

I place my hands on my hips, and put on a fake pout. I know I’ve been banned from the reno house because there’s stuff happening that they don’t want me to see, and I live for their surprises. But. It doesn’t mean I can’t give them a hard time about it.

“Y’all need me here,” I say, matter-of-fact. “Stop pretending you don’t.”

“Y’all?” Gunnar crosses his arms as he looks at me with both eyebrows raised.

I lift a shoulder. “I got bored and started binge-watching a show called Designing Women. That southern twang is contagious.”

“Oh, no.” Leo peers around the corner from where he’s in the kitchen. He’s overheard what I said, and his nose scrunches adorably. “No, love. You weren’t watching that gross show where inbred meatheads are given a budget to turn their lady into their idea of physical perfection, were you?”

“The fucking what kind of show?” Jack says, staring at me.

“Yeah,” Leo says. “Complete makeover, including plastic surgery. Totally fucked up.”

“Um, no ,” I say. “What the hell? I wasn’t even aware such a show exists.”

How gross, indeed. And now I’m especially overwhelmed with gratitude that I’ve somehow found not one but ten incredible men who wouldn’t change a freckle on my face.

I blush, thinking about how Gavin likes to play connect the dots with the freckles on my body… using that pierced tongue of his.

“Gun,” I say, before I start up with my fantasies and spin myself out of control again, “your tape measure is on the stairs. ”

I point over to the stairs just as Max appears at the top of them. He sees me and stops.

“Oh, I thought I heard your voice,” he says. “I was just coming to get you.”

And suddenly anxiety strikes me. Max doesn’t seem particularly excited to see me, does he?

But then again, he doesn’t look un excited to see me, either…

“I’m not supposed to be over here today,” I remind him.

My heart sinks when he frowns, and says to the other guys, “We’re done.” But then he holds out a hand to me. “Come on up, Win. Gav and I have something to show you.”

“She’s already seen Gav’s and was clearly not impressed,” Cruz teases. “Better luck to you, bro!”

I don’t miss the look Max shoots him. “Ignore him, please. This is about our secret projects for you.”

Secret projects?

I practically skip up the stairs to take his hand and I’m relieved when he smiles genuinely into my eyes. He squeezes my hand, tugging me toward the hall.

“Close your eyes, princess,” he says and I oblige, following as he leads me down what feels like smooth wood floors.

I wish I didn’t have to close my eyes, because I want to see all the changes I can sense. And to be honest, if I’m not meant to see, I wish he’d brought the blindfold. I kind of love that thing, and I’ve never been blindfolded with Max…

My stomach tenses up, an instinctual reaction, when I realize he’s leading me into my old room. I swallow hard, but I don’t open my eyes until Max tells me to .

When I’m finally instructed to open my eyes, I draw in a breath. For a long moment, I’m speechless. I cover my mouth with my hand as tears fill my eyes. Max stands behind me, kneading my shoulders while Gavin grins.

“What do you think, Pooh Bear?”

When this was my room, the walls were a dark shade of tobacco-stained white. Now they’re a sweet and calming shade of lavender.

The dingy brown shag carpet has been replaced by shining antique-washed oak floors. They’re in a herringbone pattern, stylish and sophisticated, exactly the same as one of my favorite floors done for 1 Girl, 10 Hammers.

The two small windows, which always seemed to be grimy and clouded no matter how hard I cleaned them, have been replaced by a ginormous bay window and a huge window seat, flanked on either side with built-in bookshelves.

“Look,” Gavin says, pointing to a rod above the window, waiting for the drapery. “It’ll be a cozy nook to hide away and read in. You get to pick out the fabric for the curtains, obviously.”

The longer I look at the window, the more beautiful details I take in. The glass sparkles and gleams, letting in so much light. Stained glass flowers along the top of the windows throw a rainbow garden onto the floor. Under the window is the most elaborate window seat I’ve ever seen, with storage drawers below.

“It’s stunning,” I whisper. “Absolutely incredible.”

I glance around the room, and a frown forms as I notice the absence of the closet .

Well, damn. The renovation was perfect until now.

“This isn’t up to code as a bedroom without a closet, is it?”

Max grins at me, his eyes glinting with a secret. “Oh, there’s a closet.”

As my eyes follow his gesture, surprise replaces my initial worry. The closet has transformed into a hidden door, seamlessly integrated into the room’s design. Another clever hiding spot, a testament to the Hammer brothers’ ingenuity.

“How epic will the games of hide-and-seek be here?” I murmur.

“Right?” Gav touches my arm. “Look, Pooh Bear.”

Like Max, there’s a mischievous glint in his eye. He directs my attention to the back of the door.

It’s my silly little crayon picture of the Hammer family, me included, only now it’s adorned with an ornate gold frame.

“You didn’t paint over it,” I say, trying to swallow away the tears in my voice.

Gav chuckles. “It deserved a frame.”

“You guys, this is truly amazing. We have to choose a family with a little girl to have this house, to have this room. It’s everything I wish I would’ve had growing up.”

“You’re already mentally picking out the furniture and decor, right?” Gavin asks.

I nod, picturing a big bean bag chair in one corner, a canopy bed in the center of the room, fairy lights every freaking where …

I hug Gavin, and then Max. Is it my imagination or does Gav squeeze me a little tighter, hold me a few seconds longer than Max does?

Go with the flow. Enjoy every moment. Stop looking for drama where there isn’t any.

We head downstairs, and the guys are all there at the bottom, waiting together. When I babble on to them about how much I loved the first surprises, they cheer.

And cheer again when I promise to stay away so I don’t spoil anything.

“But wait,” I say as I head out the door. “I came over to say that if you guys need anything from the store, let me know. I’m running out in a minute. Because,” I give them my sauciest wink, “I’m making a fabulous meal for you tonight. All of you. A surprise of my own.”

They’ve all done so much for me, and I want to show them how much I love them— via a pot roast with all the fixings… their favorite.

“Whoa, hold on,” Mason says. “The Hammer family dinner will have to be another night, Cupcake. Tonight, it’s just you and me. Date night and I have something epic planned, if I do say so myself.”

Wait, what?

I can feel the confusion written all over my face as I say, “But it’s Max’s turn for a date next.”

Behind me, Max clears his throat. “About that…”

My heart flies into my throat as I turn around and catch sight of his wary expression .

“What’s going on?”

Max winces. “Win, can we talk for a sec?”

So much for going with the flow and enjoying every moment. I am freaking the fuck out. Fully panicked.

As I follow Max outside, following his lead as he sits on the porch, trepidation rushes through me. Is it possible that he’s decided he doesn’t want to be a part of this?

Has he decided he doesn’t want me?

My hands are shaking embarrassingly hard, so I sit on them. “What’s wrong, Max?”

His frown deepens. “I should’ve told you this earlier—”

“Are you self-eliminating?” I jump in, as if trying to prepare my heart by getting the terrible truth over with.

He blinks at me. “What?”

My heart is showing no signs of being prepared. “Are you taking yourself out of the running to be my favorite Hammer?”

God, it sounds so silly saying it, and yet tears are springing into my eyes, because it matters to me. More than I ever imagined it would.

“No,” he says. “Of course not.” He smiles at me, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Of course not, Win.”

“Okay,” I say, trying to get my heart to stop freaking out. “Okay. Good. Then…” I’m more confused than ever. “Why am I going out with Mason tonight? It’s your turn and I haven’t gotten to spend any time with you since we started this whole thing. I really miss you, Big Max. ”

He scratches the back of his neck, something he knows I love. “I miss you, too. More than you’ll ever know, Win.”

For a split-second, his voice snags, emotion creeping in.

He misses me. He really does. This has to be the reason he’s acting weird. Is he upset with me because I haven’t spent any more-than-friends time with him, just the two of us, since we started this whole thing?

“We’re still okay, right?” I ask him. Point blank, because I honestly can’t tell.

Dammit. Before we started this, I could always tell with Max. Always. But I have to admit that while I’ve been getting closer with all of the others, Max and I have backslid from our starting point as friends-with-benefits. A sad truth, but how could we not have? I’ve now had sex with almost all of his brothers.

But shouldn’t that make him more eager to have his chance with me? Doesn’t he want me?

Or did he only want my virginity?

I shake that stupid thought from my head, because it’s beyond ridiculous.

He holds out his hand and I intertwine my fingers with his. “Are you happy, Winnie? Truly happy?”

I nod emphatically.

And he smiles. “Then we’re okay.”

“But I want you to be happy too, Max. I want everyone to be happy. And I really, really want my date with you.”

“You’ll get it, Princess.” He takes a deep breath, lets it out. “I promise you nothing is wrong. Actually Mason asked me to switch. He wants to take you somewhere very specific and they’ve been booked solid. Except for tonight.”

I look at him, study every inch of his face. “You swear?”

“I solemnly swear.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, good. Can we just sit here and hold hands for a bit?”

I’ve found I love holding hands almost as much as I love the naked stuff.

Almost.

He gives my hand a squeeze. “There’s nothing I would rather do.”

I squeeze back, and I’m smiling again. Feeling so much better, we sit there on the porch together, until Jack barks an order at him to come in. We are silent and still, with the exception of his thumb gently and lovingly running along the top of my hand.