There was a motion to my right. “I’m not insane or suicidal, Henry. Sam was with us as we shopped,” Ray answered with a huge grin.
His height and built intimidated me when I’d first met him. He indeed was a bear of a man. But the truth was that he was just a giant teddy bear. Sam tapped my arm with a huge grin on his face.
“I got them to buy sausage, pepperoni, and lots of cheese. And the only veggies are a few mushrooms. But the best thing. We got tiramisu for dessert!”
Guiltily I looked at the kitchen again. If they brought dessert, that was different from me emptying my goody shelves, right? Sighing, I looked back at Sam.
“But we need to eat the fruit Caden prepared for us, too.”
“Des and Ray will help eat the fruit. Right?”
I watched in awe when Sam smiled sweetly and with the most innocent look I’ve ever seen. First, he looked at Des, then at Ray. Damn, I needed to practice a face like that. It might come in handy with Caden, but it didn’t work with Ray.
“We’re not helping you cheat on your Daddies. If Caden said fruit first, you’ll eat the fruit. Both of you.”
Blushing, I nodded. Okay, maybe the innocent look didn’t work. When I looked back at Sam, I saw him rolling his eyes at Ray, who walked to the kitchen. Then Des wrapped his arm around my shoulder, looked down at me, and winked.
“I’ll help you. Dessert is much more fun than fruit.”
A giggle escaped my lips, even though I felt guilty because Caden's note was clear. Fruit first for Sam and me, then sweets. But I was sure that I would find a way to apologize. Maybe a little adult time when he got home. Before my mind could wander down that road, I tried to focus back on Sam and Des. It was clear Sam was excited.
He started to sign to me, “Can we go downstairs and look at the ground floor? I brought color samples and a notepad.”
“I can make some sketches if you like,” I offered and got the brightest smile from Sam in return.
“That would be awesome!” Walking back to the elevator, Sam kept signing, “We already talked about what we would need, like desks and a reception area. And I need a storage room for the servers and stuff.”
“There is a spare storage room in the back.”
“Perfect! Jakob said I could get whatever I need.”
Sam got a weird twinkle in his eyes, and I immediately felt sorry for Jakob. And I wasn’t the only one, because when we stepped into the elevator, Des shook his head, and I watched his lips to see what he was saying.
“He said within reason and only technical things.”
“How about a train? A train is technical.”
Chuckling at Sam's answer, I pressed the button for the ground floor but still kept my eyes on Des, so I didn’t miss his response. Lucky for me, he switched to signing.
“A train is a train. But hey, what about something a bit more technical? Like a helicopter? That would be fun.”
“A helicopter?”
I giggled when Sam stepped out of the elevator and looked around the place on the ground floor. He looked like he imagined a helicopter flying around the space. When he turned to us again, he’d scrunched up his nose.
“Jakob would kill me if we had a helicopter flying around. But I think I can talk him into something else.”
“You could always come upstairs if you want to play.” That was the right thing to say, right? The right thing to offer to a friend. The way, Sam beamed at me. It was the perfect thing to say.
“Really?”
“Yes, I mean—” Before I finished signing my response, I had my arms full of an excited Sam. After hugging me for what felt like forever, he stepped back and clapped his hands together.
“This is going to be so much fun! Working here with Jakob and taking some breaks with you.”
It did sound like great fun. It was easy to imagine Sam coming upstairs for a lunch break and some playtime. That was just one thought that convinced me it was a good idea to rent to Jakob and Sam. Not only would I be able to donate the income, but I would also have some former cops in the same building and a friend to play with. Maybe I should buy my aunt some flowers because apparently, she was right. The Rainbow Room could change my life in unexpected ways.
Sitting cross-legged on the floor, a notebook on my thighs, I made sketches and wrote down measurements. Being deaf wasn’t an issue because Des had found an ingenious way to get my attention. Whenever they needed me to see what they were signing or saying, Des threw sweets at me. Grinning at the yellow M&M in my lap, I popped it into my mouth. Just as I looked, Des threw one at Sam, too. Sam caught it, popped it into his mouth, and turned to me.
“We need plants for the reception area,” Sam signed, frowned, and looked around before he looked at me again. “Lots of them or what do you think?”
“There is a great nursery uptown, where I get all my plants.”
“Oh. We could go there together. That would be fun.”
Sam grinned, pulled out his phone, and tapped away at it. Glancing at Des, I could see him roll his eyes. It looked like he chuckled as well. Oh, Sam must have been messaging his Daddy.
“Oh, fuck a duck!” I shouted. Since I had a Daddy, I should probably ask Caden first before I agreed to a trip to the nursery with Sam. “I need to ask my Daddy, too!” Reaching for my phone, I
