The Renovation (Contemporary Reverse Harem 2)

My buddy Carter had someone he wanted me to meet.

I knew what that meant. The question was, did she want to meet me?

We were kind of quiet about our particular proclivities. Not that we had anything to hide, and not that we were ashamed. It’s just that not everyone was as open-minded as we’d like them to be. But, hey, we were in San Francisco, where almost anything could go. Almost.

We liked to date one woman.

That is, one woman between the two of us. You know, like, share.

We hadn’t dated anyone in a while, but we were feeling ready. We didn’t talk about it much—it was just something we knew. And when he told me about his adorable, newly single red-haired neighbor, I was all over it. If Carter said she was a sweetie, that was good enough for me. He had very high standards. I was the happy beneficiary of that.

I was headed over to meet the two of them for happy hour at some little joint downtown. It had taken me forever to get out of the office, and I was late, thanks to clients. Turns out, if your marriage is on the rocks and you’re fighting like cats and dogs, then buying a home is not going to fix things. But you can’t say that to clients.

Go figure.

They—well, the wife—was pregnant, on top of everything else. Another attempt to save the marriage, I suppose. But they’d signed on the dotted line and written a giant down payment check. They’d get the keys to their new home soon, and I wouldn’t have to listen to them fight again.

Well, until they split up and had to sell the house. They’d call me for that. I just knew it.

I spotted Carter right off the bat when I arrived. The woman he was with had her back to me, so I couldn’t see her, but he was right about her hair. Long, thick red waves I wouldn’t have minded burying my face in. And if I played my cards right, maybe I’d get to.

“Hello,” I said, clapping Carter on the back and extending my hand to the beauty before me.

As soon as we touched, I knew. I knew I had to know this woman better, but that I also needed to take my time with her. One glance at Carter, and it was clear we were on the same page.

She looked up at me with dark brown eyes and smiled. “Hi. I’m Jayma.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Dig,” I said, grabbing a barstool and pulling it up to join them. “Sorry I’m late, guys. I had a client issue.”

“What kind of work do you do, Dig?” God, she had the most amazing freckles splattered across her face.

“I sell real estate, and I currently have a fighting couple as clients. Good times. What about you?”

Carter sipped his beer and smiled, watching us.

“I work for an ad agency. I’m the receptionist right now, but I hope to move into working with clients soon. It’s a pretty cool place.”

“Nice.” I turned to Carter. “And how was your day, my friend?”

He nodded, looking from Jayma to me. “It was okay. Bid on some new jobs and made some progress on hiring more help. Usual stuff.”

I turned to Jayma. “I’ve known Carter and his family nearly all my life. His parents treated me like I was their own when some bad stuff went down with my own family.”

Her face lit up. “Oh, you guys are old friends. Like brothers, I guess.”

Oh yeah.

“We go way back,” I said. “Been through a lot together. And we hiked the entire Pacific Rim Trail when we were eighteen and came back alive.”

Carter laughed. “I hated to come home, but Dig made me. He couldn’t hang.”

“I don’t think so, brother.” I turned to Jayma. “Some of us just are not cut out for camping.”

Carter nodded. “Some of us are wimps.”

I rolled my eyes and laughed. “Anyway, Carter told me you have a little fixer-upper,” I said.

“Yeah. It’s a fixer-upper, all right. Although, I’m not sure how fixed-up it’s going to get. It was a project my boyfriend and I were working on. I may have to default on the loan.” Her eyes weren’t quite as bright as they’d been a minute ago.