Nell didn’t hesitate. “This green, not that one.”
“Of course. You can’t put army green with sunshine yellow. Not here, anyway. What about the pinks?”
“These two.”
“Excellent!” Jecca said. “I think we should go darker for the piping. Lucy just bought a little machine that will cut the fabric on the bias so we won’t have to deal with the rotary cutters. And—”
“I hate to break this up, but we need to get going,” Tris said from the doorway.
Nell leaped off the floor to throw her arms around her uncle’s waist. “Thank you, thank you, and thank you. My playhouse is going to be great.”
Tris was looking at Jecca, who was smiling at him.
“Sorry, but we got caught up in colors and fabric,” she said.
“Easy for you two to do.”
Getting up, Jecca started putting the fabric away.
“We’ll have some room so you can take whatever you want,” Tris said.
“Just my art case,” she said. “And some clothes. How long are we staying?”
“Until the food runs out or we get bored.” He picked Nell up. cke8221; J“I think you’ve gained weight. I’ll have to walk it off you at Uncle Roan’s. What are we going to do about your clothes? We left everything in Miami.”
“Miss Livie took me shopping this morning, and Lucy made me three tops.”
“Shopping, huh? Does that mean I’m going to have to put a trailer on the back of the Rover?”
“Yes!” she said. “And you can ride back there while Jecca drives so we can talk about the playhouse forever.”
Laughing, Tris put her down. “For that you can walk on your own two feet. Why don’t you go downstairs and make sure Miss Livie packed those cookies I saw?”
“You want to be alone with Jecca, don’t you?”
“I’m an adult and I don’t have to answer that. Go!”
Laughing, Nell ran down the stairs.
He went into the closet where Jecca was putting fabric away. “It’s nice in here,” he said.
“I like it.”
They looked at each other. They were alone for the first time since they’d left his house, since they’d spent the night making love. Instantly, they were kissing, their hands all over each other.
Tris paused at her ear. “Sure you don’t want to go away, just the two of us?”
“Not sure at all,” she said, her breath catching in her throat.
They were just beginning to remove each other’s clothes when Nell’s voice came from the door of the room.
“Uncle Tris!” she shouted. “We’re ready to go! It’s almost nighttime.”
“I’ve never needed an alarm clock,” he murmured against her lips.
Smiling, Jecca moved away. “Come help me finish packing.”
“I, uh, think I’ll stay in here for a little bit.”