Flip (Next Level Book 2)

I’m not sure what’s going through Erin’s head, but after this morning’s fuck session and coffee talk, I feel like she’s entertaining me instead of taking me seriously. I don’t like it. Except on my solo drive up to the house I might buy, I take in everything she said and didn’t say.

Maybe I’m biting off more than I can chew.

Not with her. Fuck that noise. I mean with trying to take on a third source of income.

I’ve always prided myself in being great at multitasking. I’ve never met a challenge I couldn’t conquer. But am I spreading myself too thin with my goals, or has Erin’s doubt in my abilities taken hold of my confidence?

Probably both.

I’m not sure how to address either of those things right now.

Pulling up to the house in question, I see my agent is already waiting for me. Erin gets out of her car, and I escort her to the front door.

The agent beams a stupid, fake smile at us. “Good Morning!”

Whatever. My mood is souring by the second because even the outside of this place looks dismal. But this is what I asked for, right? A fixer upper. A hot mess I could put back together.

“I’m Erin,” my girl says, because I’ve somehow lost my tongue and manners.

“Erin, I’m Maxine.”

Blah, blah, blah. I barely hear what they’re talking about because my head’s already reeling with issues I see and we haven’t made it past the porch. When we go inside, I stay quiet and look around.

It’s a fucking dump. Granted, I saw the pictures—all three of them that were posted, which should have been a red flag—but now that I’m in it, I’m even more inclined to run out and never look back.

I can fix broken things. I can slap paint on a wall. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how I’m supposed to turn this tightly boxed-in wreck into a family home to sell at a premium price.

This is a mistake.

“This is incredible!” Erin beams inside the piece of shit kitchen. 

“Most of what you see is original to the house.” Maxine says, hugging her clipboard close to her chest. “It definitely needs a lot of TLC, which is why the price is so low.”

“Oh my God, Trey, look at the yard!” Erin leans on the dark red linoleum countertop to look out the filthy window. “Can you imagine a pool over there, a big patio with a fire pit over there, and in the way back a raised garden bed? My god, this place is fantastic!”

I seriously have no clue what to say. Erin’s dress rises up her thighs as she lifts herself onto the counter to see more. The back of her right heel slips off her foot. I’m afraid she’ll topple over when she climbs down so I hold her waist. “I think we’re seeing two different houses.”

She puts both feet back on the hideous tile floor and beams at me. “Well, shiplap can fix it.”

That makes me laugh.

“Hello!” someone yells from the front of the house.

I don’t fucking believe it. Greeting my little brother at the door, I’m gobsmacked. “Cole, what the hell are you doing here?”

“Dad told me you were looking at a house at ten. He couldn’t make it, so he sent me.”

I’d asked my father to come take a look at this place with me, but he said he was slammed with work but would try his best to make it. Seeing my brother here makes some of the weight in my chest ease up.

“Well, what do you think?” I ask, tossing my arms up.

Cole looks around and then his gaze lands on Erin. “I think it’s gorgeous.”

I smack his chest. “The house, asshole. The house.”

“What house?” Cole swaggers over, his gaze never wavering from Erin, and he holds out his hand. “Hi, I’m Cole.”

“I’m Erin.”

He takes her hand and kisses it.

I’m going to kill him and bury him in the backyard of this property. All I need is a fucking shovel.

“You’re the architect,” she says, still smiling.

Cole smacks me on the arm. “You told her about me? Nice.”

Erin tucks her hair behind her ear. “My brother told me about you, actually.”

“Oh yeah. Who’s that?”

“Glitch.”

Cole backs up immediately. “Holy shit. You’re Glitch’s sister?” He cocks his brow at me. “Bro.”

“How about you focus on the house and not my girl.”

“Your girl?” Cole’s gaze bounces from me to Erin, then back to me. “Okay, alright, I see how it is.” He rubs his hands together, still staring my woman up and down. “So what are we working with?”

He better be talking about the house and not my queen’s body.

“Trey’s not impressed,” my girl says. “But I say it’s got huge potential.”

“Huge,” Cole repeats in a husky tone. “Huge is a good word. We like that.”

I smack him upside the head so fast, I’m sure his teeth clack. “Stop flirting with her!”

“Okay, alight, damn.” Cole winks at Erin, while still rubbing the back of his head. “He’s just worried I’ll steal you right out of his arms like I did his first girlfriend.”

“She wasn’t my girlfriend. She was our babysitter. And you didn’t steal her, you threw yourself over the railing of the deck and landed on a rosebush on purpose to get attention.”

“The things we do for true love.”

“She was fifty. And our neighbor.”

“Still true love,” Cole smirks. “That woman made the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever put into my mouth.”

I’m getting a headache.

“Really?” Erin clasps her hands behind her back. “So all it takes for one of you boys to fall in love is a good cookie?” She glances at me. “I’ll remember that.”

I can’t hide my smile when she looks at me this way. “I don’t need your cookies.” I’m already in love with you. “I’m a pie guy.”

“Pumpkin, wasn’t it?”

She knows damn well it’s pumpkin.

“With…” She saunters over and wraps her arms around my neck. “Extra…” She drags me down until our lips almost touch. “Cream.”

Erin kisses me in front of my brother and Maxine, and my dick hardens immediately. When she pulls back, her cheeks are flushed, and I have no clue what to do about the monster in my pants. Maxine pretends to look out the window and Cole is quietly laughing at me. I take a second to readjust myself.

“Okay, let’s get back to business,” I say, slapping my palms together.

We spend the next twenty minutes going through each room and walking the property line. Erin’s ideas sound great, as far as I can tell. Any time she has an idea she’s unsure of, she defaults to Cole and his approval.

“It’s not a load bearing wall, I don’t think. So yeah, it can come down.” He looks around the living room again. “That’s a good idea.”

“It’ll open things up and bring more light into the kitchen. We can put an island over there with seating and storage. If we bump out the living room a bit and move the mudroom to the back of the house, we can probably fit the laundry in there too.”

“Hell yeah. That’ll work. Then there will be more space in the kitchen for—”

“A sunroom.” They say at the same time.

Cole’s smile lights up the room again. “Damn girl, where’d you come from?”

“I’m from a special part of Hell.” Erin looks at her hand and wiggles her fingers. “Chipped two nails crawling out of there last night.”

That makes us all laugh.

“Marry me,” Cole practically begs. “Please, Erin. Be my wife.”

I smack the back of his head again.

It doesn’t deter him. “Imagine the magic we’d make on and off a construction project.”

She laughs again. I know he’s joking, which is the only reason I’m not strangling him. But I’m getting tired of it. “Stop wasting her time, Cole. She has a job interview to get to.”

“I’ll offer you one. Work with me. I’ll pay whatever price.”

Erin laughs again. “Wow. It doesn’t take much to impress you, huh?”

“On the contrary, I’m extremely difficult to impress.” Cole’s tone changes and the humor starts fading. “Which is why I’m dead serious.” He pulls out his wallet and hands her a card.

She looks at it, and I see her hands shake a little.

“No pressure or anything, but you’ve got an eye and, in this business, that’s a big asset. This whole time you’ve made decision after decision without a second-guess. My clients would appreciate someone with that level of confidence. And your taste is…” he makes a chef’s kiss. “I’m not blowing smoke here, Erin. My firm’s hiring so if you want to move to the bay side and work with some of the best architects and designers in the business, give me a call and I’ll set something up.”

She looks at me and I can’t tell if she’s searching for permission or assistance or what.

“I’ll walk you out,” I say, steering my brother towards the front door. “Say bye.”

“Bye!”

Cole puts on a show like I’m dragging him out the front door.

When we get outside, I’m two seconds away from punching him. “Stop flirting with her, dickhead!”

“What the hell are you thinking, hooking up with Glitch’s sister? Holy shit, Trey.” Cole’s humor is gone completely. “Does he even know?”

“Yes, he knows.”

“Doesn’t she have a kid?”

“Yeah. So?”

Cole shakes his head. “I hope you know what you’re doing, man. You better have a plan.”

I do, but I’m not telling Cole about it. He’ll blab to my entire family before I have a chance to set things in motion. “We’re taking it slow.”

“Slow.” Cole’s not buying it. “You brought her here. Are you planning to buy this place for the two of you?”

“Hell no.”

“So you really just want to flip it?”

“Yeah. And I asked her to come because she’s good at seeing past the mess.”

Cole shakes his head. “I wasn’t joking about that job offer. Make sure she knows it.”

My heart clenches because Cole’s not close to where she lives. The bay is hours away from here. Speaking of which, “Did you seriously drive five hours to come here and look at this place on dad’s behalf?”

“Fuck no. I was visiting this week and Dad told me about it. He was going to come but got called into a job last minute.”

Because if a worker can’t make it in, my father will step up and fill in the position himself. That man works way too much.

Says the man who’s about to take on a third job.

“It’s got good bones, man. It would be an easy flip. A lot of work, but manageable.”

“Think I should put in a bid?”

“If you don’t, I just might.” Cole scratches his chin and looks at the outside. “Roof needs to be replaced too. What are they asking for this place?”

“Ninety.”

“Offer sixty with no inspection and see if they’ll take it.”

I can’t imagine they’d go for such a low-ball offer, but whatever. “Thanks for showing up. I appreciate it.”

“Mom’s happy you’re inching closer to home. She seems to think you’ll be living in the house while you work on it.”

“That was the plan.” I look around and shake my head. I can’t imagine living here while I work on it. “I guess we’ll see.”

“Reid said you got an offer to work in his new department.”

My brothers talk too much. “Yeah.”

Cole’s eyebrows lifts to his hairline. “You think you can handle a new position at work, a house flip, and a woman like that who has a kid?”

A woman like that. I get in Cole’s face. “What do you mean by that?”

Cole puts his hands up and steps back from me. “I’m just saying, she should get undivided attention. You’re setting yourself up to give her barely any if you take all this on.”

He’s right, and I don’t want to admit. “I’ll handle it.”

“Yeah, well, good luck.” Cole pats my back as we hug goodbye and then I head back inside.

Erin’s going on and on with the realtor about more ideas with Cole’s card in her hand. They’re both laughing when I cut the moment short. “Erin, can I speak with you?” I hate to be rude. “In private.”

Her happy expression melts away to concern. “Sure.”

“I’ll be just outside,” Maxine says, hurrying to the front door.

Once we’re alone, I fight for breath as I close the distance between us. Before she can ask what’s wrong and before I ruin anything by opening my fat mouth, I cradle her face and kiss her.

She instantly melts into my arms, and I realize I don’t want to give this up for anything.

I also know I want to give Erin the world and I have no clue how to do it.

“Wow,” she says, stumbling back a little. “What was that for?” Her breathlessness makes my ego puff out because I made her that way.

“I just couldn’t help myself.”

“Well, lose control more often.” She wraps her arms around my neck. “Please.”

“Since you used your manners.” I kiss her again and this time, lift her up so her legs hook around my waist. I carry her into the kitchen and set her on the counter.

I’d give anything to fuck her right here, right now, but I didn’t bring a condom. So I settle for the next best thing. “Tell me your ideas,” I growl. “I want to hear them again.” Skating my fingers up her dress, I slide her panties to the side and sink a finger into her pussy. Pumping slowly, I aim upwards to hit her g-spot. “Come on. Tell me.”

Erin’s already breathing heavy. Her nails dig into my shoulders as she clings to me while I fingerbang her in the kitchen while the realtor is within hearing distance away from us.

“Come on. Tell me.” I add a second digit.

“Take… oh god… take down those two w-walls.” Her lashes flutter while I pick up pace. “And… blue’s nice. Paint. So paint. Such good… fuck…”

“Blue paint on the walls?”

“Huh?” She’s spreading wider for me now. “Yeah. Walls. There’s walls.”

I bite my lip to keep from laughing. Then I make her come around my hand. “That’s a good fucking girl.” I pull out and suck my fingers clean. “When you get back from your interview, I’m fucking you until you pass out. Understand me?”

Erin nods, still trying to catch her breath. “Yes, Sir.”

Not gonna lie. I like her calling me Sir.

We leave the house and I tell Maxine we’ll be in touch. Then I kiss my girl once more and allow her to keep her panties on for once, even though I’m dying to keep them as a souvenir.

“I should be home by five-thirty,” she says.

“Can I pick Beetle up from camp?”

Erin’s brow furrows. “Glitch was going to get him for me.”

“Is that a yes or a no?”

“I don’t want to put you out.”

“Is that a yes or a no, Erin?”

I know she’s fighting the demons in her head that are calling her a burden. I can practically feel her guilt and trepidation squeeze the air out of the space between us.

“Yes,” she says quietly. “I think he’d love that.”

I grab her chin and press my mouth to hers, gently. “Thank you.”

She turns away but not before I see her smile. “Wish me luck?”

“You don’t need it,” I tell her. “But I’ll wish it for you anyway. They’ll be the luckiest company in the world to have you.”

And I’m the luckiest man because she’s going to come home to me.