Accidentally in Love Read Online Free PDF Page B

“That way we won’t be tripping over the small things.”

    “A man with a plan,” Jason said. “And one who can see that after three trips up and down the stairs, I’ll need a cold beer.”

    “Beer?” Tom flushed. “I don’t actually have any—”

    “We do.” Jason produced a six-pack from the cooler he was carrying. “There’s more in the truck, but this should keep the dust down.”

    “I’ll put these suitcases in the closet. We can put some of the smaller stuff on the grass until the furniture is in. Don’t touch the stuff in my car. I’ll get that myself.” It included his computer and his very expensive digital cameras, and he wasn’t going to take a chance on someone breaking them.

    “You know, Tom,” Jason gasped half an hour later as the three of them tried to wrestle one of the only pieces of furniture Cal was actually attached to—an enormous thing with drawers and a closet/shelf section—up the front staircase. “You should really think about giving roommates the downstairs rooms. Unless you’re some kind of secret sadist.”

    “In which case”—Tom gasped, knocking his shoulder into the wall and wincing—“it’s a pretty crappy secret.”

    Calvin would have laughed, but he was too busy hissing as his knuckles scraped against the door frame, leaving what felt like a couple of inches of skin behind. “Almost there. Right…just a little…okay, down .”

    He straightened up painfully, one hand on his lower back, which was protesting the activity.
     
    “You’re buying us dinner, right?” Jason asked.

    “I’ll buy you three dinners,” Cal told him gratefully. “I never could have done this without help. This was the worst of it, though. The desk unscrews into about six pieces, and I already put them in the office while you guys were bringing in the chair.”

    The chair was in the corner of the bedroom, a large, upholstered chair with a strange pattern, as if paisley and abstract art had had a love child. Several people had commented on how ugly it was over the years. Cal ignored them. He liked it. It was comfortable, and he didn’t care what it looked like when he was sitting in it. Plus he had a tendency to toss clothes over it, which hid the ugliness.

    “Want me to put the desk together?” Tom offered.
     
    “Are you saying you’re good at screwing?” Jason asked, lifting an eyebrow. Cal was glad to see that Jason’s almost-marriage to George hadn’t dimmed his personality.

    To his surprise, Tom didn’t throw back a lighthearted remark, the way he had been all afternoon once he’d loosened up. Jason was clearly waiting for one, an expectant grin on his face. Tom just flushed pink and stood there, a troubled frown appearing as he visibly searched for words.

    “I-I mean, well—”

    The wait for Tom to finish his sentence grew awkward, and Cal, moved by a protective impulse he didn’t examine too closely, slid his arm around Tom’s wide shoulders and guided him away and over to the office. “Stop flirting with Tom,” he threw back over his shoulder. “He’s got work to do.”

    “I’m okay,” Tom said once they were in the office, his voice low. He shrugged away from Cal’s arm. “I’m just not good at that. Being all…”

    “Friendly.” Cal felt bemused. “That’s all. Having fun isn’t something you have to work at.”

    “Not for you, maybe,” Tom said with finality. He nodded at the disassembled desk. “What wall do you want it against?”

    Cal decided they could come back to this conversation at a future time. “Hm. I guess here, unless it’s too tall to fit under the window? Otherwise I’ll get glare on the monitor when the sun’s coming in.”

    Already bending to lift one of the side supports, Tom nodded. “I think it’ll fit okay. There’s only the one outlet on this wall, though, so you’ll probably need a power strip.”

    “I’ve got one,” Cal said. “Somewhere.”

    “Let me guess.” Tom straightened