Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 50801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
“Can't wait,” he says. “How long do you need before we head to your place?”
“An hour?” I ask instead of state the time. I’d like to take a long hot shower before I get my day officially started.
“Sounds good,” he says before moving past me and down the hallway, likely toward his in-home gym. It doesn't matter that it's off-season, Paxton won't let his workout routine slip.
And it takes all of the strength I possess to get ready for work instead of following him around like a lost puppy, grateful to have been rescued.
CHAPTER 3
PAXTON
I’m meeting Monroe at her apartment in an hour, so I take the solo time to get the house cleaned up. I usually keep a pretty tidy place, but I can't resist the urge to recheck everything in the guest bedroom that’s now officially Monroe’s. I want everything to be comfortable for her.
The rest of the house is easy enough to straighten up, but I make a point to head to one of my drop station zones in the entryway, and open the small drawer of the table that rests against the wall.
I easily spot the slightly dusty velvet jewelry box and grab it. I shut the drawer, and pop the lid on the box, looking at the ring I've had since I was sixteen years old. My grandmother gave it to me before she passed, saying it was meant for my future wife. I run my finger over the solitaire diamond set amongst a dozen sapphires, the band itself made of white gold.
I can't help but picture it on Monroe’s hand because she’s the only woman I’ve ever imagined spending the rest of my life with.
I know better than anyone that Monroe doesn't want to get married, and besides that, we've never even hinted at a relationship beyond our deep friendship. I know her reasoning for never getting into serious relationships, and she’s well within her rights to fear everything that comes with commitment and trust. Her mother’s profession had done that naturally—she’s seen too many people ripped apart by divorce.
I close the box, taking the ring into my room and depositing it in the top drawer of my dresser, moving it to make room in my drop station for Monroe’s keys.
A few hours later, we've made our last trip from Monroe’s apartment to my house. It took several to get all of her stuff, not to mention the side stops to donate the furniture she no longer wanted or needed.
I shuffle the last box inside now, Monroe holding the door open for me, the two of us looking like quite a pair, exhausted yet satisfied with the progress. Tomorrow the cleaners will tackle her apartment and then after that, she'll be free.
She'll officially be living with me until she finds her next suitable place to live.
Luckily, we hadn't run into Liam, but I saw his car in the parking lot. Maybe he’s being smart and listening to my earlier warnings, or maybe he just doesn’t give a shit. Either way, it was a bonus.
“I ordered dinner,” Monroe says after I put another box in her room, this one labeled massage lotions that belongs to her work supply.
“Thanks,” I say. “I'm starving. Do I have time to take a quick shower?”
“Oh, I was going to take one,” she says. “But you can totally go first.”
I laugh. “It's okay, we can take one at the same time.”
Monroe's eyes flare wide, and she visibly swallows, her mouth opening and shutting a few times.
A bolt of heat sears straight down my spine at the way she's looking at me…like she’s seriously contemplating the two of us showering together.
“I have two showers,” I hurry to say, my voice rough.
A heaved breath rushes from her lungs, and she laughs the way she does whenever she finds something awkward or uncomfortable.
Jesus, did she really think I was suggesting she hop in the shower with me?
Wait…she didn't say no immediately.
Was it shock or was she actually entertaining the idea?
Fuck me, just the thought of getting her body soaking wet, my hands soaping up her skin, has me growing hard in seconds flat.
“Right,” she says. “And you have a house with an awesome water heater, so you don't lose hot water quickly like I did in my apartment. Sorry, it’s going to take me some time to adjust.”
“All good,” I say and point toward her bedroom. “I put fresh towels in your bathroom and stocked it with that shampoo and conditioner you like. There’s also that shower oil you always use too.”
I hurry to turn around, barely acknowledging her quick thank you as I rush into my room and shut the door. I look down at myself, shaking my head.
I'm not a fucking teenager, but with the way my body is reacting to my wildest fantasies of my best friend, you’d think so.