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She’d taken me at my word when I’d suggested that she should take a shower, and I’d been the idiot who had forgotten everything that had happened that day.
Her skin was just as perfect as I thought that it would be, a sheer expanse of opalescence that stretched over her rich, luscious curves. Her red hair was down, and it was long enough to skim the top of her perfect ass. Just as she turned toward me, I caught a glimpse of one of her gorgeous tits and instantly felt all of the blood rush out of my head.
“I—I’m sorry. I didn’t—I forgot.” I backed out of the door of the bathroom and shut the door quickly behind me.
Well, what a way to make a vulnerable woman feel safe, I thought to myself, turning and hitting my head against the world. Amazing. Not even an hour in my home, and I was already fucking up.
I went to the kitchen and started pulling out the ingredients for the dinner I’d planned on. I put the eggplants, tomatoes, and zucchini in the sink, starting to wash all of them before pulling them back out and starting to slice them. I settled into the rhythm of cooking the familiar dish, letting myself smell the herbs and remember everything that making this particular food had prompted in my heart. By the time I slid the dish into the oven, I was a lot more settled than I had been.
But unfortunately, I was still seeing her beautiful, naked body every time I closed my eyes.
“Um… hi.”
I turned around, and I’d never been more thankful for the kitchen island than I was in that second when it stood at the perfect height to hide the raging erection that was resurrected just at the sound of her voice.
Her ivory skin was now flushed a gorgeous, dusky red, and I couldn’t tell whether it was from embarrassment or from the heat of her shower. It was probably both, and I felt even shittier than I had when I’d first walked in on her. The usual smell of her skin was magnified by the smell of my shampoo on her long, damp hair, and I was seized by a sudden desire to bury my hands in her mane and let my fingers get shackled in it.
No. Apologies first, fantasies after.
“I’m so sorry about before,” I said, my voice crackling. “I think—I think I just forgot that you were here for a minute, despite the fact that I was the one who invited you to stay. I’ve been alone for so long. I feel like such an idiot.”
“It’s not a big deal,” she said, coming up and sitting on one of the tall barstools in front of me. “I’m sure I’m not the first girl that you’ve seen naked. But I feel like I should’ve… warned you or something.”
“About what? That you were taking me up on my offer of a shower?” I shook my head. “Don’t apologize for that.”
We stayed there in silence for a minute, a little unsure of each other.
“That smells good,” she said, gesturing with her chin to the oven. “What is it?”
“It is—” The timer went off, and I turned around, pulling out the steaming casserole dish. “—ratatouille.”
She leaned over and raised an eyebrow at me.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing. I just… didn’t peg you for a French chef,” she said.
“My nephew is obsessed with the movie. He and I would make it together.” My heart tightened at the thought of Patrick, Neil and Jackie’s son, and I turned away from her as I swallowed.
“That’s really sweet,” she said. I pulled out two plates and dished out the stew for us.
“Now that I’ve told you something, I think you should tell me something,” I said. Her fingers tightened around the fork at my tone. “You don’t have to tell me everything; just tell me why you’re here.”
She looked up at me. “I’m here because you asked me to stay.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes. And I asked you to stay because you were clearly panicking at the idea of going home. So tell me why it was so unsafe for you to go home.”
She swallowed, and I saw her hand go even whiter. “I—I can’t.”
I huffed a breath. “I think you can. And more than that, I think you should. At the very least so that I know what I’m dealing with.”
“And what’s the other part?” she asked, her blue eyes sparking as she looked up at me. “Do you think I owe you an explanation or something?”
“Did I say anything about you owing me?” I asked, feeling my temper rise. “That’s not what this is about.”
“Of course it is,” she said.
“Whatever you say.” I held my hands up in surrender. “I’m not fighting about this bullshit.” I went to the door and grabbed Bucky’s leash. “I’m going for a walk. Do me a favor and stay put, okay? We can make a plan for you to get your stuff tomorrow. Eat whatever you want.”
