Page 77 of John + Siena: The Complete Duet

TEN

John’s place was spotless …

Siena kept that thought in mind as she finished up washing the last few dishes from the pancake mess she had made. A plate of pancakes sat on the cupboard, untouched and getting cooler by the minute.

She remembered the night before that Johnathan’s bed had been perfectly made before they climbed in it, and messed it all up. Then, when he left this morning, he had taken five minutes to fix his bed again before he left the house.

For a bachelor who lived on his own, Siena expected Johnathan to be at least a little untidy. Like most men who lived alone were. A few clothes scattered somewhere. A floor that could use a sweep. Knickknacks or mismatched treasures spread out on shelves or tables.

Nothing.

Johnathan had none of those.

His place was meticulously clean. His floors were shiny enough that someone could probably eat off them. She noticed that morning even the clothes in his walk-in closet were carefully hung by color, and arranged by each type of item.

It was all a little OCD-like, in some ways. Except … Siena knew Johnathan likely wasn’t struggling with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. She only leaned toward that impression because she noticed him, too.

He didn’t say a word when she went through his kitchen, or made a mess. He didn’t have any strange rituals or compulsions, so to speak, for her to take note of. He washed his hands before and after he ate, and when he went to the bathroom, but that was about it.

Was it possible he just managed the disorder through tidiness and organizing every little thing? Sure, but she really didn’t think that was the case at all.

Siena was also quite aware that OCD could not be simplified in to strange habits and a compulsive need to do very specific things.

She really shouldn’t be speculating at all.

It wasn’t her place.

Those pancakes are going to be disgusting.

Siena scrubbed the massive bowl John had barely needed to reach for. She eyed the stack of three pancakes on the plate a couple of feet away.

She didn’t know what to do with them because she didn’t have the first clue when John was going to be back. The man had no plastic wrap in his house to put over food—she hadn’t even found containers for leftovers.

Whether or not that was because John didn’t eat leftovers, or perhaps it was something else entirely. Like the fact those containers always somehow magically lost their lids, made a mess in the cupboard, and were not at all very tidy despite how the commercials made them look.

Who knew?

Siena had also noticed in her search of the kitchen that Johnathan tended to favor healthy foods. Organic seemed to be a favorite of his, like the eggs in the fridge, and the honey she had used on her own pancakes. However, that corn syrup in the fridge was not healthy at all.

Seemed he made a few exceptions.

Like the Oreos in the pantry.

Siena smiled to herself as she rinsed off the bowl. For as fit as John was, she couldn’t exactly imagine him binging on a package of cookies.

But what did she know?

Siena went about drying the dishes and putting them all away. She opted to leave the big bowl on the cupboard beside the pantry where she had found it.

The clock on the wall said it was only nine, which meant she still had a couple of hours before she needed to be at her father’s dealership. It only really registered to her in that moment that her phone had been dark all night and morning.

No calls from Matteo.

No calls from her brothers.

None of them had even come downstairs when Johnathan left the night before, so she seriously doubted that they knew she had left with him. Except … her car was still at her parents’ brownstone, so they must have suspected.

Yet, no calls.