Page 45 of Always My Love

“It will have to dry overnight as it is. Tomorrow we can grout,” he told them. “If you need, you both are welcome to use the guest shower at my place.”

“Are we that ripe?” Hailey joked, causing him to chuckle.

“No, just offering.”

“Thanks, but I’ve been using the showers at the club.” She glanced down at her watch. “I have another session with Reece in an hour. I’ll get my things and head down early so I don’t knock him out with my stench.” Hailey laughed as she left the kitchen.

“How about you?” he asked Harper.

She bit her bottom lip and then sighed. “Yes, fine, I stink and I’d love a shower. I don’t think I can wait two more days either. I’ll get a bag of my things and meet you over at your place.”

He tried to hide his smile by leaning down and petting Lucy and Blue. Then he headed back home.

He had every intention of convincing her to stick around after the shower long enough to talk for a few hours, have dinner, and possibly even watch a movie or go for a walk with the dogs. Hell, what he really wanted to do was spend a few hours necking on the sofa. He was perfectly fine with any of those options.

Before she arrived, he put a few dishes away that were drying on the rack in the sink.

Normally, he made sure everything was perfect before he left his place. He supposed it was something left over from his military days. But he’d also grown up in a neat and tidy home and enjoyed coming home to a clean house.

He wasn’t annoying about it or anything. He’d dated a girl in high school who was a borderline slob. It hadn’t bothered him at first. Then he’d gotten into her car one time and had stepped on a slice of moldy pizza on the floorboard of her car.

She’d giggled off the incident, and a week later he’d broken things off.

Harper and Hailey’s place was older and outdated, but it was just as tidy as his place. That told him a lot about the sisters.

He knew by Harper’s stories that they hadn’t grown up with much. What they did have, they treasured and took care of.

Whatever Harper had or hadn’t done in her past to protect her sister, there was no doubt in his mind that she wasn’t a bad person.

When Harper knocked on the door, Blue rushed to greet her and Lucy.

“Hey.” He opened the door wide for them.

“I really appreciate this,” Harper said, shifting a backpack on her shoulder.

“I should have offered it sooner,” he admitted as he shut the door behind them.

“I can use the one in the basement,” she said as the dogs chased one another. “They just saw each other less than fifteen minutes ago.” She laughed when they almost knocked her over.

“Yeah, I think they each get lonely when the other isn’t around. Go, shower. I’m going to head up and do the same.”

She frowned as she headed towards the stairs. “That won’t eat up the hot water, will it?”

“No, there’s plenty. Shower for as long as you want.” He went up the stairs.

While he showered, all he could think about was her, two floors below him, naked and wet.

He pulled on a pair of clean clothes when he was done and went downstairs to make something to eat.

When Harper came upstairs, freshly showered and in a clean pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, he had two steaks, baked potatoes, green beans, and rolls warming in the oven and an opened bottle of wine on the table.

“Hungry?” he asked as she set her bag down near the door.

“I wasn’t until I smelled all that.” She motioned to the table. “Wow, it smells amazing. How did you cook all this so quickly?”

He laughed. “You took a long shower.”

She groaned. “I could spend another hour there. It felt so good.” She wrapped her arms around herself as she sat down. He took the spot next to her and poured her a glass of wine.