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“Can I get some help over here?” Grayson grouses with a teasing grin. He’s perfectly capable of taking care of the saddle on his own, but I know he wants London to learn. The more she works with the horses, the easier it’ll be for her to get over her nerves.

“Oops, sorry, Daddy.” London flounces over to Grayson and helps him with the buckles.

I follow behind her, smoothing my hand down Ransom’s neck. He’s such a steady horse, despite having been worked to the point of neglect in his previous life.

Once Ransom is settled in his stall for the night, the three of us head inside. Grayson heads for a shower while London and I reheat our dinner.

“London, do you know if the dishes in the dishwasher are clean? There aren’t any clean plates in the cabinet.”

She shrugs. “I dunno.”

I call out to Grayson from the hallway to ask him. When he doesn’t respond, I head back to his room to see if he heard me. The sight of Grayson completely naked in the middle of his bedroom greets me. I gasp, quickly spinning around and apologizing while he laughs.

“Why the heck didn’t you close your door?” I chastise him. God, the image of his perfectly tanned backside will be branded into my brain forever. Luckily, he was turned toward his dresser instead of facing the door. I’m not sure I’d have survived getting a full-frontal look at my best friend.

“You knew I was showering, Ladybug. What did you think you’d find coming back here?”

“I figured your door would be closed, or maybe the bathroom door would be. Who walks around their house naked?”

“It’s safe to turn around now. And a lot of people. You never walked naked from your bathroom to your closet?”

I peek over my shoulder before turning around. Safe isn’t the word I’d have chosen. Gray has on a pair of low-slung sweatpants that make it clear he’s not wearing underwear. That thought sends a shiver of awareness through me that I have no business feeling.

“No. I didn’t.” I don’t mention that Chris never made me feel confident enough to do so.

“Well, that’s a shame.” Grayson’s eyes trail down my body before jumping back to my face.

Was he just imagining me naked?

And why do I like the idea of that? My traitorous body starts to heat at the thought of what might happen if we were both naked right now.

Stop that this instant.

These damn hormones might be the death of me. Would I be feeling this way if I weren’t pregnant?

Yes. I’ve always found Grayson attractive, but he’s never looked at me the way he is right now, not to mention the fact that I’ve been married for the majority of my adult life.

You’re technically still married.

Goddammit! Focus.

“I came to ask you if the dishes in the dishwasher are clean.”

Gray hesitates, searching my face as if he’s trying to interpret the expression on my face. Good luck, honey. Not even I know what’s happening to me. “Uh. Yes, they are. I ran it this morning.”

“Great. Okay. So dinner is ready then.” I turn around and run away from the way he’s still looking at me. I cannot have my best friend knowing how naughty my thoughts about him have become. It would destroy the years of trust we’ve built in our friendship.

I’m going to have to lock down my hormones a little tighter around him. It’s getting harder and harder to stop myself from thinking about how good it would feel to have Grayson’s hands on my body.

It’s as if the floodgates opened after that first night I imagined him taking care of my needs. The loyalty I had to my husband is gone, and while my friendship with Grayson should be a deterrent, it’s only making it easier to create these fantasies.

But if I continue to build on them, I could lose the one person who matters most to me.

CHAPTER 14

Grayson

Iblow out a long breath. What the fuck was that?