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“So am I. This is my busy season, and I’ve got so much to do, so I’ll be awake. Don’t worry,” I assured him. “Good night.”

We went our separate directions, and when I closed my door behind me, I pressed my back to it, willing my pulse to slow. I wasn’t going to bed. Not without that lemon.

Closing my eyes, I listened.

Old house meant old pipes. Old pipes meant noise every time water flowed through them. And if water was flowing, that meant Blaze was contained in the shower and the bedroom would be clear.

Minutes ticked with my heart clawing up my throat. Doors opened and shut upstairs. Blaze’s heavy footfalls echoed down the walls. And finally, the groan and whoosh of water through the plumbing. He was about to get in the shower.

And this was my last chance to get my vibrator.

I gave it five minutes. The water took forever to heat out here, but five was plenty to make sure Blaze was in the shower when I returned upstairs.

I cringed at the creak of the floorboards on the steps, but didn’t stop moving. All I needed was thirty seconds in that room. A blip of time. It was going to be fine.

Heartbeats pummeled through my veins as I reached the landing. Both doors to the bedrooms had been left open. My first feeling was relief; I wouldn’t have to turn the old metal doorknob that let out a loud pop every time the latch released. But then came anxiety. It was Paisley’s first night in a new house; sure, she’d seemed zonked after the move today, but Blaze said she slept light and today was a big day for her. Tonight, her first night in a new house. What if she woke up and came looking for Blaze? What if I scared her?

Be quick. That was my only option.

I tiptoed to my—Blaze’s bedroom door and leaned against the molding, as I stopped to listen. Inside, the shower swished loud enough that I knew without seeing that the bathroom door was left open, too. Of course. In case Paisley needed him.

A sound came from Paisley’s room—a whimper and then a soft “Daddy?”

Crap.

I had to get out of here.

Without another thought, I slipped through the doorway into my former bedroom, and immediately slammed my foot into the suitcase Blaze had parked just inside the door. My toes crunched in pain and I slapped my hand over my mouth to keep from crying out. How such tiny bones could cause such gargantuan pain was an inexplicable phenomenon of the human condition.

I hobbled a step when Paisley called for her dad again, and I heard her feet hit the floor.

Adrenaline kicked in and I practically dove for the far side of the bed, yanking out the bottom drawer and grabbing the lemon. Gotcha. I pushed the drawer shut and curled tight to the side of the bed just as I heard Paisley in the bathroom.

“Daddy…I’m scared.”

My heart broke at her wavering voice.

“It’s okay, pumpkin. I’m right here.” Blaze’s voice echoed around the shower, and I heard the swish of the shower curtain. I imagined his head peeking out from behind the fabric. “What’s wrong?”

“I woke up and it was too dark. I…forgot we’re at Harper’s.”

My heart broke, realizing she’d woken up and not known where she was. Probably—especially because she’d fallen asleep downstairs and then Blaze brought her to bed.

“It’s okay, pumpkin. Do you want to leave this door open and I’ll leave the bathroom light on?”

“Yeah,” she said so softly I almost didn’t hear it.

“Okay. Leave it open and as soon as I’m dry, I’ll come in and read you a story. How does that sound?” he rumbled tenderly.

The way Blaze was so soft for her, so genuine, and so rough around the edges with everyone else was the kind of thing that made me glad I was already lying flat on my back on the floor because swooning, at this exact moment in time, would’ve been a horrible complication.

Her bare feet slapped a quick path out of the room, and my eyes focused on the ceiling. Did I try to slip out now? While Blaze finished—The shower shut off.

So much for that.

It was fine. It would still be fine. I paced my breathing with my hands clutched over my sternum like a corpse in a coffin. A corpse clutching her vibrator. Just breathe. In a few seconds, Blaze would be in Paisley’s room, and I could sneak back downstairs. It was still all going to be fine.

I closed my eyes and listened. The curtain swishing open and the flutter of a towel. Listened to Blaze’s footsteps move in the small bathroom and then—oh god—into the bedroom.