"Are you insane?! Hewillkill me!”
She laughs even louder at my panicked tone when I dash for the drawer she glanced at earlier. I throw it open with so much force, it sails into the air. I’m not superman; the drawer is just as bare as my backside.
As feet stomping up a set of stairs boom into my ears, I toss open the remaining three drawers in Regan's room. There isn't a single article of clothing to be found—not even a dress I’d happily wear for the remainder of the weekend.
I can only hope Regan dug my grave as efficiently as she cleared her room of apparel because things are about to get messy. I swear to God, my heart is thrashing against my ribs, and just because my stomach is empty hasn’t prevented it from trying to empty itself repeatedly. Men like Hayden don’t joke when they say they have a shotgun. They usually have many, in very convenient places—such as outside their daughters’ bedrooms.
I realize Regan has everyone fooled with her nice girl act when her bedroom door swings open a few seconds later. Mercifully, it isn’t her father coming to disembowel me. It is her mother reminding her that her father left to milk the cows over two hours ago.
"Is there anything I can help you with . . .?" Sally’s words stop halfway out of her mouth when she spots me standing just left of Regan. I tried to shelter myself behind Regan. Although she is tall, her petite frame has no chance in hell of hiding a man with shoulders as broad as mine.
“Sally,” I greet, dipping my chin as my hands lower to cover my deflating crotch. “Pleasant morning.”
“So it seems,” Sally replies, her voice picking up right alongside her smile. “Did you sleep well?”
With words eluding me, I nod.
“Good. I’m glad.” With a wink, Sally pivots around to face Regan. “You were right. Decades change nothing.”
I wait for Sally to leave before shifting my eyes to Regan. I want to yell at her for embarrassing me—not as much as I want to kiss the impish grin off her face—but before I can do either of those things, she snags my duffle bag from the hallway, tosses it into my chest, then exits her room.
"Meet me downstairs in five minutes. I've got some stuff I want to show you today."
Gobsmacked, I shout, “Really, Rae? That’s it?! Who’s leaving who hanging now?”
When she fails to reply to my taunt with her usual quick wit, I sneak a glance out her bedroom door. Her gallop down the stairwell stops halfway, but her eyes remain front and center.
Her unusual quietness causes precum to pool at the crest of my cock. She’s not speechless because she’s void of a retort. She’s struggling to ignore the sexual tension teeming between us. It’s nice knowing I’m not the only one straining to maintain a rational head.
“If I did any of the wicked things streaming through my head right now, my dadwouldkill you,” Regan warns after a short stint of silence.
“I know,” I reply. “You’ll be worth it.” My last sentence is barely a whisper.
I can’t see her, but I know she is smiling. I can feel it deep in my bones.
My intuition is proven spot on when she cranks her neck back to peer at me. Her smile is one I haven’t seen before. It is carefree and untroubled, as relaxed and beautiful as the person she embodies when she’s on home turf.
"Meet me downstairs," she requests with a jerk of her chin. "There is a whole day waiting for us."
With a wink to finalize the words she can’t express, she finishes galloping down the stairs.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I stop picking at the grapes on the kitchen counter when my mom chokes on her words. Her emotional response has nothing to do with the tale she’s sharing, and everything to do with Alex’s unexpected presence.
Taking a page out of my book, he has dressed more casually than I've seen him. He still has on the beloved JC Penney jeans he's worn the past two days, but the light blue coloring has been swapped for a dark-washed pair, and his dress shirt and blazer have been replaced with a plain white T and a devastating smile. He even trimmed his scraggly beard, bringing it an inch closer to his ravishing jawline.
His Viking look shouldn’t pair well with a cheap suit and polished dress shoes, and his casual look matches his sleek appearance just as fittingly. The contrast between his attire and his handsome face should seem odd, but the only word I can conjure to describe him is “yum!”
Unsure of the cause of our silence, Alex gestures his head to the stairwell. “Too casual?”
Not waiting for me to answer, he takes the first two steps at the speed of a bullet.
"No!" my mom and I shout in sync.
“You look perfect. Come eat.” Mom guides him to the vacant stool next to me, her cheeks inflaming when she catches a whiff of his seductive scent. “From what Regan’s told me, you’re set for an adventurous day, so we better fill your belly.”
When she spins to load his plate with the pancakes, bacon, and eggs she prepares every morning, Alex shifts his eyes to me.
