When someone gasped, I glanced up to see the nerd—Callie. She wore only a tiny blue towel that matched her glasses. My body reacted instantly to the curves she hid behind her baggyjeans and hoodies. I sat up quickly before anyone noticed—but banged my head off the basin.
She squealed and ran, but not before I caught a glimpse of her perky little cheeks.
I wouldn’t have minded being her professor. The things I’d do to that—
Oh, fuck. What was I thinking? She was my tenant, sixteen years younger than me. But she was a year older than Melissa, and Melissa was all over me.
I remembered all four dates from their paperwork. I’d just been checking that they were able to enter a contract, not that they were legal for—
No. I was just being cautious.
I shook my head and went back to tightening the pipe, ignoring Melissa’s fingers trailing over my shoulder.
Although, Professor Graves had a nice ring to it.
?? ?? ??
Sunday—8 a.m.
Callie, the nerd, shuffled into the kitchen with a carton of eggs and a gold-foil block of butter. She wore a fluffy white-and-grey robe, hood and all.
I lowered my binoculars, wondering why she wasn’t using the extra-large fridge I’d installed in the property.
Then the memories came flooding back. Sharing a communal kitchen was a nightmare for food theft. Hell, it even happened at work back when I used to go into the office.
She turned to fill the kettle, and I ducked out of sight.
This was getting out of hand.
Still, I stayed crouched for a few moments before slowly raising my head again. Therecouldbe a fire hazard in their kitchen. The smoke detector might fail.
It was best I checked the batteries next time I was over.
I crawled over to the coffee machine. It was that time of the month again—when my sister and her horde came to perform their welfare check. Coffee was a prerequisite for survival today.
I was sure my mother had put her up to it. Even from Spain, she still wanted intel.
?? ?? ??
Despite my usual grumpiness, Ella and Harry’s giggles as they ran up the path made me smile. I held my phone, waiting for Harry to lift the tiny tyrant high enough to ring the doorbell.
“Yes? Who is this?” I said in my best dramatic voice through the phone.
“It’s Ella!”
“And Harry!”
“Who?”
“Uncle Alistair, it’sus,” Harry said with a frown.
“I need to pee,” Ella whispered loudly.
“Oh, shit,” I muttered, rushing to open the door.
“No, she saidpee,” Harry corrected.
I yanked the door open, and they practically spilled through the doorway. I bent down to kiss Harry’s head before scooping Ella up and sprinting for the bathroom. One day of kiddie chaos—that, I could handle. Especially when it came packaged in such sweet little humans.
