He must sense my hesitation because he adds, “It’s not a big deal. Really, it’s the least we can do since we’re in your hair longer than expected.”
Oh. Maybe I’m overthinking this. I register that he still hasn’t said anything about knowing who I am. Maybe he doesn’t recognize me after all.
I toss him a grateful smile. “Thank you.”
He extends an open palm toward me, and I take a moment to study it. It’s rough and calloused, yet sturdy and capable. My first thought is that this is a man who’s good with his hands. I wonder what else he can do with them.God. I need to get my mind out of the gutter. I haven’t been celibate for that long, have I?
“Um, can I have your key?” he says after a beat, and I realize that I am once again gawking like a teenage girl. There’s a flit of amusement in his expression. “For the bags.”
“Yes. Right,” I manage.Get it together, Marissa. I hope the mortification isn’t written all over my face.
I grab the key from my purse, and he gives me a polite smile when I drop it into his palm.
“We’ll wrap things up for the day while you’re out and be gone by the time you get home. I’m sure you’ll want some time to settle in. And as my brother was saying, we should be finished by next week. Since you don’t need anything beyond flooring, it’s a pretty quick job.”
My gaze drifts from his and I do a quick survey of my surroundings. As I take in the chipped cabinetry and the crack in the kitchen window, I find myself wondering if the tub faucet upstairs still leaks.
“I mean, do you think there’s anything else that needs to be done? Now that I’m here, I can see that the house could use a little TLC. Maybe some fresh paint and new cabinets? I’d be happy to hear some ideas from your team.” The words are out of my mouth before I even register them.What am I doing?Five minutes ago, I was counting the minutes until the crew was out of my house, and now, I’m trying to prolong their stay? I’m like a pervy director whosuddenlyneeds multiple retakes of a sex scene. Am I really that hard up for the company of an attractive man?
Jesse’s eyebrows shoot up. It’s clear this is not the response he was expecting. In fairness, it’s also not the response I was expecting.
“Oh, um… sure. Those things are mostly cosmetic, so we can loop in my sister-in-law, Shelby. She does our interior design. I’m sure she’d be happy to sketch out some ideas for you. Maybe she can swing by next week, check the place out?”
“Shelby is the GOAT!” Toby calls from the other room, and I can’t help but breathe out a laugh. I still can’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s something about these guys that feels comfortable. Like nothing too terrible could ever happen in their presence.
One corner of Jesse’s mouth rises. “Great. I’ll let her know you’re interested. In the meantime, I’ll grab your stuff and then you can be on your way.”
4JESSE
“So, what was she like? Is she as gorgeous in real life as she is on-screen? Did she say anything about Rocky and Rayna? So help me, Jesse, you’d better not skimp on a single detail.”
Toby shakes his head at his wife’s interrogation as he carries the last of the food over to the table. He sets down in front of Charlotte a plastic plate of pasta that’s been cut into toddler-sized bites and doused in Parmesan, then scoops a ladle of peas on top. My three-year-old niece gathers the vegetables in her tiny fist. She holds her father’s gaze, then smirks as she dumps them unceremoniously onto the floor. It takes every ounce of strength not to snort in amusement. You’ve got to respect a strong-willed woman.
My brother sighs as he sets a large ceramic bowl of spaghetti in the center of the table and then takes a seat beside Shelby. Based on the look on my sister-in-law’s face, the only thing she’s hungry for this evening is gossip. We usually have dinner together on Sunday nights, but when Shelby heard that we mettheMarissa Morgan this afternoon, she insisted on bumping up family time to tonight. She should know she’s come to the wrong place for shameless gossip.
“Well?” she presses.
I shrug and spoon a heap of pasta onto my plate, covertly sneakinga bite to my boxer, Diesel, who’s waiting patiently beneath the table. He huffs with delight as he gobbles it down with a level of enthusiasm I won’t be sharing. My brother is a terrible cook, but neither Shelby nor I have ever had the heart to tell him as much. Especially since the family-style suppers he prepares are the highlight of his week. And mine, not that I’ll ever admit it. He loves being able to carry on the tradition we grew up with, even though Dad’s been gone for years. And Mom… well. In any case, it’s just the four of us now, which is why I show up to my brother’s house on a weekly basis, let my niece dress me in princess accessories, and happily eat his overcooked spaghetti.
“We exchanged two sentences and then she took her kids out for dinner. She seemed normal, I guess.”
This is a bald-faced lie. “Normal” is the last word anyone would use to describe Marissa Morgan.
I’ve seen her movies, of course. Who hasn’t? I’ll even admit to watching a few episodes of that after-school show from the kids network. The one with all the singing. But the screen does no justice to the flesh-and-blood reality of her.
Warm brown eyes. Hair the color of fresh pennies. A full bottom lip that she chewed on while weighing the decision to let me help her with her bags. Her face has been burned into the backs of my eyelids, like one of those visual illusions you experience after staring at a bright light. Not that I have any intention of admitting this to Shelby, of all people. I love her like a sister, but she’s a fiend for gossip, and if you throw her a line, she’ll drag you right into the lake.
The other thing I’ve neglected to mention to Shelby is that today was not the first time I’ve seen Marissa Morgan in person.
Not by a long shot.
If my sister-in-law knew the truth about our past, she might spontaneously combust.
“Well, she’s not pregnant!” Toby announces triumphantly as he fills his plate. “So, you were wrong about that.”
Shelby’s brow furrows as she turns to my brother. “I never said she was pregnant. I said I thought Rayna, her ex-husband’s fiancée, was pregnant, and that’s why he proposed to her again. Remember, we had a whole conversation about their love triangle?”
Toby’s cheeks redden. “Oh. Whoops.”
