10
Frankie
Harrison’s snoringform was spread eagle, face down on the mattress. Sound asleep without a care in the world.
To be fair, it was his room. His temporary room. I’d waited as long as I could before coming to see where he was. The whole house was up, and he slept on. It was a school day and his first morning on duty. This wasn’t an encouraging start.
“Must be nice,” I mumbled.
It was weird that there was a man in the house. A man who wasn’t like a grandfather to me. He was all man. The fact only occurred to me now. In another life, at another time, Harrison would have been a distraction. More than that. With that Hollywood jawline, his perfect ski-slope nose, that thick head of dark hair that looked sturdy enough to grip. It had been so long since I leaned into that side of myself. Thatfeminineside.
His face was tucked into a pillow, his flexed arm curled around, giving a lovely show of exposed skin. His entire backside was on full display. His defined muscles were artistically toned and pointed down to where his …
“He’s naked,” Collette whisper-yelled at my side suddenly.
I startled and cleared my throat. I had also been chewing on my lip, apparently.
“No. He’s got undies on,” I said, arms crossed, back to business.
She giggled and covered her face with her hands. “I see his booty butt.”
I sucked in my lips to stop a laugh.
“His legs are so hairy,” she said, curling her lip.
“That’s why they call him Harrison.Harry-son.”
Collette blinked and then looked up at me with an unamused expression. “Lame joke. Cringe.”
I shrugged with a grin. “Where did you learn cringe?”
“Harrison’s phone.” I grumbled, but she just noted, “He’s got lots of muscles.”
“That he does,” I agreed.
Harrison smiled where his face smooshed against the pillow. “Thank you,” he mumbled without opening his eyes. I sighed at his lackadaisical attitude.
I had a book to write, and every second he stayed here sleeping was another minute of my time wasted.
“Collette, I don’t think Harrison heard about your other musical talents,” I said.
The little girl’s eyes widened before she sprinted out of the bedroom and to hers.
Last night, Harrison and I explained to George and Collette that Harrison would be around for a little while. Harrison made plans with his agent and team, keeping the details vague as “family issues” and we made a plan for how he could be most helpful in the next two weeks. I’d gone to bed feeling somewhat hopeful. Cautiously optimistic was a better term.
The other two were, as expected, thrilled with this development. Apparently, Frowny Frankie was a bit of a downer, and the fresh blood enthused them both with new vigor. We will see how long that lasts. Finding him face down an hour after even Collette had woken up wasn’t encouraging.
It wasn’t that I wanted him to fail. I did need the help, but I worried that he wasn’t taking this situation seriously. Or, at best, as some sort of role he was playacting at. There was no room for that here. Better to throw him into the deep end and see how he swam.
At least the view was nice.
“Are you staring at my bottom, Francesca?” he mumbled with eyes still closed. The way he rumbled my full name did things that it really shouldn’t have. Mostly in the nether region area that had long ago been closed for business with boarded-up windows and a layer of dust.
My head snapped up from being tilted. “I don’t really have a choice.” I tossed the comforter up to cover him. “Your tighty whities have traumatized Collette.”
He chuckled a deep, sleepy laugh.
Collette slid back into the room, stopping next to the head of the bed. Her recorder in hand. I smiled, subtly covering my ears as she blasted the screeching high notes into the room.
