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Keith shifted. He wasn’t accustomed to people questioning his actions. The urge to tell Ralph to go fuck himself rose, but he shoved it back down. Last thing he needed to do was piss off someone he could use in his corner. “No. I’m not. I’m hoping to apologize and fix things between us.”
Ralph studied him without trying to disguise it. He refused to drop his eyes or give Ralph a reason to send him packing. After what felt like an hour, he must have seen something he approved of because he nodded and walked out onto the porch, then down the four steps to meet Keith. “She’s upstairs taking a bath. Jagger’s team finished up yesterday. I was on my way out to pick up some ice cream. We ran out. I’ll keep myself busy for an hour and a half, but that’s all I’m giving you. You hear me?”
“Yeah, I got it.”
Ralph nodded. “Okay.”
“She’s lucky to have a friend like you,” Keith said as he started around the man.
“Oh, I know my worth, honey,” Ralph said, his entire demeanor changing from guard dog to pussy cat. “Oh, and Keith?”
He looked over his shoulder. “Yeah?”
“I’ve known her for over ten years.” He pointed up toward a second-floor window. “That woman up there, the one you know, that is Michaela. The other was a product of a toxic environment and poor self-worth. Please don’t hurt my friend. She’s an amazing person.”
Keith swallowed hard. “I’ll try hard not to.”
“Guess that’s all any of us can really ask for.” Ralph grinned. “Say hello to that sexy brother of yours for me,” he said before winking and disappearing into Michaela’s Audi SUV.
His brother? Which one?
With a snort, Keith took the steps to Michaela’s door two at a time. Once inside, it took a surprising amount of effort not to bound up the stairs like a stampeding elephant, but he didn’t want to scare her. He walked into her dark room, toed off his shoes, then made his way toward the bathroom, where a line of light flickered below the cracked door.
Without a sound, he nudged the door open and lost his breath. Not because of all the recently completed upgrades. Those he didn’t even notice. Mickie captured his attention immediately. She was breathtaking. Absolutely stunning as she lay in the giant tub surrounded by a cloud of bubbles. Her eyes were closed, head tipped back on a small pillow. Around the back rim of the tub, candles flickered, casting a romantic glow around the space. Even without a stitch of makeup, she was magnificent. So much more spectacular in her natural state than with the trappings of Hollywood.
She didn’t startle as she opened her eyes and turned his way as though sensing his presence. “Keith,” she whispered on an exhale. Her eyes widened, and she seemed to freeze in place, uncertain how to react to his presence.
He took her lack of shouting at him as an invitation to enter and walked closer. When he reached the tub, he sat on the tiled ledge. Mickie’s breath quickened as though his nearness made her nervous.
Or maybe…aroused?
Her chest rose and fell, shifting the bubbles. Within seconds he could see the dusky tips of her nipples beneath the water. His throat thickened, forcing a hard swallow. Christ, she was just so damn sexy. He couldn’t keep from wanting to touch and taste when she was close.
Their gazes met. She didn’t shy away from his obvious perusal of her naked body. Mickie knew she looked good and enjoyed her body. Not in a vain way, but in the way a woman should when she knew her man wanted her. But her eyes held fear for a different reason. She had no idea why he was there or what he’d say.
“Do you miss it?” he finally asked when no other words would come. He had to know to end the clawing worry she’d up and leave at any point.
Clarification wasn’t necessary. She understood he meant her extravagant life in California.
“No,” she said with conviction. “I thought I would, to be honest. I kept expecting to for the first few months I was away from LA.” She pressed her lips together as she shook her head. “But I don’t. I hadn’t realized how toxic my life had become. How genuinely miserable I was. How much of myself I’d destroyed with drugs, alcohol, and blind ambition.”
He trailed his hand in the water, making a pattern in the bubbles. “Living here must feel so small compared to what you had. No one knows you. It’s quiet. There’s nothing dazzling or exciting about us or the town. It’s—”
“Keith?” She captured his hand as she sent him a sweet smile. “This is what I want. I didn’t come here on a whim or for a vacation from my real life. I spent long, hard, and sometimes agonizing months in rehab and therapy, working on myself. I don’t want the life I had. I wasn’t healthy physically or mentally.” Her face flushed. “I’ve learned to love, well, at least like myself, which I never did before. For years, I sought to fill that void with drugs, or love from my fans, or with men.” The last part was whispered.
