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But her chest was still buzzing with… God, was that excitement?
She blinked slowly. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been excited about anything. She shook her head. Life had seriously fucked up timing. She ran to the closet and threw on some yoga pants and a T-shirt.
“Get a grip,” she whispered to herself, then she took a deep breath and headed back to the kitchen.
Nicholas was standing by the coffee maker. He looked up as she walked in. “I’m sorry. That was totally inappropriate and—”
“It’s fine.” She put a hand on his arm and smiled at him. “I don’t usually have company. I shouldn’t walk around in my underwear if I don’t want people to look.”
“Shit, it’s still no excuse—”
She laughed. Men got off all day long by looking at her naked body and this guy felt guilty for one inadvertent glance?
“Seriously, no worries.” She paused, her eyes straying again to his biceps. Did he have muscles on his muscles?
Annnnnnnnnd how long had she been just standing here staring?
“The coffee!” she said, probably too loudly. She jerked her hand away and turned toward the coffee maker.
“Oh. Yeah. Coffee,” he said, hand going to the back of his neck and smiling almost shyly.
“So what are you usually busy with during the day?”
She was so busy picking up the coffee carafe, she almost missed the way his eyes clouded over. Almost but not quite. It made her even more curious.
“I work in an import and export business back in the city.” He shrugged. “But I can work remotely sometimes so I like to take advantage.”
She smiled at that. “Cool.”
She was about to ask another question as she grabbed a couple mugs from the overhead cabinet. Before realizing, shit, that was the cabinet that was hiding one of the cameras. She grabbed the mugs out and then banged it closed again.
Nicholas’s head swung her way. Which meant he hadn’t seen the camera? Or was that look of confusion on his face because he had seen it?
“Something wrong?” he asked.
“Nope.” Her voice coming out an octave higher didn’t give her away, right? Not at all.
He stared at her for another moment, then seemed to shrug it off. At least she thought so. Because the next thing he asked was, “What do you do?”
Her hand stuttered as she poured coffee into each mug, almost spilling on his. “Oh, I work from home, too.” Her hand shook a little as she put the carafe back into the machine. “Nothing interesting. Just customer service stuff.”
She handed him his coffee. “Cream?”
He nodded as he looked around the kitchen. “You got a nice setup here.”
Sloane’s stomach dropped. Did that mean he had seen the camera? SHIT.
“The house,” Nicholas clarified. “And the land. How many acres do you own?”
Oh. Of course. The land. Sloane felt stupid. She was being paranoid. Of course he hadn’t randomly guessed her secret. Normal people didn’t go around suspecting everyone of working as sex cam stars. If her laugh came out a little bit too high-pitched, Nicholas didn’t seem to notice.
“There’s about fifteen acres on the property. But I only keep up the little bit around the yard.” Well, Tom did, anyway. She handed him the cream from the fridge and he poured a dollop before handing it back to her. She did the same.
“That’s nice. I think sometimes about getting myself a patch of land.” His eyes went a little distant. “Living quiet. Peaceful.”
“If only there weren’t those pesky bills to pay.” Like the electric bill due in ten days. Nope, not thinking about that right now. Not thinking about it.
A mild smile crossed his mouth. He lifted his coffee mug toward her in a toast. “If only. Still, I got plans. Gotta have goals, right?”
She thought about what he’d said about coming to Oklahoma to get away from things. What was his story?
But she looked away as she took a sip of coffee. “Oh, I don’t know.” She offered a carefree smile. “It’s good to be content with life as it is. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?”
When she glanced back over at him, a frowned creased his brow. “But then nothing will ever change.”
She shrugged. “So? That’s fine with me. I’ve got a roof over my head. Food. Clothes. Ramona keeps me company.” Then she cringed. That sounded pathetic. “And, you know, my other friends.”
Lie. She didn’t have any other friends.
But Nicholas nodded. She didn’t see any judgement in his face. Then he tilted his head at her. “I like my life fine as it is too. Doesn’t mean I don’t want more.”
Sloane gulped the rest of her coffee. Too hot, oh God, too hot! Still, she managed to swallow it. Taste buds were overrated anyway.
She stood abruptly to get a refill. It was all well and good for a man like Nicholas to talk about more. He was handsome and able-bodied and probably not even thirty yet. The whole world was ripe for the taking for a guy like him.
