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“Sorry to call while you’re away, but I was at the house getting something ready for tomorrow and ran into a delivery guy who needs your signature on something he tried to deliver yesterday. He saw my truck, so he came to the main house when the carriage house was empty.”
“What is it?”
“Not sure. Looks like it’s from a lawyer’s office, though. You okay if I sign it for you?”
I scratched the side of my face. “Yeah, go ahead. We’ll be back before dinner.”
“Slow start to your Sunday?” he asked slyly.
“Bite me, William.”
He laughed good-naturedly.
“What’s the firm name?” I asked.
When he rattled off the last name of the estate attorney for Chris and Amie, my chest went tight. “Thanks. Yeah, if you can hold on to it until we get back, I don’t want it lying around outside.”
“You got it, boss.”
Before I walked back into the room, I sent the lawyer a text, letting him know I was out of town but someone else had signed for the package, whatever it was.
When I entered the room again, rubbing a towel over my hair, Charlotte was still curled on her side, her hands tucked underneath the pillow and her red hair streaming out behind her. Her eyes tracked over my bare chest.
“Morning.” Charlotte’s voice was soft and sleepy.
“Morning,” I said.
She sat up, stretching her arms over her head and yawning widely. I stood there admiring the way her body shifted underneath my shirt when she spoke. “Who were you talking to in there?”
“William.” I draped the towel over the back of the chair by the desk and tugged on a pair of gym shorts. “He wanted to know if he could sign for something at the house.”
She gathered her hair into a messy bun. “What was it?”
I shrugged. “Something from the estate lawyer. Guess I’ll find out when we get back.” My tongue almost stumbled over that last word, but I resolutely kept the wordhomeout of my mouth.
Charlotte climbed off the bed, tugging me close for a quick kiss. “I need to get my stuff out of my room,” she said. “Is there coffee?”
“Would you actually drink it if there was?”
Charlotte laughed, and I stole another soft kiss, just to feel the sound against my lips. I wanted to trap it in my skin, inhale it into my lungs.
Maybe I’d be able to carry it around with me that way.
She slipped her jeans back on and returned to her room to pack up her stuff. While she was gone, I packed my clothes and toiletry bag.
Each piece that disappeared into my suitcase had me feeling more and more on edge. When I set the folded shirt she’d picked out on top and pulled the zipper closed, my temples started to pound.
It was easy to pretend like what we’d done didn’t have ramifications, given that we were so far removed from our typical reality.
We’d need another state of the union. My chest ached thinking about the first time she’d approached that conversation, feet wedged underneath me on the couch.
Any invisible lines we’d affirmed during that talk had been obliterated this weekend. But I tucked away my reservations, made some fucking coffee, and filled up a to-go cup like a fucking chump.
When Charlotte came back to my room, she was wearing denim shorts, a Michigan shirt I’d never seen before, and flip-flops. She took the coffee with a grateful smile.
I tugged on the hem of the shirt with an arched brow, and she blushed.
“I got a little carried away when I found your jersey on that website.”
