AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Pig,” she spat.
I laughed. “A pig? For putting my pants in the dryer? Come on, sweetheart. You can do better than that.”
“That’s the second time you’ve called me sweetheart.”
I leaned against the dryer. “It is, isn’t it? Think that means this is getting serious?”
She pushed off the doorframe into my space. Her earthly scent filled my nose . . . and I—
“You should put your pants back on before anyone else is subjected to the sight of”—she wrinkled her nose and gestured down—“that.” She shuddered. “It’s bad enough you scarred my vision permanently.”
My expression turned serious as I inched my face closer to hers. “Because every time you see a man in his boxers, you’ll be comparing him to me. And he won’t measure up.”
Crack.
What the hell?
She slapped me?
I trapped her hand on my cheek with my own hand. She tried to pry it loose, but my grip was too strong.
Her green-gold eyes glittered. “I’m going to get you fired,” she said through her teeth.
Fired?Good luck with that. I had my own law practice with so many people begging to be my client, I couldn’t take them all on.
“And if it’s okay with you,sweetheart, I’m going to dry my pants now. Unless you have an extra pair in your barn.”
She curled her fingers and the slight prick of her nails grazed my skin. “You’d better dry them fast. Otherwise you’ll be wearing wet pants out of here.”
I released her hand, slammed the dryer door, and started the machine. She cringed when the hum filled the room.
I winked at her as I settled against the dryer. “I’m not going anywhere.”
CHAPTERTWO
JoJo
They’ve really doneit this time.
I’d had an entire night to fume over the ordeal with my parents’ new hired . . . what was he anyway? And where was Matilda? She’d been our family’s housekeeper since I was a little girl. Sure, she was getting older, but they’d tell me if she’d retired, wouldn’t they?
A little growl bubbled up as I descended the back staircase of my family’s summer home in the Hamptons.
At least I’d had something to distract me while the storm kept me up to all hours. Being mad was better than being scared.
The way the sun shone in all the windows was like the awful weather had never happened.
Sunshine erases all the bad.
I let out a long, steadying breath. My grandmother Josephine was right. She’d told me that my whole life. And I’d clung to it like a life raft. Because sometimes the world needed a lot of sunshine.
I stepped through the French doors onto the deck and let the salt air hit my face. I inhaled deeply. The sound and scent of the sea always brought me peace.
A familiar shrill giggle pierced through the calm.So much for meditation.
“My Earth Warrior.” Daddy stood from the table near the pool below and waved like he hadn’t seen me in years, instead of last night when I’d arrived.
I hurried down the steps and into his waiting arms.
