“Damn it. We’re going to be late.”
She threw off the sheet and darted to the bathroom. A few seconds later, the shower kicked on. Those legs, those bare feet, the pink shorts as she ran by—let’s just say not a single pixel was missed. She had no idea how easy she was to be around, how much lighter I felt with her here.
When the bathroom door opened, Mel stepped out in her earlier pajamas shorts, a towel wrapped around her head.
I raised a brow.
She rolled her eyes, and breezed past. “Your turn.”
“Every bit of sass today is going on your kiss debt,” I said, heading in.
Later, I stepped out, towel knotted at my hip, and stopped. She was standing by the window in a purple summer dress and small-heeled sandals.Cutewas the right word. The hemline rested a few inches above her knees, showcasing those legs.
She was blow-drying her hair, lost in the hum of the dryer. I smiled, struck by how domestic it all felt.
Then she turned.
“Hey.” Her eyes narrowed with purpose, scanning me.
“Hey.”
“C’mon. You’re not going to lunch with my parents wet-haired, with a naked torso, and wrapped in a bath towel,” she said and turned away.
“That’s two sasses in less than thirty minutes,” I said, walking toward her. “Better start cashing on it. My kiss debt account is spilling over.”
She turned back, brandishing the hair dryer like a weapon. “You said no kissing.”
“I said in bed.”
“You said in the hotel room.”
I glanced between the hair dryer and her face. “Ah. So if I stand outside on the balcony, the clause is void?”
She gave me a look that saidtry it and I will lock you out forever.
I grinned, unable to help myself. “And if my towel falls off while I’m standing out there… our neighbors would be very curious about the kind of business going on in here.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Don’t you dare, Sean Murphy.”
I laughed, deep, full-bodied. My favorite new hobby: teasing Mel until she cracked that perfect composure. A highly scientific experiment involving pink cheeks, tight lips, and the occasional hair-dryer threat. The more I rattled her, the more I uncovered the amazing, fiery, hilarious creature beneath the calm.
She’d sprawled across my side of the bed without knowing it, and now she was bossing me about towels—both felt like home.
I moved toward my bag to get dressed. Mel stepped out onto the balcony, shutting the door behind her. She didn’t come back in until I was fully clothed.
Smart woman.
We checked out of the hotel and drove to Mel’s house for Sam’s going-away lunch.
“We’re ten minutes late. Thanks to your freaking balcony towel jokes,” Mel said and got out of the car, her sandals clicking against the driveway.
I winked at her. “You’re welcome. An encore is free any time.”
She rolled her eyes.
“The eye rolls. My personal standing ovation,” I said, grinning.
She huffed, but the corner of her mouth twitched, half amusement, half exasperation.
