I nearly stumble backward as I envision the two of them together. It’s not unreasonable. They’ve met each other many times. She’s been coming to San Antonio for the holidays since she was eighteen and our parents left the country.
I’ve never once thought about my sister with Haden. She’s twenty-two. He’s forty. But who am I to judge? I’m almost that much older than Melody and I don’t give a single fuck about our age difference. She’s it for me.
I try to shake the odd vision from my head. But it’s ingrained now, almost like foreshadowing. I’ve never known Haden to have an interest in my sister or vice versa. I have no idea why I would play this mental matchmaking game. Emilia is my sister. She doesn’t need to get involved with one of my employees. Granted, Haden isn’t just an employee. He’s a friend. We’ve been friends for years. He’s a good guy.
And Emilia… Even though she’s my sister, I feel like I don’t know her well. When she has stayed with me during breaks from the university, we’re always busy. She’s feisty. Probably a handful. I’ve never known her to have a boyfriend, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t dated men I’m not aware of.
Haden is a solid guy. Serious. Dedicated to his work. Maybe he’s the sort of man who would be good for my sister. But why the hell am I pondering this?
Suddenly, the lights go out, yanking me out of my musing. Melody twists around. “What the fuck?”
“Such a potty mouth,” I tease. It’s so incongruent to me when she cusses like that. She’s the picture of purity and innocence, so I’m startled every time she drops an F-bomb. It’s hilarious.
“Why would the power go out?” she asks rhetorically.
I shrug. “I don’t know. I’ll make some calls.” I grab my phone from the kitchen table and head into the living room to drop onto the couch. I know people in town since my job is to renovate a lot of the buildings. I start with the sheriff’s office, thinking maybe a chunk of town is out, but Sheriff Johnston’s secretary, Tonya, tells me they have power and haven’t gotten any calls from anyone else yet.
I call the electrician I’ve been working with. He hasn’t heard of anything either. Dallas says the power is on at the mansion. After three more calls, I return to the electrician, who says he will look into it while we’re in the city.
Melody emerges from her office. “Good thing I have a great backup generator. I shut everything down, but it will maintain the internet and keep my computer charging. So weird…”
I meet her at the door. “I’m sure they’ll get it up and running while we’re in the city.”
“Do you think I should worry about the fridge?”
“Nothing we can do about it.”
She chews on her bottom lip for a moment. “We can’t even set the alarm. I only have my office plugged into that generator.”
I pull her into my arms and tip her chin up. “We’ll lock the door, baby, but the only thing in this house I care about is you. You won’t be here. You’ll be safe with me.”
“I guess you’re right. Even if someone breaks in, I don’t have anything of much value here. My work is saved in the cloud. My computer is password protected. If someone took it, they wouldn’t be able to open it.”
I kiss her. “I’m sure there’s no need to worry. This isn’t the sort of town with a high crime rate. A tree probably fell on the lines somewhere.” I open the door and guide her to my truck with a hand on the small of her back.
“Shoot. My car.” She turns to look at me.
“Already called Winston’s. He’s sending a tow truck this morning.” As soon as I lift her into the cab of my truck, she grabs the front of my shirt and drags my lips to hers. “Do you always think of everything?”
“I try.” I’m so fucking happy as I round to my side of the truck that I’m grinning. It’s not going away. I’m going to be smiling like this for fifty years.
“Ready to get some sex toys?” I ask, fastening my seatbelt.
She giggles. “You say that so casually like we’re heading to the grocery store. Do we need eggs and milk, honey?”
I grab her hand, laughing. “How about restraints that go under the mattress and maybe a paddle?”
Fuck, I’m a lucky man.
Chapter 16
Brody
* * *
Shopping with Melody is the most fun I’ve ever had in my life. And I don’t even like shopping. For one thing, I don’t remember the last time I took three days off work. With the exception of a few texts and calls, I have spent every moment, both waking and sleeping, devoted to her since I walked into the library on Saturday.
To get up on a Monday morning and spend the day with the love of my life is unimaginable. And yet here I am doing it. I suspect it’s weird for her, too. She’s made it clear that she operates on a strict, tight schedule. It starts early in the morning and lasts most of the day. She’s as much of a workaholic as I am.
