I lower my phone.
“Good morning,” Harley says.
Her beautiful, radiant eyes shine at me, the specs of gold and the green melting together in the morning sunlight.
She’s wearing white yoga pants, a yellow t-shirt, and the fluffy, pink slippers I bought her. Her blonde hair is bunched up at the top of her head. She isn’t wearing a whisper of makeup.
No lash extensions.
No injected lips.
No artifice.
Harley Lancaster is glowing.
Good morning, sunshine.“Morning.”
She uncrosses her arms and her nipples salute me. They’re so perky, they’re begging me to?—
I’m going to hell.
I’m thirty-nine.
She’s twenty-seven.
She’s my ex-stepson’s ex-girlfriend.
She’s my guest and roommate.
She’s forbidden.
Don’t be an asswipe, Lindstro¨m. She needs a soft place to land. Not a hard dick to ride.
“Thanks for the slippers.” She wiggles her tiny feet.
I shift in my seat, hoping to tame my inconvenient boner. Thank God I’m sitting. “The concrete floors are heated, but I wanted you to be comfortable.” My mouth is so dry, it’s like sandpaper coats my throat.
She smiles. “And thanks for the plush terrycloth robe and the French body wash and lotion. It’s like you robbed a bath & body shop. There are so many different lovely fragrances.”
“I didn’t think you’d want to smell like me.”Not unless I’m rubbing against you.
“You’re so thoughtful.” She holds my gaze, smiling at me like I’m her savior.
I clear my throat. “How did you sleep?”
“I feel like a new woman.”
When I woke up this morning, she was sleeping with her back rested against the bedrest. I repositioned her, doing my best not to wake her up, so she wouldn’t wake up with a kink in her neck.
Mission accomplished.
“I thought your couch was comfy,” she says, “but sleeping on the bed in your guestroom was like sleeping on a cloud.”
“I’m glad you had a good night’s sleep. You deserve it after the nightmare.”
She plays with her hair, and a strand pops out of the messy bun on top of her head. “I’m sorry you had to sleep in the armchair.”
“You say that like you pointed a gun at my head and forced me to spend the night there.”
