“I’m just making sure you don’t drip sweat on my kitchen floor.”
I didn’t know whether to kiss or slap the smirk off his face.
“Heading to the shower right now, darlin’.” He held up his hands. “I won’t mess up your floor.”
I narrowed my eyes and stalked over to him. His smile shrank a bit as I came closer, stopping at less than a half inch between us. “You may want to shave while you’re in there.” I flicked my eyes to the long bristles of stubble covering his chin.
“You don’t like it? I thought since I’m working remotely for a while and not seeing any clients for a couple of weeks, why not let loose.” He rubbed his jaw. “But if mywifedoesn’t like my beard, maybe I should reconsider.”
His eyes roamed up and down my body like a caress, heat singeing my skin along the path of his gaze, but it was the dip in his voice when he saidwifethat almost made my knees give out.
“Do what you want.” I shrugged, even more pissed off at my breathy reply.
He eased closer, almost closing the distance between us. His soft chuckle settled deep in my belly as heat pooled between my legs.
“Have a good day at work,” he said, tapping his knuckle under my chin and disappearing up the stairs.
I missed the days of sparring with Landon that didn’t end with my head spinning and my panties ruined.
I settled into my office chair, hoping for a few hours of distraction before dinner, when my phone buzzed on my desk.
Karen:Oliver will be over to cut the grass today, so tell him if you need anything else. Unless your new tenant is planning to flex his muscles around the house ;)
Me:Landon just came up from a workout in the basement soaked in sweat, and I almost attacked him. This is your fault.
Karen:Almost? And how is it my fault?
Me:You put the whole towel thing out into the universe. I had a restless night of sleep because I need to tell him I love him, and he’s being all sweet and sexy and I can’t think.
Karen:I hope you’re still doing yoga in the mornings. Because your best buddy is going to break you in half soon. I am so happy for you I’m giddy as fuck. I’ll tell Oliver if he hears furniture crashing around inside not to call his cop buddies.
Karen:And I’m glad you’re going to tell him you love him. It’s a good thing when you realize you’re in love with your husband.
We would see about that tonight.
After I shut down my computer and logged in my hours, I sifted through my closet for something to wear, examining each piece to see if it would fit my new size. My daily uniform was leggings and a T-shirt, and I still wouldn’t venture into my jeans drawer.
I stopped at a black sleeveless dress with an elastic empire waist, the tags still hanging off it. I remembered buying it and finding that it was too big, then forgetting about it long enough to not be able to return it. When I slipped it over my head, procrastination paid off. It fit like a glove, complementing my full chest and hips without putting them on display. I’d have to wear a little jacket over it, but as I twirled back and forth in my mirror, I liked what I saw.
Maybe noticing how much Landon liked whathesaw when he looked at me helped, but so what if there was more of me? More of me meant I was still here. When I met my gaze in the mirror, I looked different but familiar. I smiled, happy and grateful for the woman staring back at me, who was still standing when she thought she’d never get up again.
“Jules?” Landon called out from the hallway before he knocked.
“Yeah, come in.”
“I’m officially off for the weekend, so let me know when you want to… Wow.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I said, flashing him a smile over my shoulder.
“You should,” he said, leaning against the doorway as he ran his eyes up and down my body.
“You okay over there, doll?” I asked, stepping to Landon with my arms crossed over my chest, knowing how it would plump my breasts over the neckline. When his gaze flicked to my cleavage as I came closer, I bit back a smile.
“Very okay,” he said, his husky whisper sending a shiver down my spine and right to my toes. “Although it may be a little hard to concentrate on dinner with you in that dress.” He shifted, resting his forearm on the opposite side of the doorway and right over my head, boxing me in.
“I bet you can manage. We can leave in a half hour or so if that’s good for you.”
“Sure.” He ran his tongue along his bottom lip as he held my eyes. I wanted to pull him inside and let him peel off my dress, but as much as I wanted to forget about dinner, we needed to talk first.
