“Your sisteris Henry Sinclair’s wife? Is she really half his age?” Whatever sadness Lucy was feeling is out the window as her curiosity grows.
“Yep, that’s her!” I say, chuckling. “It wasn’t either of their choices, though. At least not at first. Our families had a marriage contract in place from decades ago that they ended up having to fulfill. It was a huge ordeal for a minute, but they undoubtedly fell madly in love with one another. It’s one of those relationships that make you believe soulmates exist. You know what I mean?”
Lucy turns to face me and pulls her knees underneath her on the cushion. “Do you not believe in soulmates?”
“Fuck no,” I say. But the way her beautiful deep blue eyes shine as she looks at me has me reconsidering everything.
“Oh, well then…” she says, reaching for a card. Sighing, she reads the next question. “What’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever eaten?
“Probably that green shit you made me drink,” I say, causing her to roll her eyes as I choose a card. “If you could master any skill, what would you do?” I ask, sipping a glass of vodka.
Lucy thinks for a minute before blowing my mind. “I’ve always wanted to learn how to tassel twirl.”
I spray my drink everywhere. Lucy is bent over laughing while I’m literally choking on my own saliva. “Jesus fucking Christ,” I cough out. “I think you’re trying to kill me.”
She smacks my back a couple of times in a show of helping my cough before picking up a card. “Your turn,” she purrs. “How do you like to unwind after a long day?”
I can’t stop the grin on my face, and I know I look manic. In a flash, I grab her hips and pull her to my lab before spinning us so that she’s under me on the couch. Her little squeak is fuckingadorable. “Do I really need to answer that question, Sunshine?” I ask as I slowly press my half-hard cock between her legs. The way her eyes flash from shock to desire has me ready to risk it all and take her right here. But she shakes her head, so I do therightthing and get off her.
I reach for a card, but she swipes it from my hand before I can read it out. “Not so fast, mister. You didn’t technically answer that question. It’s still your turn. What’s one lesson you had to learn the hard way?”
I turn away from her, staring off in front of me. “That you don’t always get to pick what you want in life.”
“Sasha?” I feel her hand on my knee, but I grab a card and cut her off before she can continue.
“What’s the best gift you’ve ever given or received?” I ask.
She moves her hand, sensing the change of tone, and whispers her response. “My mom made me a bracelet one year for my birthday. We were well enough off, but I went to a school withrich, richkids. There was a trendy bracelet going around that was well out of our price range, and I knew that. I never really asked about it, but I guess she saw some of my online searches. It lookedjustlike the brand-name version too. When I opened the box, I was mad. I thought she had spent my college fund on a flimsy piece of jewelry. I started giving her a speech about how irresponsible it was of her to do that when she burst out laughing. I couldn’t believe she had created something so beautiful, to be honest. She was always crafty enough, but this was next level. I still have it, but…I never wear it anymore.”
God, this woman. This fucking ray of light that’s come into my life.Of courseher favorite gift was something handmade and sentimental. I take her hand and place a gentle kiss on her knuckles before lacing her fingers in mine and resting it on my thigh. Without saying a word, I pass her a card.
She smiles at me as she takes it from me. “If you could find out anything about the future, what would it be?”
I smile softly, squeezing her hand. “That’s easy. I’d like to know how much time I have left.”With you.
Her brows furrow in confusion as she searches my eyes. “Sasha? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Sunshine, don’t worry about…”
I’m cut off by the ringing of my phone. I don’t even have to look to know whose ringtone that is. Dad’s. “I’ve gotta take this,” I say, standing up from the couch and walking outside to find a private place to take this call.
When I’ve made it a safe distance, I answer. “What’s up, Dad?” I try my best to listen to the report he gives me every week to keep me in the loop, but all I can think of is the light coming from inside the cottage.
Chapter ten
Like every morning for the past week, I make myself presentable before heading to the kitchen for my caffeine fix. I’m about to start the espresso machine when I remember the smoking episode from yesterday. A glance at the cow-shaped clock I bought to hang in the kitchen tells me it’s a little earlier than I would typically wake Sasha. I weigh my options and decide it’s better to wake the morning grouch than to risk burning down the house.Barely.And before last night, fire might have been the safer option.
I’m not sure what I was expecting from that manila folder Blanche had dropped off, but it wasn’t an innocentget to know yougame. I would’ve been less shocked if she told us to strip naked and jump out of a plane together. Nonetheless, I feelmuchcloser to my roommate than before. Not only did I learn a ton about him but I was able to open up as well. In a way I haven’t opened up to anyone but Amanda.
With a breath of courage, I tiptoe around the couch and lean down to wake him up.
“Sasha,” I whisper, gently squeezing his leg that pokes out from the smiley blanket. He’s tucked tightly into the couch, burrowed under his pillow. I move closer, bending down and shaking his arm instead.
“Sasha!” I hiss. “I need help with the coffee mach—eep!”
I succeed in waking him up, but instead of getting off the couch to help me, I’m captured. In a smooth motion, he sits up, grabs me around the waist, and pulls, trapping me between him and the couch.
“Too early,” he says in a sleepy rumble. “Go back to sleep.”
