Jesse’s eyes fired, and for a moment Knox thought he would argue.Then he slumped in his chair.“Shit.It’s not fair.”
“I know, babe.”Knox put down his fork and reached over the table for Jesse’s hand.Warm and strong, thick with calluses, his hands were Knox’s favorite thing about Jesse’s body.Well, second favorite.“It sucks.”
“Out loud,” Jesse agreed and turned his hand to grip Knox’s.
“It’s only six weeks,” Knox pointed out.“Think you can keep it together that long?”
“I guess.”Jesse glanced up, his eyes sparkling.“I might need to play earl and stable boy, though.”
Knox swallowed a chuckle.“You lent the riding crop to Jamie and Max for Halloween, remember?”
“Oh, shit.”Jesse frowned, then shrugged.“I’ll order another one.”
“Why don’t you just call Jamie and get ours back?”
“They’ve had it for two months,” Jesse pointed out.“You really want it back?”
“Order another one,” Knox decided, and, with a last squeeze of Jesse’s hand, went back to his pasta.“And while you’re at it, more lube.”
“We just stocked up,” Jesse reminded him.
Knox looked up.“Six weeks.”
Jesse pulled out his phone.“Ordering more lube.”
Chapter Four
On Monday morning, Chloe sat at the worktable set up in her dining alcove, a coil of thin silver wire at her left elbow and a plastic tray full of semi-precious gemstones in front of her.She was working on her third pair of earrings of the morning, a pair of hoops a toddler could put a fist through.With the bright overhead light illuminating her workspace, she was using the delicate wire to attach fat chunks of amethyst, roughly cut and polished, to the hammered silver of the hoop.
She’d forgotten to turn on music, so the only sound other than the quiet click and tap of her tools was the hum of the heater and the occasional muttered curse when the whisper-thin wire slipped away from her.
And, of course, the banging and clanging and clatter from the demo taking place below.
It had started at seven o’clock sharp, and would’ve woken her if she hadn’t already been up.She’d dragged herself sleepily into the shower a full two hours before she would have normally cracked an eyelid, then dressed with far more care than was usual for her day off.Since the aunts had made her the point of contact for the demo, she’d wanted to be presentable in case Knox or Jesse needed something.
Which was why she was making earrings while wearing a pushup bra and mascara.
An uncomfortable pushup bra, she amended—though she wasn’t sure there was any other kind—and tried to wiggle it into a more comfortable position.
“Useless,” she muttered, and with the underwire continuing to take indecent liberties, bent back to the earrings.
Her phone chimed, and she paused to squint at the text from Bailey.
Picking up breakfast and coming over.What do you want?
With her stomach rumbling, Chloe tapped out a reply.
Something with bacon and lots of cheese.
That got a thumbs-up, and Chloe picked up the next little chunk of amethyst.
Bailey must have been already on her way because barely fifteen minutes later she was strolling through Chloe’s front door in black jeans, black boots and a bright red jacket, her blue streaked hair in high pigtails.A yawning Gwen shuffled in behind her in a puffy white coat, a drink carrier with three coffees in her hand.
“Got you a breakfast biscuit, double bacon, double cheese,” she said, holding up a brown paper bag with a spreading grease stain.“Also coffee.”
“I got the coffee,” Gwen protested and yawned again.
“She got the coffee.”Bailey set the bag down on the counter that separated Chloe’s kitchen from the rest of the open living space and pulled out a wrapped sandwich.“You want this now or later?”
