Her fingers tighten around mine. “You’re kind of perfect, you know that?”
I snort. “Tell that to my dirty socks that never make it into the hamper.”
“Oh gosh,” she groans, covering her face with her free hand. “I forgot about the realities of living with a guy. The toilet seat up, wet towels on the floor…”
“Hey, I’m not that dreadful,” I protest. “And as a bonus, I can fix things.”
“You were already doing that.”
“Yeah, but now I can do it shirtless, and you can help me wipe off the sweat afterward.”
“Sold.” She grins. “But I’m serious, Josh. I don’t want to rush into anything that might confuse Penny. She needs stability.”
“I get it,” I assure her. “And I agree. We’ll take it day by day. For now, I’ll just be Josh, Mom’s… boyfriend? Is that the right word?”
Her smile turns shy. “Boyfriend sounds so high school, but yeah, I guess that’s what you are.”
“I could be your gentleman caller,” I suggest, wiggling my eyebrows. “Your paramour. Your swain.”
She throws a piece of toast at me. “You’re ridiculous, that’s what you are.”
I catch the bread and pop it into my mouth, grinning. “You love it.”
“Yeah, I do,” she admits, shaking her head.
We clean up together, then reluctantly acknowledge we should put on more clothes before Penny returns. I pull on yesterday’s jeans and T-shirt.
“Is it weird that watching you get dressed is turning me on?” Lily asks.
“Yeah, you total weirdo, it’s just you.” I cross over to her, grabbing her by the hips. “Seeing you in this dress is not making me horny at all.”
“Are you sure?” Lily smiles as she wraps her arms behind my neck. “You’re kind of giving me bedroom eyes, Lieutenant.”
“I am.” I kiss her nose, her cheek, the corner of her mouth. “Around you, I’m hopelessly, ridiculously horny all the time.”
She kisses me then, slow and deep, until we’re both breathless. “We should cool it before Penny comes home.” She rests her forehead against my collarbone.
“Probably,” I agree, but make no move to let her go. “But I really, really don’t want to.”
“Me either,” she admits. “But Josie will be here in thirty minutes, and she’s gonna clock the change in a second. She and Dorian are going to be such dicks about it.”
“Okay,” I say, releasing her with one last kiss. “I’ll behave. Scout’s honor.”
“Were you really a Scout?” she asks, smoothing down her hair.
“Yep,” I confirm. “Very good with knots.”
Her eyes darken at that, and I laugh. “Down now, Mama. I’ll take care of you again later.”
We spend the next twenty minutes making sure the apartment looks presentable, hiding evidence of our weekend activities—scattered pillows, flyaway underwear, wrinkled bedsheets. By the time the doorbell rings, we’re sitting at a respectable distance on the couch, pretending to watch a cooking show neither of us has any interest in.
Lily squeezes my hand once before standing to answer the door. “Ready?”
I nod, my heart pounding. “Ready.”
Penny bursts in like a tiny tornado, all flying limbs and rapid-fire chatter. “Mom! Guess what? Uncle Dorian let me play on his drum set, and Auntie JoJo taught me how to make chocolate chip cookies, and we watched this movie about a dog who talks but only his owner hears him, and—” She skids to a halt when she spots me on the couch. “Josh! What are you doing here? Did something break?”
“Hey, bug,” I say, hoping my voice sounds normal. “Just hanging out with your mom.”
