Molly stares at me for a beat, then snorts like she’s disgusted with herself.
“This is ridiculous,” she mutters.
“What is?”
“Me even considering this,” she snaps, but it’s not really aimed at me. It’s aimed at her own instinct to care. Her own weakness for a man with a “family first” story.
I sit up, watching her, keeping my face steady. No pushing. No rushing.
She paces two steps, then turns back.
“You’re asking me for work,” she says.
I nod once. “Yeah.”
Molly’s eyes flashed. “After sex.”
I wince. “It wasn’t because of —”
“It was,” she cuts in. “Don’t insult me.”
I hold her gaze. “I’m not. I’m telling you I didn’t plan it. I don’t want to do this. But June needs me.”
That part is true, at least.
She exhales hard through her nose, then looks at the floor like she’s arguing with herself.
“I don’t do favors,” she says.
“I’m not asking for a favor.”
“That’s exactly what you’re asking for.”
“I’m asking for a chance. I’m asking for help so that I can help someone that I love.”
Molly’s throat bobs. For a second her expression softens, and it’s almost unbearable — because it looks like trust trying to grow.
She swallows it down.
Then she gives me a look so stern it could cut steel.
“I’ll see what I can do,” she says, clipped. “I’m not promising anything.” Molly points at me with two fingers like she’s issuing a warning. “And if you tell anyone I helped you, I will ruin your life.”
I let out a breath that sounds almost like a laugh. “Yes, ma’am.”
Her eyes narrow again. “Stop saying that.”
“Can’t,” I say. “It’s funny.”
She makes a sound like she’s trying not to smile. It almost works. Then she turns away, adjusting the sheet around her body, posture tightening back into control.
“Get dressed,” she says. “I have studying to do and I can’t focus with you hanging around all naked and fucking distracting.”
I slide out of bed and reach for my jeans, the floor cool beneath my feet. As I move, Molly glances back over her shoulder.
“You really are taking care of your sister?” she asks, quieter now.
The question lands like a hook in my ribs, the barbs sinking deep into my heart and twisting in the most agonizing way.
