“No,” I say finally, my voice lower than I expect. I turn back to the TV. “They already have.”
Her gaze shifts fully to me then, studying, assessing. “Because he moved?”
I turn my head and meet her gaze. She doesn’t look away. Her big brown eyes, God, they’re so dark, almost black, like the deepest part of the ocean, soft but dangerous. The kind that pulls you in before you realize how far you’ve gone. Caring. Curious. Beautiful.
Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve gotten lost in them.
I clear my throat. “Partly. Everything changed a few years ago. When he got hooked on Oxy.”
Then, because apparently I left my cock at home, I add, “When you left for Richard.”
The corner of her mouth tilts up. Just barely, and her shoulders lift in the slightest shrug.
“I’m here now,” she says. Then she grins and nudges her fist into my tricep. “Look at you. Went from single, slutty bachelor to landing yourself a wife in a matter of weeks. Bravo.”
“Not my wife yet,” I shoot back. “Almost lost her tonight.” I search her eyes. “I think.”
She looks away, reaching for another carrot. “No, you didn’t. Don’t be dramatic.”
She sits up suddenly, twisting toward me and leaning back on a hand. Her knee brushes my thigh.
I don’t move, denying every natural instinct I have to grip her hips and lift her on top of me.
“I have to ask you something.”
I frown. “Okay.”
“Sherry.” She hesitates, then looks straight at me. “She said you referred her. Why didn’t you tell me? All this time—I didn’t even know you knew her.”
“Because I know you. And I knew you’d do this.”
Her head falls to the side with a small smirk as one of the straps of her tank slides off her shoulder.
Flirty as hell. Sexy as fuck.
“And what is it youthink I’m doing?”
A soft sound slips from my lips, something between a laugh and a scoff. “Questioning whether you’re good enough. Whether you earned her business… or whether I handed it to you.”
She stiffens, sitting up straighter. Like she’s surprised that I can read her this well.
She pulls the strap back into place. “Well, did you?” she asks. “You can be pretty persuasive.”
I chuckle, shaking my head. We’ve had this conversation a hundred times. And if I’m doing it again, I’m at least going to enjoy myself.
“One,” I say calmly, “if I was being persuasive, you’d be naked and on your back.” I nod toward the pillows behind her. “Two—can’t both be true?”
Her brows knit together, irritation and confusion colliding.
“I gave you the introduction,” I continue. “You earned the job.” I meet her eyes. “Are you mad she chose you?”
“No. But?—”
“Babe.” My tone drops, calm and certain. “Do you really think someone like me hires based on referral alone? I can have the best of the best for any job. You think I’d ever go in blind just because someone tells me to?”
“Well… no,” she says slowly.
“Exactly.” I lean back against the pillows stacked behind me. “Sherry’s the same. She didn’t hire you because of me. She hired you because she saw my place and loved it.” I lock eyes with her. “Youdesigned it. I just nudged her in the right direction. You were always the right person for the job.”
