Chapter 9
“Hey, man, how’sthe New York compound? I haven’t visited yet. I told Mila I would come soon, though. I’m due to visit Grandma once she’s back from her trip, so I thought I could swing by and check it out then.”
I prop my phone on the bathroom counter so I have both hands free to shave my face. I really should shave everything, but it’s such a pain in the ass.
“It’s going great! I’ve been getting to know the guys here. They don’t say much at first, but after a few shots of vodka, they open up. We’ve already had some fun.”
“I wish the men here would lighten up some. I’ve tried everything, including liquor, but they haven’t cracked.”
“You just need the special touch. I bet I could have all of them partying it up in no time. Maybe before the season starts, I can come down and visit.”
“I was going to say, you can come down if you ever get lonely at the compound since Mila isn’t there much, but it sounds like you’re good.”
“What do you mean since Mila isn’t here much? Is she going somewhere?”
“When she left, she said she would likely not be at the compound much at all with all the business she has to do. That’s why I mentioned you staying there in the first place. I guess something must have changed.”
Oh, something changed, alright. Thatcher Prescott moved in, and now she can’t stand to be too far away. She moved me into the bedroom right beside hers. She wants me…she wants me bad.
“I gotta go. I’ll text you later. Thanks for checking in.”
I hang up the phone and turn the shower on. Time to get smooth, just in case.
“Late night?” Misha asks as I skulk into the gym.
I drop down onto a weight bench and prop my elbows on my thighs, rubbing my temples. I guess it looks like I’m waking up from a rager, butthisis the opposite.Thisis the result of getting turned downagainby Mila. After trying and failing to impress her, I pulled out the big guns this morning. I’ve never once had a woman turn down my breakfast. I make a killer omelet and pancakes. After years of cooking for puck bunnies, I’ve learned to use only egg whites and perfected a low-carb pancake.
“No. Early morning.”
“Okay? And why are you moping around? You didn’thaveto get up early. You could literally stay in your room all day, and nobody would bother you.”
“Yeah, that’s the fucking problem,” I mumble.
Misha chuckles and pulls a bench up to mine. “Wanna tell me what’s really going on, loverboy?”
“What? How do you…? Why would you say that?”
Misha shrugs. “I know everything. Am I wrong?”
“No, you aren’t wrong.”
“So do you want to tell me what happened to have you walking into my gym like someone killed your puppy this morning?”
“I’ve been tryingeverythingto get Mila’s attention, and she won’t take the bait! I thought she liked me when she moved me into the room next to hers. And then Teddy told me she didn’t plan on staying at the compound much, but she’s been here every day, and, you know, maybe that was because of me—” Misha bursts out laughing. “What?”
“Okay…first off, Mila put you in the room next to hers because she’s afraid you’llburn the whole house down. And second, she hasn’t left because she has a shit ton of work to do and only a few months to get it done. Look, don’t take her attitude so personally. She’s head under water right now with the transition and, actually—” He looks at me with a raised brow and smirks. “Actually, you might be good for Mila right now.”
“Yeah, well. She doesn’t want anything to do with me, so it doesn’t matter.”
“What happened this morning?”
“I got up super early—”
“Yes, you’ve said that already.”
“To make her breakfast before the staff needed the kitchen—”
“By staff, you mean our in-house, highly rated chef, who needed the kitchen to make her breakfast. Go on.”
