about? What Claire had done felt spontaneous, and it was too
much for her. The emotion was too much, the intimacy, but
Haley was sure she’d felt it too.
Claire was so used to hardness, maybe what she needed was
something soft. The element of surprise. Maybe she needed to
be shown and guided to that place where she could be out of
control for once.
Haley had sworn that she wouldn’t go into Claire’s bedroom
or office without her permission again, but she was going to
break her own oath to herself. She would never get through to
Claire in the way she needed by keeping her own heart safe.
She was going to have to take the risk and just hope like crazy
it worked.
Chapter 14
Claire
Claire was working at her desk, her fingers flying over the
keys of her laptop even though her mind was elsewhere, as it
often was. She was distracted by thoughts of Haley, and since
she was at college, it was extra annoying. She wasn’t even in
the house, but Claire still felt her presence. Having the woman
share the same house was one of the worst ideas she’d ever
had. It had done a number on her body and her sanity. There
were still five months left to go in the agreement, and she was
more than tempted to tear that stupid contract up and send
Haley home where she belonged.
The thought of her leaving made Claire’s heart miss more
than a beat. It made it feel like there was something wrong
with the organ altogether. The kind of wrong that needed to be
looked at by a specialist because it felt a little bit like she was
dying. She was unfamiliar with the feeling.