"I get it."
"I don't want us to get in over our heads."
"We won't," he said. "We have a deal."
"But we're agreed about tonight," she asked. "Tonight, all bets are off, right?"
His eyes sparkled. "Roll over and spread your legs, baby. And I'll give you something to remember tomorrow."
*
He was right, she thought as she sat down Sunday morning in the breakfast nook and dug into her mother's pancakes. She definitely remembered every delicious second of the night before.
Her body was gloriously sore, and she was wonderfully relaxed. Her only regret, in fact, was that there wasn't going to be a repeat performance.
They'd set down strict rules, after all.
"Good morning, beautiful," Matthew said as he joined her, looking incredibly sexy in khaki shorts and a Henley style shirt. He forked a few pancakes onto his plate. "This looks amazing. How long have you been up?"
"This is my mom's handiwork," she said. "Although I don't know where she--oh! Mom!"
Her mother rushed in, heels clicking, on the tile floor. "Sweetie, I have to rush. We have a church function this morning."
"But I thought we were going to talk about the money."
Her mother shot a glance toward Matthew, then curved her lips into a smile. "I talked with Ernest last night, and I think what you want may be possible under the new circumstances." She put a hand on Matthew's shoulder, then winked.
"Seriously?"
"But we can't talk about it now. Let us talk it over here, and I'll call you."
"But--"
"Drive home safe. It was so good to see you. Kiss-kiss."
"Mom!"
But it was no use. Her mother was click-clacking her way to the garage, and Hannah was left with no cash and an incredibly hot man who she'd banned from her bed.
She sighed and reached for the syrup. At last the pancakes were amazing.
Chapter Nine
For three full days after they returned to Austin, Hannah didn't have any time at all to think about Matthew. And yet somehow he managed to be constantly in her thoughts.
He was there during the hours when she and Easton were reviewing the lease one final time before they signed it on Monday, double and triple checking that the release clause hadn't been altered, and they could still get out from under the obligation if her mother didn't come through with the money.
He was there when they talked with the utility companies about hooking them up with phone and Internet, and he was definitely there when they sat down at the library table and started talking about clients. Selma and Austin Free-Tail were on the list. And the first suggestion that Hannah made was to see if Herrington's Gym wanted to work with them as well.
Of course, Easton had already made contact with dozens of local businesses, and the two of them had meeting after non-stop meeting, sometimes retaining clients and sometimes setting up follow-up appointments.
They interviewed legal assistants, secretarial staff, and file clerks. And Easton started making calls to a few potential candidates to step in as the office manager.
Every night she went home exhausted.
And every night she fell asleep with Matthew on her mind. She'd even taken to walking the long way home to her condo, which took her down Lavaca instead of Colorado Street, simply because that's where his gym was located. The windows were tinted, but every once in a while the sun would hit at just the right angle, revealing a dim, almost film negative-like view of the interior. That happened once when she passed, and she caught a glimpse of him standing beside a leg-press talking to a woman who was nodding and sipping water. He paused, holding up his hand as if he were trying to catch a thought. Then he'd turned, as if searching for someone.
Her?