“Facets I can’t even remember exist sometimes,” she said, under her breath.
“So, the hot water in this house can be a little wonky sometimes,” he said. “I have to get it fixed. If you don’t get hot water, there is a pipe next to the water heater that has a wrench on top. Give it a couple taps, and it will kick right on.”
“Alrighty then,” she laughed.
“Oh, and the third board walking down the hallway creeks something awful, so if you’re trying to stay quiet, jump over that board, it’ll wake Jake up in a heartbeat,” he said.
“Got it,” I replied.
When we were done, I waved at her and walked her into the kitchen, showing her around the area I didn’t use very often, even when I was starving. I stood back and watched her look at all the cookware I had stocked the kitchen with when I bought the place. Everything seemed shiny and new, and I realized most of it still was.
“So, though this kitchen is full of beautiful cookware, stocked shelves, and interesting pieces of kitchen machinery, I’m a terrible cook,” I admitted. “To be honest, the most complex thing I know how to make is a hardboiled egg, and that isn’t always a no-fail for me. Last year’s Easter eggs were runny inside, which made for an interesting dinner party.”
“Oh no,” she laughed, running her hands over the stainless-steel appliances. “Well, you don’t have to worry because I love to cook.”
“Good,” I said, pulling out my phone. “But tonight, we feast on pizza.”
I called and ordered a large extra cheese and pepperoni pizza hoping it was something she liked. After I hung up, I looked over at her as she walked through the living room, looking at all the pictures of Jake on the fireplace. I had almost every year documented in some way, except for last year because his mother refused to let me buy a school picture. I walked over to the wine holder and pulled out a bottle of red, uncorking it, and pouring us each a glass. I walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, setting the wine on the coffee table, catching her attention and smiling with charm.
“Come on,” I said, patting the couch. “Come sit with me and enjoy a glass of wine.”
“Well,” she said, crinkling her nose. “Okay, you twisted my arm.”
We both laughed as she walked over and sat down on the couch, taking the glass of wine from me and sipping it. She closed her eyes and swallowed, nodding her head up and down at the taste. It wasn’t terribly fancy, but it was a fruity bouquet, not dry at all, with more sweetness than most red wines. I had a feeling she liked the sweet wines, so I figured I would go with that one.
“So,” I said, turning to her. “I think you should tell me any concerns you might have with our arrangement so they can be addressed now instead
of later when they could become a problem.”
As she began to talk, I nodded my head and took a sip of my wine. I looked over at her, and as my eyes began to sink from her eyes to her lips, I became entranced. They were light pink, pouty, and extremely full. The way she talked, licking her lips between sentences, and biting her bottom lip when she got nervous: it was way too sexy for me to handle at that moment, but nonetheless I continued to stare at them as she talked about whatever it was I had brought up, though my mind was clearly somewhere else.
I had told myself from the beginning that I was doing all of this under duress. I was not nearly ready for a commitment to one woman again and had only agreed to pursue such an arrangement when the whole situation came up with Jake. My son was the only reason I could think of to tie myself down again, especially to someone who I barely knew, though I was learning something interesting about her every day. But I couldn’t lie to myself; Quinn was extremely attractive, and it was getting harder and harder not to hit on her whenever I was close to her. The smell of her lavender and vanilla perfume had started driving me absolutely wild, and I knew at that point I needed to get these thoughts out of my mind. It was her first night here for God’s sake; I didn’t need to get distracted.
“Luke?”
“Huh? Oh God, I’m sorry,” I said, shaking my head and realizing I hadn’t heard a single word she’d said.
Quinn was so beautiful, but in an understated way; her looks were amazing, but what made her even sexier was her kindness. It was incredibly refreshing how she went out of her way to be there for others. Maybe I only noticed it because I had been married to a shrew for so long, but none of the girls that I’d been dating since the divorce had been anywhere near the kind of woman Quinn was. I had discovered that if I stood back and watched other people’s reactions to her, everywhere she went she lit up the room. Even in court, the judge smiled when she walked up, the officer was extremely sweet to her, and I could tell that Sarah’s attorney was having a hard time being mean to her in any way.
“This is embarrassing, but could you do me a favor, and repeat what you just said? I’m sorry, my mind skipped town for a second,” I laughed.
“God, I know how that feels,” she said, sighing.
She went on, talking about the issues she could think of that might arise, but her worries were small and easily resolved, and I assured her there wouldn’t be any problem. I sipped my wine and stared over at her, trying to keep my eyes on hers, but struggling every time she crossed her long sexy legs. It was beginning to look like I might be in trouble with this girl, and not because she was part of my secret.
Chapter Eighteen
Quinn
Having lived by myself for so long, with little to do with men, I was starting to wonder how I was supposed to live in such tight quarters with a man like Luke. There was no denying it: he was incredibly sexy, and this wasn’t the first time that I’d noticed it. In fact, I had always thought he was sexy, but this was just the first time we’d been alone together in a room without direct supervision. After my divorce, I had sworn off men, not even indulging in one-night-stands, friends with benefits, or anything along those lines. My libido had been buried under what seemed like ten feet of snow for a very, very long time. However, as I sat there next to Luke, I couldn’t help but feel it break free from the glaciers and begin to burn like the hot summer Arizona sun. It was so strong that I had to take a deep breath and cross my legs to keep myself in check. This was not like me at all, but at that moment, I was so ready to be someone other than me.
My brain was running all over the place, including up and down his giant biceps and strong chest. His smile was so charming it could melt my panties right off my body, and his five o’clock shadow made him look like an Armani model or something. How could any woman not love to crawl into bed with this man over and over again? He was such a distraction; I was having a hard time just getting words out of my mouth. I wondered if it was the wine talking or that I just let go enough that I could finally admit it to myself. Either way, I fumbled over my words and forced myself back into the present, trying to remember what I was talking about.
I sat there for a moment, completely silent, trying to find my words so I didn’t look like a complete idiot. God, what the hell was I just talking about? It was important to me when I brought it up, and I was thinking about it when he said issues, but then our bedroom popped into my mind. I smiled, remembering exactly what I was talking about, privacy.
“So yeah, what do we intend to do in order to ensure we both have ample amounts of privacy without impeding on what we’re doing, and staying familiar with each other?”
Nailed it! Thank God, I remembered what I was talking about without having to play damage control after getting lost on his thick, heavy thighs and strong man hands. I really needed to get a hold of myself. I cleared my throat and looked up at Luke, taking a sip of my wine and waiting for his answer. He seemed to be off in another world.