would make me happier than to have you home making me laugh, so let’s pinky swear.” She tugged her hand away from her sister’s and crooked her little finger. “We’re both going to do whatever it takes to make that happen, ASAP. And I promise I’ll work on getting my shit together.”
Clarissa clasped her pinky with Sadie’s and wiggled it. “Deal.” The heavy tension in the air disappeared in an instant. “Now, on to more important stuff. Did you hear one of the Kardashian sisters is going to name her baby Kale? Like the vegetable…”
Sadie stayed for another hour and they chatted about celebrities and current events and some new recipes they would try when Clarissa came home. By the time she walked out into the warm summer sunshine, she was feeling like a weight had been lifted off her. Like she’d been in a dark room and someone had finally showed her where the light switch was.
She’d spent the last decade and a half insulating herself from life and staying inside a little bubble because really living felt like a betrayal. From high school on, she’d wondered how could she go to dances and make friends and run track and flirt with boys while her baby sister lay in a hospital bed with tubes coming out of her nose and her hair falling out?
But she had it all wrong. Clarissa wanted those things for her. And not living life to the fullest was the real betrayal. Jesus, she’d been so blind and stupid.
No more, though. She had her health. She had her youth.
And, unless something had changed in the past twelve hours, she still had a chance to take life --and Jake Callahan-- by the balls. Even if it was just for a little while…
* * *
“ S o here’s what we’ve got, in case you need to pull a quick disappearing act.”
Jake laid the blueprints out on the mahogany table and set a pair of coasters on each side to weigh them down.
Sadie let out a low whistle from between her teeth.
"Fancy. Mine aren't nearly as nice, and they're also dated. I didn't even know about that new wing, or the second wine cellar." She tapped her index finger to the paper, indicating the spots she was referring to. "I bought my set from the nice lady at the desk of the deeds department at town hall and she let me photocopy them. You?"
"I made sure the architect who built the home when Alistair purchased it two years ago was on my payroll. Every time there was an upgrade or change, he redid the blueprints for me."
She inclined her head and made like she was bowing to him. "Well, clearly I'm in the presence of a master. I'll have to keep that in mind."
Another compliment. It was the third so far, and she’d only been in his house for an hour. He found himself both intrigued and suspicious.
He hadn’t even been sure she would take his call that morning after the way last night had ended. She’d thrown him for a loop when she not only agreed to meet him, but called back a couple hours later to suggest getting takeout and eating at his house. Ever the optimist, his dick had gone stiff in an instant at the implications, but his brain was more cautious. Was this another grift? Some sort of angle to get into his house? The idea that he’d now become the mark would have been almost funny if it wasn’t such a real possibility.
But even that didn’t do fuck all to deflate his cock. Especially not when she walked in wearing a swing-y, sexy skirt paired with a white halter-top that made her look like a nineteen-fifties pinup.
She leaned over the long dining table to look closer at the blueprints, giving him a glorious, unobstructed view of her cleavage.
“I’ve been a solid card mechanic for more than ten years. I have no intention of getting caught, but if for some reason, the shit hits the fan, it seems like the best thing for me to do is to head out through the east wing and down the servants’ stairs out the side kitchen door.” She straightened to face him.
He dragged his gaze away from her perfect-handful breasts
Clarissa clasped her pinky with Sadie’s and wiggled it. “Deal.” The heavy tension in the air disappeared in an instant. “Now, on to more important stuff. Did you hear one of the Kardashian sisters is going to name her baby Kale? Like the vegetable…”
Sadie stayed for another hour and they chatted about celebrities and current events and some new recipes they would try when Clarissa came home. By the time she walked out into the warm summer sunshine, she was feeling like a weight had been lifted off her. Like she’d been in a dark room and someone had finally showed her where the light switch was.
She’d spent the last decade and a half insulating herself from life and staying inside a little bubble because really living felt like a betrayal. From high school on, she’d wondered how could she go to dances and make friends and run track and flirt with boys while her baby sister lay in a hospital bed with tubes coming out of her nose and her hair falling out?
But she had it all wrong. Clarissa wanted those things for her. And not living life to the fullest was the real betrayal. Jesus, she’d been so blind and stupid.
No more, though. She had her health. She had her youth.
And, unless something had changed in the past twelve hours, she still had a chance to take life --and Jake Callahan-- by the balls. Even if it was just for a little while…
* * *
“ S o here’s what we’ve got, in case you need to pull a quick disappearing act.”
Jake laid the blueprints out on the mahogany table and set a pair of coasters on each side to weigh them down.
Sadie let out a low whistle from between her teeth.
"Fancy. Mine aren't nearly as nice, and they're also dated. I didn't even know about that new wing, or the second wine cellar." She tapped her index finger to the paper, indicating the spots she was referring to. "I bought my set from the nice lady at the desk of the deeds department at town hall and she let me photocopy them. You?"
"I made sure the architect who built the home when Alistair purchased it two years ago was on my payroll. Every time there was an upgrade or change, he redid the blueprints for me."
She inclined her head and made like she was bowing to him. "Well, clearly I'm in the presence of a master. I'll have to keep that in mind."
Another compliment. It was the third so far, and she’d only been in his house for an hour. He found himself both intrigued and suspicious.
He hadn’t even been sure she would take his call that morning after the way last night had ended. She’d thrown him for a loop when she not only agreed to meet him, but called back a couple hours later to suggest getting takeout and eating at his house. Ever the optimist, his dick had gone stiff in an instant at the implications, but his brain was more cautious. Was this another grift? Some sort of angle to get into his house? The idea that he’d now become the mark would have been almost funny if it wasn’t such a real possibility.
But even that didn’t do fuck all to deflate his cock. Especially not when she walked in wearing a swing-y, sexy skirt paired with a white halter-top that made her look like a nineteen-fifties pinup.
She leaned over the long dining table to look closer at the blueprints, giving him a glorious, unobstructed view of her cleavage.
“I’ve been a solid card mechanic for more than ten years. I have no intention of getting caught, but if for some reason, the shit hits the fan, it seems like the best thing for me to do is to head out through the east wing and down the servants’ stairs out the side kitchen door.” She straightened to face him.
He dragged his gaze away from her perfect-handful breasts
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