afternoon.”
I stare at the massive beams that span the ceiling. All I have to do is sign it. So simple.
Luke lifts my head. “Why are you freaking out?”
“How do you know I am?”
“Your heartbeat got faster and you’re muscles tensed.”
“I have trouble reading stuff.”
There. I said it. I didn’t mean to, but the words fell out of my mouth. I watch for a reaction. Learning difficulties have always been the thing I carried around, but they’re helpful in a strange way. I took a million tests when I was in school. Vision. Perception. IQ. No one ever really understood why I couldn’t get it. But my learning issues are a test, too. Like a little personality test. I can tell a lot about someone by how they treat my problem or me when they find out.
“Contracts are a bitch to read,” he says. “I’ll help you.”
“I have trouble reading all sorts of stuff. Not just contracts.”
He plunks his head down and sighs happily as he settles his head between my breasts. “S’all right,” he murmurs. “You can’t be good at everything. Everyone has something, Tart.”
I smile and stroke his hair. The bristles of his short beard prickle the tender skin of my breasts, but I like feeling him there.
We get up and he makes me breakfast. Pancakes. Bacon. Eggs. He walks around the kitchen in a pair of boxers making breakfast. It’s as if he owns the kitchen. If I stepped in there to help, I’m sure I’d get mowed down by six and a half feet of fury. He’s a man on a mission, frowning at the pancake batter, beating the eggs with a whisk, frying bacon to a perfection.
My mouth waters.
“Being taken advantage of makes a person hungry,” I say.
He grins as he flips a pancake. “For both parties.”
We sit and eat at a big table and he grins when I serve myself seconds of, well, everything.
Later, Luke and I sprawl together on the couch, drinking coffee and reading the contract. He leans against the armrest and I lie against his chest and he goes through the paragraphs with me. Not once is he snide or superior.
He holds the papers in one hand and wraps his other arm around me. Every so often, I look over my shoulder and catch a glimpse of him wearing his reading glasses. I’m seeing the side of him that is professional, no-nonsense and I find it sexy as hell. Not that he needed anymore points in that category, but seeing him so studious and going to bat for me, overwhelms me.
He’s looked at a lot of contracts and agreements and for a moment I’m struck by how lucky I am he’s helping me with this.
“It all looks good, baby,” he murmurs, as he sets the contract aside and folds me in his arms.
“I’ll sign it and send it back.”
I was sure the new owners would balk at the profit-sharing, but the percentage is right there. Luke double checks things for me.
“Everything looks good,” he says.
I sign and hand it to him. He faxes the contract back to the lawyer. Now, all I need to do is wait for the money to be deposited and figure out what to do with the rest of my life. This is the first time since I was twelve or thirteen that I don’t have a job or responsibility. I stare out the window, getting lost in the view.
Luke steps behind me and encircles me with his arms. We stand together in silence and I revel in the feel of his arms around me. The contract is signed. He’s under no obligation to watch out for me and I wonder if he’s thinking how to make a clean break or if he wants to continue this thing we have.
He rubs my arm and turns away. “I’m going to go for a run.”
I keep my gaze fixed on the horizon. I’d like to run too, but I sense he wants some time to himself. After he leaves, I head to the shower. Sometimes that works to clear my head. The hot water streams down my body and I notice how sore I am from making love.
I’m dried off and finishing dressing when I hear the door open.
“That wasn’t ten miles,” I say. “Did I wear you out?”
The bathroom door
I stare at the massive beams that span the ceiling. All I have to do is sign it. So simple.
Luke lifts my head. “Why are you freaking out?”
“How do you know I am?”
“Your heartbeat got faster and you’re muscles tensed.”
“I have trouble reading stuff.”
There. I said it. I didn’t mean to, but the words fell out of my mouth. I watch for a reaction. Learning difficulties have always been the thing I carried around, but they’re helpful in a strange way. I took a million tests when I was in school. Vision. Perception. IQ. No one ever really understood why I couldn’t get it. But my learning issues are a test, too. Like a little personality test. I can tell a lot about someone by how they treat my problem or me when they find out.
“Contracts are a bitch to read,” he says. “I’ll help you.”
“I have trouble reading all sorts of stuff. Not just contracts.”
He plunks his head down and sighs happily as he settles his head between my breasts. “S’all right,” he murmurs. “You can’t be good at everything. Everyone has something, Tart.”
I smile and stroke his hair. The bristles of his short beard prickle the tender skin of my breasts, but I like feeling him there.
We get up and he makes me breakfast. Pancakes. Bacon. Eggs. He walks around the kitchen in a pair of boxers making breakfast. It’s as if he owns the kitchen. If I stepped in there to help, I’m sure I’d get mowed down by six and a half feet of fury. He’s a man on a mission, frowning at the pancake batter, beating the eggs with a whisk, frying bacon to a perfection.
My mouth waters.
“Being taken advantage of makes a person hungry,” I say.
He grins as he flips a pancake. “For both parties.”
We sit and eat at a big table and he grins when I serve myself seconds of, well, everything.
Later, Luke and I sprawl together on the couch, drinking coffee and reading the contract. He leans against the armrest and I lie against his chest and he goes through the paragraphs with me. Not once is he snide or superior.
He holds the papers in one hand and wraps his other arm around me. Every so often, I look over my shoulder and catch a glimpse of him wearing his reading glasses. I’m seeing the side of him that is professional, no-nonsense and I find it sexy as hell. Not that he needed anymore points in that category, but seeing him so studious and going to bat for me, overwhelms me.
He’s looked at a lot of contracts and agreements and for a moment I’m struck by how lucky I am he’s helping me with this.
“It all looks good, baby,” he murmurs, as he sets the contract aside and folds me in his arms.
“I’ll sign it and send it back.”
I was sure the new owners would balk at the profit-sharing, but the percentage is right there. Luke double checks things for me.
“Everything looks good,” he says.
I sign and hand it to him. He faxes the contract back to the lawyer. Now, all I need to do is wait for the money to be deposited and figure out what to do with the rest of my life. This is the first time since I was twelve or thirteen that I don’t have a job or responsibility. I stare out the window, getting lost in the view.
Luke steps behind me and encircles me with his arms. We stand together in silence and I revel in the feel of his arms around me. The contract is signed. He’s under no obligation to watch out for me and I wonder if he’s thinking how to make a clean break or if he wants to continue this thing we have.
He rubs my arm and turns away. “I’m going to go for a run.”
I keep my gaze fixed on the horizon. I’d like to run too, but I sense he wants some time to himself. After he leaves, I head to the shower. Sometimes that works to clear my head. The hot water streams down my body and I notice how sore I am from making love.
I’m dried off and finishing dressing when I hear the door open.
“That wasn’t ten miles,” I say. “Did I wear you out?”
The bathroom door
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