“
Oh, no. They
’
re wonderful. Any time the Crown
’
s need me to watch them, I
’
m more than happy to,
”
she said, now standing mere inches from me.
Her hair was in a messy ponytail, with wisps of hair falling over her flawless face. Unable to help myself, I closed the distance, my hand tucking a piece of the dark silk behind her ear, the edges of my fingers grazing against her soft skin. My body was on fire. It yelled at me not to stop, my mind eliciting millions of possible ways to touch her creamy skin.
“
Oh,
”
a tiny gasp. Her lush lips parted and I leaned forward a tiny bit more, putting my face in her space; breathing in her air, her scent, and, God, her smell. She was completely intoxicating. Vanilla and warmth mixed with something else, something I couldn’t place; something I shouldn
’
t place. Common sense whipped through me and I stepped back, pretending to pull something from her hair.
Anne
“
You had a little something
…”
His deep voice told me and I was mortified!
When he
’
d closed the space between us, tucking a stray hair behind my ear, I had about melted into a puddle at his feet. When he’d leaned his head in closer, his perfect square jaw beckoning my hands to hold it, to feel the stubble on his face, my eyes had landed on his lips and my body had gone still.
I might have dated one of the most horrible men I could have ever found. A man who I
’
d once naively pictured as Prince Charming, but had been completely wrong about. Even before then, I hadn
’
t been an innocent wallflower. I
’
d been kissed plenty, but I strongly believed men should be the ones to initiate. So my stupid mind beckoned my body to stay still, to hold my breath when John stopped in front of me momentarily. I started to close my eyes when I felt his hand touch my hair. That’s when his words processed through my lust-filled mind and cleared it instantly.
Of course there was something in my hair. It was probably a Cheerio that had been flung by Zoey or Nikki. I didn
’
t know if I wanted to laugh or cry, so I tried to laugh, but even to my ears I knew it wasn
’
t convincing.
“
Of course,
”
I smiled as I looked up at him, wondering what he thought of me. He probably thought I was a mess.
“
Any plans for tomorrow?
”
He asked casually. A breeze was picking up.
“
Not really,
”
I answered him, staring at the dark pools of his intense eyes as I shook my head and tried not to react to being around him, reminding myself of my place in his world.
“
Is there something you need done?
”
“
Done?
”
He asked, looking confused, his eyes drifting to my lips and then back to my eyes. Had he been checking me out? I probably had something on my face.
“
Did you need me to prepare something for you? You were asking if I had plans.
”
His eyes went wide, his hand in the air, and a smile spread on his gorgeous face, making him seem less bristly than normal. Which was bad. I clenched my thighs together.
“
I was thinking of having a few people over, I was
…
umm,
”
his face contorted slightly as if he was looking for the correct word. He seemed nervous.
“
I was hoping you could help with some things.
”
Even though I knew it was in my job description, whatever was left of the hope I had deflated.
“
Of course. That
’
s my job,
”
I responded quickly, wincing at the cold tone in my voice. I straightened my back and stepped back.
“
Anything in particular you would like, Mr. Davenport?
”
“
What?
”
Confusion once again clouded his eyes, the carefreeness of his expression filtering away.
“
For your get-together, Sir. Or would you rather talk about menu ideas in the morning?
”
I couldn
’
t help the irritation in my voice. I wasn
’
t sure if it was at him or at myself.
“
Anne
…
I
…”
He stood up straighter and took his own step back.
“
We
’
ll talk about it over breakfast. We
’
ll leave at eight.
”
“
Leave?
”
“
To breakfast
…”
“
I don
’
t think
…
.
”
“
Never mind, I
’
ll bring breakfast here. I
’
ll be here at eight. Is that okay?
”
Trying not to wince at the early wake-up call, I nodded my head, slightly confused. He was bringing breakfast? Did he know how to cook?
“
Umm
…”
“
Okay. Well, good night, Anne.
”
“
Night, Mr
…”
“
John. It
’
s John, Anne.
”
He stepped forward, his hand slightly touching mine, giving it a reassuring squeeze, his dark eyes somehow sparkling.
“
It
’
s just John...okay?
”
“
Umm,
”
something about the tone of his voice and the sparkle in his eyes made my brain short-circuit and the reaction bewildered me.
“
Yes. Right, then,
”
I murmured, not able to look away from him, and when he smiled sexily at me, my heart literally felt as if it had flipped inside out of itself.
John
Beyond perplexed at the mess in front of me, I ran my fingers through my hair. I needed a haircut. I needed a haircut and breakfast, because there was no way I could take the shit I had cooked up to Anne and Zoey; not that Zoey was actually going to eat what I had made. Rubbing my hands over my face, I sighed at the clock on the stove as it blared the time in red at me.
Picking up the phone, I was surprised that it only took two rings.
“
John, you better be having a heart attack,
”
Mike
’
s deep voice groggily answered.
“
I
’
m not.
”
“
Then what do you want?
”
He growled in a sleep-filled voice.
“
I ...I need your help,
”
I admitted and the phone went silent.
“
Mike? Mike, are you there?
”
“
Yeah...You sure you
’
re not having a heart attack?
”
“
Mike.
”
“
Stroke maybe?
”
He asked, amusement filling his voice and I rolled my eyes.
“
Mike
…”
“
I know, you
’
re having an aneurysm
…
because in the lifetime we
’
ve been friends, you
’
ve never, not once, literally asked me for help.
”
“
You fucking done?
”
I asked and I heard him whispering to Sabrina to go back to sleep. There was shuffling in the background as I listened to him get out of bed and head downstairs to the small office Mike and Sabrina shared in their home.
“
Okay, what the fuck is going on that you had to call me at
…
.Jesus Christ, John, it
’
s not even six in the morning.
”
“
I need you to invite some people over here for a BBQ.
”
Again, I was met with silence. Frustration and panic were crashing through me at the sight of the disaster I had made in the kitchen, and Mike was acting like a dick.
“
Mike.
”
“
When?
”
“
Uh
…
today.
”
“
Do I want to know why you, Mr. Solitaire, who lives alone on a creepy fucking hill with no neighbors in sight, who always has a permanent scowl on his face if he's forced to be around more than two people, want to have a BBQ last minute today?
”
He was annoyed, but I knew this wasn’t going to stop him from busting my balls.
“
No, wait, I do actually, I want to know
…”
“
I thought it would be ...nice
…
.
”
I lied. I hated having people over and having to entertain them.
“
You thought it would be nice?
”
He repeated, his tone incredulous.
“
Yes,
”
I clipped and that
’
s when I heard the roar of laughter on the other end. I pulled the phone away from my ear, not feeling amused at his reaction.
I let him laugh for a bit, and my eyes went to the bay window. Staring, I wondered what it would be like to wake up in the small guest house, with her in my arms. Hell, what it would feel like to have her in my arms? Heaven. It would probably feel like heaven.
Running my fingers through my hair at my lunacy, I looked at the flour-covered countertops that were about to give me an ulcer.
“
Are you fucking done now?
”
“
Does this have anything to do with that sweet little housekeeper you have living with you?
”
“
Don
’
t be an asshole.
”
“
Fine. Then I won
’
t help. Good night, John
…”
“
Wait.
”
I quickly spit out and closed my eyes
“
Yes. Shit. Fine, I
…”
a knot formed in my throat, making it impossible to make my thoughts come out clearly.
“
Mike...I
…”
my voice came out throaty and I stopped talking. Shit, I didn’t know what the fuck was wrong with me, what with suddenly not being able to breathe or talk. Maybe I
was
having a heart attack.
“
You like her, John. It’s okay,
”
his voice sounded more serious now.
“
I shouldn
’
t
”
I clipped.
“
Probably not, but only because she
’
s your employee and you don
’
t want to swing your ass out there and risk a possible sexual harassment suit. Though, I don
’
t think you have to worry about that. She likes you, too.
”
“
She
’
s too young.
”
“
Not too young
…”
“
Seventeen-year age difference Mike, shit. What the fuck am I thinking?
”
“
You
’
ve been thinking for too long, John. I
’
ve been around her, and the kids have been around her. She
’
s older than her years, John. I
’
ve seen you two together....
”
“
I don
’
t think I have that in me, Mike. I don
’
t have much to give
…”
Mike stayed silent on the other end and it made me keep talking,
“
They deserve to be given the world
…”
“
Is that really what you think a woman like Anne wants? Is that what you thought Sabina wanted from me? Learn from me, man, don
’
t make my mistakes. No games, no bullshit. Women like Anne and Sabrina don
’
t want that shit, man. They don
’
t need things. I mean, sure, Anne is going through a thing, financially and whatever the hell she
’
s running from, but you know what I mean. If I have it to give to not only Sabrina but the kids, too
…”
“
I don
’
t know
…”
“
You do. You give to more than just me, you idiot. You give more to Sabrina, the kids, even fucking Nick. Losing Alice didn
’
t turn your heart into stone, John.
”
Hearing her name didn
’
t hurt as badly anymore as it once had.
Knowing me as well as he did, Mike continued talking.
“
So, a BBQ? Today?
”
“
Yeah.
”
“
Emmi and Dan went to visit his parents. I can get Holly & Robert....Maybe Tony
…
Jake, Nick, Jerry with Cara and the twins. I
’
ll make some calls.
”
“
Thanks.
”
“
So, are you ordering food?
”
“
I was wondering if that beautiful wife of yours knew of a great last minute caterer that might be available.
”
I heard him laugh and imagined him shaking his head.
“
Okay. You owe me! Big! And expect me to cash in! I need an hour of sleep before I have to get this shit together
…
how does one in the afternoon sound?
”
“
Perfect! I
’
ll text you my credit card for Sabrina to use.
”