Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Good. I have enough day-old baked goods that are still fresh enough to make sandwiches for Mom, Brendan, and me today. I don’t need to do a small bake.
I go back up, and Brendan is still asleep.
I don’t want to wake him, so I get in the shower, and when I’m done, I go back out to the kitchen and pour myself a cup of coffee.
Will he want breakfast? It’s eight a.m. Late for me but early for him.
Does he even eat breakfast? Again, so much I don’t know.
Well, I want some breakfast. I throw a few slices of the day-old bread into my toaster, and then I grab some eggs out of the refrigerator.
I don’t have any breakfast meats, as I don’t like them. I hope that won’t disappoint Brendan.
I do have some of Aunt Marjorie’s delicious spiced Palisade peach jam. Perfect for toast.
The smell of toast and eggs doesn’t rouse Brendan, so I eat breakfast alone, do some quick chores around the apartment, and leaf through a magazine and take the monthly quiz. Turns out I don’t put sex before work.
Shocking.
Eleven rolls around, and I have to wake him because we’re meeting my mother in an hour.
I walk back into the bedroom and—
He’s just getting out of bed.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” I say.
“Man. I slept hard for someone who didn’t work last night.”
“You worked.” I smile.
“Glad you enjoyed the efforts.”
“I can’t think of any time I’ve enjoyed a man’s efforts more.” So much truth in those words.
Brendan Murphy is a magnificent lover. Maybe his age is a benefit. No man my own age has ever made me feel like that. He’s got a lot more experience. That must be what it is. What else could it be?
I’m certainly not having feelings for him.
At least that’s what I keep telling myself…
I can’t get swept away. Sex is not love. I must remain in my own head.
He rises, naked, his dick semihard.
I have to stop myself from salivating at the sight of it.
He’s such a beautiful specimen of a man. Absolutely majestic with that long hair. He could be royalty.
Then I laugh out loud.
“Something funny?” he says. “I’m standing here naked. You’re going to give me a complex.”
“If you must know, I was thinking about how you look like royalty. But then I thought about the fact that a lot of actual royals aren’t always that good-looking.”
“Okay. I’ll accept that explanation.”
“You look like a highland warrior, Brendan. With that Irish red hair.”
“The Highlands are in Scotland.”
“I know that. But still…”
“I don’t suppose I could convince you to join me in the shower,” he says.
“God…” My flesh heats. “That is tempting, but I’ve already showered, and we’re meeting my mom soon.”
“I understand.”
“Do you want anything to eat? I had some breakfast…three hours ago.”
He stretches his arms above his head. “No. I can wait until lunch.”
“Coffee, then?”
“That I will take you up on.”
“Okay. I’ll just bring a cup to you in the bathroom.”
“Sounds great.”
I go back to the kitchen, and of course the coffee is now cold. I heat a cup in the microwave and take it to Brendan, leaving it on the counter in the bathroom. I can’t resist taking a quick peek at him through the shower doors.
I leave the bathroom before I’m tempted to strip and join him.
“I’m stumped,” Mom says, after looking at my text and Brendan’s email.
“But you don’t seem concerned,” I say.
Mom strokes her medium-brown hair, which is the same hue as mine—if I didn’t color it. She uses a henna rinse to cover her few gray strands. She’s wearing jeans and a gray Mesa College sweatshirt, where Gina is a senior. “No. I have pretty good intuition from all my years doing detective work. I don’t get the feeling that this is any kind of threat. But I am going to make sure you’re safe.”
“Meaning?”
“I’ll have your father get security set up for you. The family’s in the process of hiring a new security company anyway. We’ll just add this to that contract.”
“Mom, no.”
“Ava, sweetheart, this is important to me. Your day-to-day life won’t be affected at all.”
“I don’t need some huge piece of muscle sitting in my bakery all day watching me. It will scare away the customers.”
“No, I don’t mean an actual bodyguard. Just security keeping watch on you. They’re very unobtrusive.”
I let out a heavy sigh. “And again…my answer’s going to be a no on that, Mom.”
“Ava,” Brendan says, “I think your mom may be right.”
“Et tu, Brendan?”
“I just think—”
“You just think I’m young and can’t take care of myself,” I finish for him.
“Ava, don’t put words in my mouth,” he says. “But if there’s any chance that this could be some kind of threat, I agree with your mom. You should be safe.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m a grown woman. I can take care of myself.”