Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
“Cocky asshole,” I mutter, biting back my smile.
Oliver’s place is quiet when I get back from my classes. It feels weird to be here without him—like I’m doing something wrong—but I use my key as if I do this every day and drop my bag on a kitchen chair.
I turn to the couch to grab the bag of clothes Julie brought me from Chuck’s this morning. It’s not there. Neither is the romance novel she lent me. I have forty-five minutes to decompress before work, and all I want to do is change quickly so I have time to curl up with a book and forget my problems for a minute.
Instead of the bag of my belongings, there’s a fresh pile of pillows and blankets on one end of the couch. Oliver probably has a housekeeper.
“Must be nice,” I mutter.
I head to the bedroom, figuring the housekeeper has put my things in there. I stop in the doorway when I spot my book on the bedside table by Oliver’s big bed, like it’s been there all along. Was this the housekeeper, or does Oliver think I’m sleeping with him tonight?
Oh well. We’ll figure it out when I get home from work. Honestly, I wouldn’t object to a night in his bed—God knows there’s chemistry between us—but after Chuck, I don’t trust my judgment. If I’m smart, I’ll steer clear of men altogether and focus on my classes.
I strip out of the jeans I wore to classes, dig a fresh work shirt out of my bag, and toss it on the bed. It’s hot as hell outside, and it feels good to be in nothing but a tank and underwear.
When I head to the bathroom in the hall to freshen my makeup, I swing the door open and find Oliver is standing in front of the sink in nothing but a towel. His hair is wet and there are beads of water on his shoulders, like he’s just climbed out of the shower. He finishes a stroke with the razor before turning to me with an arched brow. “Can I help you?”
“I . . . You . . .” It’s final. His body should be etched in bronze and shown off in a museum. “Sorry. I didn’t know you were here,” I finally manage, though my gaze is stuck like glue to the trail of hair that disappears into his towel. Who knew a smattering of soft hair could be my new obsession, but here we are.
“Savvy, if you keep looking at me like that, my body’s natural reaction will seriously compromise the security of this towel.”
“Oh . . .” I tear my gaze off his abs and chest and meet his eyes. “Sorry. I thought there was a bathroom connected to your bedroom?” Great, Savvy. Tell the man where he can and can’t shower in his own home.
He shrugs and turns back to the sink, resuming his shave. “I’m giving you the bedroom, so I thought it made sense to give you the en suite bath as well.”
“You’re giving . . .” Why can’t I put a sentence together? Am I so feeble-minded that the sight of this mostly naked, beautiful man has fried my brain? I want to blame it on sex deprivation, but I’ve gone a few months without sex plenty times before.
“You didn’t sleep well on the couch,” he says, as if that explains everything.
“You’re, like, twice my size. How are you going to sleep there?”
He swipes away the last of the shaving cream with a final pass of the razor then turns on the water. “I can sleep anywhere.”
“Okay.” I bite my lip. “But why? Why are you doing any of this for me?”
“Maybe I’m trying to balance out my karmic debt.” He splashes water on his face, dries his hands on a small white towel, then turns toward me, stepping close. “Or maybe I want to be able to get home as late as I need to without waking you.” He tilts my chin up and studies my face. “How are you holding up today? Miss your boyfriend yet?”
I cough out a laugh. “No. He can go fuck himself. And he’s not my boyfriend.”
He grins. “That’s my girl.”
My girl.
I swallow, but he suddenly drops his hand and steps back as if realizing what he just said.
“Oliver, I’m kind of in a mess right now. It’s nice of you to offer me a place to crash, but I gave my brother what was left in my savings, and it’s going to take me a while to save up enough to get my own place.”
He shrugs. “Stay as long as you need. It’s not a problem.”
“It seems like too much.”
“It’s not. Stay as long as you want. We’ll talk tonight about how you can repay me.”
“I’ll do your housekeeping or something.”