Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 88317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“It’s from my friend, Christina.”
“You don’t have to lie. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“I know that. And I wouldn’t be ashamed. But I didn’t order this for myself.”
Josh wriggled his brows. “Well, we should all have more friends like Christina, then.”
I managed a smile. “She’s nuts, but I love her.” I waved the package around. “I’ll just…put this away.”
“Is there any reason she felt the need to send that?” Josh asked as I headed for my room.
“No.” I swallowed. “It’s just a gag gift.”
“Did you tell her about our…slip up?”
A rush of heat traveled through me. “No, I didn’t.”
“You don’t tell her everything?”
“Not everything.” I tilted my head. “Did you tell your brothers?”
“No.”
“Are you ashamed?” I asked. “Is that why?”
“No. It’s just no one’s business.”
“Exactly.”
I looked down and could have sworn the bulge in Josh’s pants was a bit bigger than normal. Is he aroused? Or did I just want to believe he was?
“Well, I’m going to take a shower and get ready.”
“Yeah.” He stared at me. “You do that.”
As the water rained down on me, I resisted touching myself. I knew if I did, I’d imagine Josh, and I didn’t want to go into this date tonight thinking about another man—even if the orgasm would have calmed me down.
When I exited the bathroom, I could hear Josh talking in Scottie’s bedroom. It sounded like he was reading him a book. That squeezed my heart. Scottie was technically an adult, but he had a lot of children’s books on a shelf that we would occasionally read to him when he wasn’t glued to his devices. He seemed to appreciate the vibrant colors and the simplicity of the stories.
I ventured to my room to start getting dressed. After putting on my bra and panties, I wrapped a silk robe over my body while I worked on my hair and makeup.
A few minutes later, there was a light knock on the door. “Are you decent?” I heard Josh ask.
I stopped curling my hair for a moment and put the iron down. “Yeah. Come in.”
“Hey.” He slipped his hands into his pockets as he entered.
“I heard you reading to Scottie. I love that.”
“He likes to turn the pages—sometimes before I’m done reading.” He smiled. “I can’t take a hint, apparently.”
“What’s he doing now?” I asked.
“He’s just chilling with his iPad.” Josh’s eyes lingered on mine. “Anyway…I wanted to apologize if I made you uncomfortable earlier with the whole dildo thing.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. You accidentally opened it. It begged to be talked about.”
His brown hair fell messily over his forehead, and the light in my room made his hazel eyes glow. God, he looked so handsome. My nipples hardened. There was something different about the mood tonight.
There was always sexual tension between Josh and me, but it had felt magnified all day. He wouldn’t dare admit it, but I sensed he didn’t want me to go out tonight.
I lifted my hair iron and began to use it again.
“It’s fascinating what women feel like they have to go through,” he noted.
“No one’s forcing me. I like curling my hair.”
“It doesn’t matter what you fucking wear, Carly, or how you do your hair. What I mean is, you’re gonna look beautiful either way. This guy is gonna be salivating and ready to pounce. So be careful.”
I turned to him. “Are you flirting with me, Mathers?”
“No,” he said. “I was just warning you.”
My eyebrows rose. “Swear on Bubba-Hank.”
He muttered something under his breath, but notably did not swear on our precious former goldendoodle.
Josh continued watching me as I finished my hair and moved to peruse the outfits in the closet. I hadn’t brought a ton of nice clothes with me, so there were just a few items that would work for a night out.
“You need help deciding?” he asked.
I blew a breath up into my hair. “Yeah, actually.”
Josh came over and ran his big, masculine fingers along the stuff hanging in the closet. I envied those clothes, because I wanted nothing more than to be touched by that hand. He lifted one of the hangers, selecting a slinky black sweater dress.
He held it up to me. “I like you in this.”
“You’ve seen me in that?”
“Yeah. You wore it the day we went to visit the second group home. It looks really damn good on you.”
I tried not to show my surprise at his excellent memory. “Well, if you like it, I’ll wear it,” I said, a hint of seductiveness in my tone. I hadn’t meant to come across as flirtatious, but that’s the vibe this whole exchange gave me. I was just playing along.
Josh laid the outfit on my bed. Then he returned to the spot in front of me, a distinct look of wanting in his eyes—the same look I was sure I had right now.