Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 25768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Though she had a trust fund given to her by her grandparents, she couldn’t access the money until she turned thirty. She could withdraw the interest that was deposited, but she couldn’t access the account in the Hamptons. Her checking account had been funded by her parents during college and until she got a job, she was stuck relying on them. Annabelle would give her money but she hated to ask, wanting to figure out a way to stand on her own two feet.
“If I remember correctly, there’s an ATM near the bar, right?” she asked.
“There is. Come on.” He opened the door and tipped his head, indicating she should walk through.
Passing him, she inhaled and was treated to his masculine scent, one she recognized as sandalwood. A warm, exotic fragrance with hints of vanilla, it was her favorite smell. Her interest in the arts and sciences were varied and she’d taken courses in fragrance making at the Fashion Institute of Technology, using trust fund money her parents couldn’t track. No way did she want to hear them complain about wasting time and money. She’d eventually settled into art history, but her memory of different scents remained clear.
And Maddox’s scent, especially when they were enclosed in his Jeep, made her want to crawl into his lap, bury her face in his neck and breathe him in for as long as he’d let her.
He remained quiet on the trip into town and she respected his obvious need for silence. She’d invaded his life enough already.
He parked behind the bar near her convertible and they both got out of Jeep. “I take it that’s yours?” He gestured to the BMW.
She nodded. “But I’ll be in town for a while. I want to do some shopping after the bank.”
He worked the house key off the holder and handed it to her. “There’s a hardware store on the corner of Main. Make yourself a copy and bring me the original when you’re through.”
Surprised, she curled her fingers around the key in his hand, sliding over the roughened callouses on his skin, so different from the smooth touch of the typical men in her life. Men who wouldn’t know a hammer from a wrench. She found a guy who worked with his hands surprisingly sexy.
Especially this man. “Thank you,” she said, clasping his hand in hers. “I know I pushed you into letting me stay and I’m truly grateful.” Before she lost her nerve, she rose to her toes and pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek before spinning on her heels and walking away.
Chapter Three
Maddox spent the next few hours at the bar, catching up on paperwork and doing his best not to think about his new houseguest and those kisses. The one in his kitchen nearly had him throwing his common sense out the window and hauling her into his bed, and the sweet brush against his cheek shouldn’t have impacted him the way it did. Both left him rock hard and wanting her, and appreciating her ability to be gracious even if she was right. She had pushed him into the decision.
A knock sounded on the door, and he looked up, grateful for the distraction. “Hey,” he said, leaning back in his seat.
Zach walked into the room followed by Remy. Zach had been the first man to start an investigative agency as well as the first Back Door in New York City. Once Remy left the police force, he’d bought into both businesses, and they’d opened the bar in the Hamptons.
What few people knew, because he didn’t announce it, was that Remy, full name Remington Sterling, was one of The Sterlings, a family who owned a financial equity firm going back two generations. The man was incredibly wealthy but never acted like he came from money. He had ghosts in his past he never spoke of and Maddox wouldn’t push. A man was entitled to his secrets. First a New York City detective, now a bar owner and P.I., Remy resided in Manhattan and kept a low profile.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Maddox asked his bosses.
It wasn’t unusual for the men to come to the bar but Zach usually left him to run things unless there were issues, like when Maddox’s younger brother had been stealing from the liquor supply. He still cringed at the memory. Luckily, neither man held it against Maddox, and thanks in part to Zach’s woman, Hadley, Maddox’s brother had gotten his life back on track. Remy and Zach went back and forth between the city and the Hamptons for business meetings with the Hamptons being the summer site of choice.
Zach settled into the chair in front of Maddox’s desk. “Hadley wanted to go shopping and I figured I’d come see how you’re doing. Ran into him as I was walking in.” He gestured to Remy, who was leaning against the wall beside him.