Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Josey
I followed Reg’s perfect ass right into his walk-in shower, pressed him against the wall, and buried my face into the crook of his neck.
If he was my boyfriend and we were half our age, I would cover his neck in hickeys so everyone we met knew exactly what we got up to when the doors were closed.
But we weren’t teenagers, we were grown adults and on top of that, we were strangers.
I bared my teeth against his shoulder blade and took a step toward the opposite end of the shower, folding my hands together behind my back.
“You’re addictive,” I murmured.
He glanced shyly at me over his shoulder, expression making it clear he didn’t believe me. “Can I wash you?”
“God, yes.”
Reg squirted some soap onto a sponge, the scent of eucalyptus immediately filling the small space, and he stared at my chest while he worked his hands around to create a lather.
He hesitated before touching me again, so I took his hands and put them both onto my body and brought as much of our soapy and wet skin into contact as I could manage.
“You can touch me anywhere you want,” I assured him. “I don’t like pain, but I don’t think you have it in you.”
Reg shivered, gooseflesh prickling up the side of his arms even under the hot spray of the shower.
He slipped his hands over my shoulders and down my sides, making sure every exposed part of me was washed and clean before he even bothered paying attention to himself.
Part of me wished he would have just used my body to clean his, but that probably would have defeated the purpose of taking a shower in the first place.
We managed to get rinsed and dried off without any major delays, but when we were back in the bedroom to get dressed, I found myself faced with the absolute worst-case scenario possible.
“It’s wet and cold,” I said, staring down at my very messy underwear.
“Do you want to borrow a pair of mine?” he asked. “They’re just cotton.”
I kissed his temple, breathing in the fresh scent of him. I liked the way he smelled, and I liked that I smelled like him now too.
“I think I’m a little too big for yours,” I said. “I can just…” Trailing off, I stepped into my jeans and hiked them up to my hips. “Freeball it.”
Reg groaned, turning away from me and stalking toward his closet for clean clothes for himself. “I don’t know which is hotter.”
He was so unbelievably adorable and perfect, I didn’t know what to do with him. The fact he was single blew my mind, and it had to be on account of how much he worked because there wasn’t a single thing wrong with him as far as I could tell.
Half an hour later, we were back in his car and on our way to that small ranch style house we’d looked at before breakfast. Claire was parked in the driveway when we arrived, and her eyes narrowed as we approached.
She watched us like a hawk, the way Reg parked, the way he got out of the car, her stare drifting from him to me and back again.
She knew.
“Did you two have a nice lunch?” she asked, brow raised toward her hairline.
“It was delicious, Claire. Thanks for asking.”
I gestured toward the front door with a quick jerk of my head, and Reg followed close behind.
Claire brought up the rear, making all sorts of breathy huffing noises as we went.
I had to admit, the house was even nicer closer up.
It had a small porch with a swing suspended from the overhang, and once Claire got the front door unlocked, the three of us walked into an adorable mid-century home.
She ran through her spiel about bedrooms and bathrooms, but I didn’t think Reg heard a word.
He had hearts in his eyes over the living room, the maple floors, the gorgeous natural lighting that made the whole space look golden.
He turned right down a narrow hallway, and I headed after him, catching up to him in front of the last door on the left.
It was the primary bedroom, about the same size as the one in his apartment, but a thousand times cozier because of the wood floors and the molding.
The house was absolutely the kind of place I could see him feeling comfortable in, but I was absolutely not going to try and color his opinion of the place.
This was his adventure and his decision.
If Reg ended up wanting to spend his inheritance, that was between him and his financial planner.
I left him in the primary bedroom to go explore the smaller bedrooms, the perfectly normal bathrooms, the updated and spacious kitchen.
There was an attached two-car garage, and all in, the house was pretty perfect.
It didn’t hurt it was also in walking distance of the cafe with those delicious bagel sandwiches and the quiet little park.
“What do you think?” Claire asked, coming to stand beside me.
“I love it,” I told her honestly.
“I meant about my brother.”
I bit my lips between my teeth, raising my wrist to my nose to get a breath of Reg’s soap. His sweat. The memory of his skin against mine.
“I could love it,” I answered.
“I think he could love it too,” she said softly.
“Claire.” Reg’s voice from the hallway startled us both, and I swallowed hard before turning to face him. “I love it.”
She exhaled a laugh and quickly found a smile. “Do you want to make an offer?”
“Maybe.” He held out his hand for me, uncaring that his sister was there. And if he didn’t care, why should I?
I went to him and threaded our fingers together, lifting them to my mouth and brushing a kiss across his knuckles.
“Backyard?” I asked.
He led me to a cute and well-manicured space with cinderblocks and green grass, a privacy fence, and a magnolia tree in the corner.
“It’s a nice house,” he said.
“It is.”
“You look nice in it.”
I chewed nervously at the inside of my cheek. “You look better. I know we just talked about you not really wanting to move—”
He cut me off, pressing his fingertips against my mouth.
“I can see myself here,” he said. “I can see you here.”
“We’ve known each other half a day,” I reminded him.
“Yeah, but we both saw this house from the street and knew it was a winner. What’s to say the same thing isn’t happening here?”
He walked into me, slid his arms around my waist, and smiled up at me like he’d won the lottery. In reality, I was the one who felt like I’d won an inheritance when I leaned down and slanted my lips against his.
“It could be,” I agreed. “Maybe we can meet for breakfast once you close and see if it still feels right.”
“You can’t seriously mean I’m not going to see you again for another month.”
He shoved his wrist between us on reflex, the peppermint oil he’d rolled on after the shower wafting into both of our noses. I grabbed his arm and pushed it back down, shaking my head and smiling at him to push back his anxiety.
“I’d like to see you every morning for at least the next week,” I assured him, happiness rising up into my chest at the sight of his relief.
“You are…proving to be an amazing adventure after all. Great advertising and all that.”
I tried to laugh, but Reg kissed me again. Then there wasn’t anything left for me to say, but I knew whatever happened next was going to be the biggest adventure of them all.