NINE
Charlotte
After I’d paused my camera, I unlatched Noah’s front door and pulled it open just enough to block the woman’s entry to the house. She didn’t look like she was related to him, or like she was trying to sell something, either. She stood on the porch holding a paper plate loaded with cookies that was wrapped in pink cling film.
Was she a neighbor?
It was a little late to be welcoming him to neighborhood—he’d moved in more than two months ago.
I pressed out a polite smile. “May I help you?”
It was abundantly clear I wasn’t who she was expecting, and her face twisted into a frown. “Yes, hello.” She tried to see around me and into the house. “Is Noah here?”
“No, sorry. He’s not.”
“Oh.” This was not the answer she wanted to hear, and her gaze fell to the cookies she was holding, like she wasn’t sure what to do now.
“Did you want me to give those to him?” I offered.
She clutched the plate tighter, like she worried I was going to wrench it from her hands, and she tried to peer around me once again. “Is there a package in there for me?”
Um, what?
“This is my house,” she explained. “I mean, it was , and—silly me, I forgot to update my shipping address.” Her smile was off, and her expression was sort of calculating, like maybe she hadn’t forgotten. “I ordered a mattress last week. You know, one of those ones that comes in a box? Anyway, I didn’t realize my mistake until I saw the delivery picture and it was this front porch.” She batted her eyelashes at me. “So, is it in there?”
When I’d arrived this afternoon, I’d come in through the garage and had noticed the large box sitting off to the side. I’d assumed it was his and hadn’t looked at the label.
“I think so,” I said. “Let me text him real quick.” I pulled my phone out and began to thumb out my message.
“Oh, no, you don’t need to bother him,” she said quickly. “I can come back later. Do you know when he’ll be home?”
This woman baked him cookies and drove over here to retrieve her new mattress, but now was totally willing to walk away empty handed? I finished sending my text and studied her closer, noticing her makeup, her nice clothes, and her jewelry. She was quite put-together for just picking up a package.
Unless she wants to pick up more than just her mattress.
I couldn’t blame her for being attracted to Noah, or her wanting to shoot her shot, but... would he be interested in her?
She was almost old enough to be my grandmother.
“No,” I said. “I don’t know when he’ll be home.”
This answer frustrated her, and her disapproving gaze washed over me. “I’m sorry, who are you? You look a little young to be his girlfriend.”
She was kind of rude, but I was unfazed. “I’m his housekeeper.”
The phone in my hand buzzed, and Noah’s name flashed across the screen. “Hello?”
“Hi,” he said. “I thought it would be faster if we talked.”
Since we typically did it via text, it was the first time I’d heard his voice in weeks, and I tried to ignore the thrill that burst through me.
He spoke fast, as if he were busy. “That box showed up last night and I stuck it in the garage. I let my real estate agent know about it this morning, but is Judy still there?” He didn’t wait for my answer. “Can you put me on speaker?”
“Sure, just a second.” I tapped the icon on my screen. “You’re on.”
“Hey, Judy,” he started. “I put your box in my garage.”
Like me, excitement seemed to rocket through her at hearing his voice, and she tugged at the hem of her shirt before smoothing it out. It was like she wanted to make sure she looked her best, even though this was a freaking phone call, and he couldn’t see her.
“Hi, Noah.” She sounded as warm as the July sun overhead. “I’m so sorry for the mistake. I don’t know what I was thinking. Habit, I guess. I made you some cookies for the trouble, but I’ll come back later when you’re home.”
“I’d be happy to help you now,” I offered.
Judy’s eyes narrowed. “That’s sweet of you, but I’m sure the box will be too heavy.”
“You should be fine,” he said. “It’s really not that heavy.”
Her laugh was overly bright and fake. “Oh, of course you’d say that. You’re a big strong man.”
Wow. She was laying it on awfully thick.
She stared at me and lifted an eyebrow. “ What?” her expression asked, feigning innocence. “I’m not doing anything.”
Oh, Judy, I need you to be so for real right now.
I slathered on an over-the-top smile. “You’re already here,” I said to her. “Why don’t we just try it, and see if we can save you from having to make another trip?”
She froze, looking like she’d been backed into a corner, and her face soured. She flung daggers at me with her eyes, before grumbling, “I guess we could do that.”
“Great, let me know how it goes,” Noah said. He tacked it on at the end, his voice dropping downward like it carried more meaning than a simple sendoff. “Good luck.”
I doubted she heard it, but I picked up on it. Was he wishing me luck on dealing with Judy?
I ended the call, told her to meet me at the garage, and watched her sulk as she went down the path that led to the driveway. Once I walked through the house, I pulled on my shoes, went out into the garage, and opened the overhead door. As it rolled up, I glanced at the side of the box sitting on its side.
It was only a twin mattress.
Although the thing was kind of heavy, it wasn’t bad at all. The oversized box was more awkward than anything because it didn’t have any handles to grab onto.
As I dragged it out of the garage, Judy stood motionless to the side, holding her plate of cookies as she watched. She made no effort to help. It was irritating, but I wasn’t going to be defeated, so I lugged the box to the back of her SUV by myself.
Apparently, she was only willing to supervise and pop the back hatch. When it was open, I peered inside and saw the back seats were down already, ready for the mattress.
I looked at her, and she stared back expectantly.
Oh, I see.
I’d ruined her plans, and now I was nothing more than the fucking help to her. I clenched my teeth behind my smile, bent, and hoisted the goddamn thing in. It would have been a lot easier with her help, but at least I had spite powering me.
I slid the box in as far as it would go and turned to deliver my victorious gaze at her.
She was unimpressed. The cookies were shoved at me, and her expression was bitter as she pulled the hatch closed with an aggressive thump .
“Thanks,” she spat out, and then moved to the driver’s side door and climbed in.
I didn’t have to wait long for her to go, and afterward I carried the plate inside, set it on the kitchen island, and tapped out a message.
Me: We were successful, but I’m betting that’s not the last you’ll see of Judy.
I peeled back the side of pink cling film to look at the chocolate chip cookies inside. I’d lifted that woman’s mattress into her car—didn’t I literally deserve a cookie?
Once again, my phone buzzed with an incoming call and Noah’s name appeared on screen.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hey,” he answered back. “What did you mean?”
“That shipping mistake? I’m pretty sure the whole thing was a setup.”
“What? Why?”
I chuckled. “Because she needs a ‘big, strong man’ to help her test out that new mattress.”
He paused. “Yeah, pass.”
“Dude, I’m telling you, she wants that D. You should have seen how disappointed she was when she found out you weren’t there.” Did he need more proof? “She wanted to wait for you, and she made you cookies—which by the way—taste fucking fantastic. They might be all gone by the time you get home.”
He laughed, and the sound of it was so nice, it did things to me. There was a longing for him that was getting harder and harder to ignore.
“I’m calling it right now,” I said. “She’ll be back.”
He was probably just humoring me, but his voice was warm. “Okay.”
The conversation between us lapsed for a moment, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. A new thought hit me then.
“Hey, since I have you on the phone,” I said, “can we switch next week’s cleaning to Wednesday? One of my friends is getting married, and we’re supposed to go bridesmaid dress shopping on Tuesday afternoon. I don’t know how long it will take.”
“Sure, that’s no problem. I’ll make sure I’m out of the house on Wednesday.”
“Okay, thanks.” I said it in an overly cheerful way to mask my disappointment, and mentally kicked myself again for telling him I didn’t want him around while I was at his home.
Because after hearing his voice, it was pathetic how desperate I was to see him again.
I pulled into Noah’s driveway, put my car in park, and peered at his house. He typically parked in his garage, so there was no way for me to tell if he was home right now. I eyed the bucket of cleaning supplies sitting on my passenger seat as I considered my next step.
Driving over without texting first was a bold move on my part. I’d asked to change to Wednesday for this week, and it was Tuesday. My plans with the bride and the rest of the bridal party had fallen through. My friend Brianna had texted the group this morning, telling us she was too sick to go dress shopping, and needed to reschedule.
So even though I knew there was a chance Noah wouldn’t want me to clean or that he might be home right now, I decided it was worth the risk.
In fact, I hoped he was. I wanted to see him again.
After I turned the car off, I scrolled through my recent messages until I found my conversation with him and my gaze scrolled over our last exchange.
Noah: You were right. Guess who just showed up at my house.
I’d sent back the GIF of Pikachu making a surprised face to tell him just how unsurprised I was.
Me: Another wrong delivery?
Noah: Yeah, but it won’t happen again. I made it clear I’m not interested.
Me: Oh, poor Judy. Can’t blame a girl for trying.
Me: Question tho. Did she bring any more cookies?
Noah: I saved some for you.
There was a bubble with a pink heart in the top corner of his text from where I’d liked his message, and I got flutters looking at it now. That stupid heart didn’t mean anything, and I didn’t want him to read into it, because he was supposed to be my employer and nothing more.
Yet our text messages felt so . . . friendly.
Keep it professional. I quickly thumbed out a message to him.
Me: Hey, my plans fell through and I’m in your area. Is it okay if I clean now?
I stared at the screen, waiting for the ‘delivered’ notification to change to ‘read’ with breath held. Usually, he was so quick to respond—but not this time. The status of the message didn’t change. As I sat in my car, I tried to peer through the windows, but I didn’t see any movement or lights on.
Time marched on, and my heart sank. Something had him too busy to check his phone, which meant he most likely wasn’t here.
“What the hell do I do now?” I said to the empty passenger seat of my car. I’d only prepared for a few scenarios, and all of them had hinged on him responding to my text message.
I checked my watch, telling myself I’d give him another five minutes to respond. It was mid-afternoon, so it was possible he was in the office or out at a meeting.
Seven long minutes ticked by before I sighed, reached over, and grabbed the handle of my bucket. He wasn’t home, and I was already here. Might as well get the job done.
I punched in my code to the garage door, stepped inside, and immediately slipped off my shoes. The house was disappointingly quiet and dark. I tightened my grip on the bucket handle and walked to the kitchen—only to pull to a stop.
“Hello?” I called.
There was no answer. There weren’t any traces that Noah was home, but something felt strange. Off. I got the sense I wasn’t alone.
The bottles of cleaner inside my bucket rattled quietly as I padded on my bare feet onto the cold tile floor of his kitchen. It made no sense for me to move with stealth, but I did anyway. Maybe part of me hoped to catch him by surprise, to see Noah in the wild.
There were no dirty dishes stacked beside the sink like there had been last time. In fact, the kitchen seemed to be in decent shape. I smiled to myself. Was he picking up some good habits?
I set my cleaning supplies down on the island and scanned the room. My first sweep would be decluttering and then I’d—
A pleasure-soaked moan came from his bedroom.
The sound of it was unmistakable and it wrapped around my body, squeezing me so tightly, I forgot how to breathe. My heart stumbled and beat faster. Had he not answered my text because he’d pulled one of the toys from his sex drawer and was too busy getting himself off?
A smart, professional person would have made a quiet exit so her client would never have known she’d stopped by. I knew the appropriate thing to do, yet I couldn’t stop myself. An invisible force propelled me forward, and I moved down the hallway on silent feet.
I ignored the way his deep moan was followed with a softer, feminine one. He’s watching porn, I thought. My brain refused to recognize that he might not be alone in his bedroom, so I was completely unprepared for the sight waiting for me when I reached the edge of his open door and peered around the corner.
His bed was a mess.
The sheet was a twisted rope, spilling over the side, and clothes were scattered across the floor. My gaze lifted to take in the tangled bodies on the mattress, and I went utterly still. It was an unnerving feeling to be suddenly icy cold and scorching hot at the same time, and it meant I couldn’t move. My feet became concrete, anchored to the floor.
Sweat glistened on Noah’s bare skin as he cradled the woman’s hips and thrust into her from behind. They were both on their knees, but she was bent at the waist and face down on the mattress, her arms outstretched in front of her.
She wasn’t completely naked like he was; she wore a garter belt, dark thigh-high stockings, and a black blindfold that pinned her red hair in place.
As he fucked her, the redhead’s fingers clawed mindlessly at the sheet beneath them. She reached for and found the headboard, making the large wedding ring on her left hand sparkle in the light.