Chapter 23
Claire
The next morning, my wake-up call comes in the form of a precocious five-year-old whispering in my ear. But I’ll take her mousey little voice over my obnoxious alarm jingle any day. Especially when the rousing is followed by her hot dad handing me coffee in bed.
A girl could get used to this.
No. My heart sinks. I cannot let myself get used to this treatment. It’s only for the summer. By Labor Day, I’ll be back in the city, continuing on with my career.
Bea, eager for the day to begin, bounces off my bed and takes off down the hall. Asher follows after her, giving me a moment to myself. At the other end of the house, the two of them open and close drawers, then fill a bowl with cereal.
Sitting up, I bring the mug to my lips, letting the steam warm my face and basking in the smoky aroma.
Several minutes later, Asher returns, setting fresh sheets on the foot of my bed, along with a basket full of clean laundry. “Hey, you awake yet, or do you need another refill?”
“I’m good. Just relaxing.” I take another sip. “Thanks for bringing me coffee. I’m gonna need the name of your pusher. This stuff is addicting.”
His smile is a better wake-up call than any form of caffeine. “You sound like your brother. Do I need to set up an intervention for the Connellys?”
“Nah. I’m okay. But if I ever ask you to inject it in my veins, that’s the sign you need to rally the troops.”
“Got it,” he laughs, though there’s an uneasiness to the sound. “Are you sure you’re okay with Dr. Love staying in here for the weekend?”
“While she covers my shifts so I can celebrate my friends’ nuptials? She can have an orgy in here for all I care.”
“Gross,” Asher laughs, though he looks anything but disgusted.
“Seriously, it’s nice of her to help out on such short notice. Millie and Ezra are excited that we can be there. What about you? Are you okay leaving Bea? Have you been away from her for that long before?”
He crosses his arms and bounces nervously on his toes. “Nope.”
“No, you’re not going to be fine, or no, you haven’t been away from her for that long? Because we can totally come back a day early—”
“No, I have not been away from her for that long, but I’ll be fine. Jack and Natalie insisted we stay three nights.”
For several seconds, I inspect him, searching for an answer to a question I’m not sure I want to ask. When I can’t find what I’m looking for, I finally force the words out. “Do they, um, know about us? I mean, do they know we’ve been…” I trail off, taking a sip of coffee.
“Fucking?” he finishes for me.
I damn near choke at his bluntness, but he appears amused.
“Honestly, I haven’t given it much thought. It was their idea for you to stay in my home for the summer. But the way they insisted we stay in the city so long makes me think they suspect something. Either that, or they’re just happy to have a break from me.” He shrugs.
A huff escapes me. “I doubt they want a break from you.”
“Why do you say that?”
Because who would want a break from you? I think to myself. “Because you’re the backbone of this camp and they know that,” I say instead.
He breaks into a genuine smile, his dimples framing his mustache in a way that makes me want to launch myself at him. He’s so damn pretty.
After setting my mug on the nightstand, I toss back the sheets, ready to start the day.
He hovers at the end of the bed, his eyes trailing down my silk pajamas.
I clear my throat and give him a pointed look. “I should probably start packing. Thanks for doing my laundry—again. You really don’t have to keep doing that, by the way.”
“It’s not a problem.” With a shrug, he says, “Plus, it’s more efficient and better for the environment when I’m already doing ours. How’s the saying go? ‘Save water, do laundry with a friend’?” He winks.
“Something like that.” I stand and stretch, relishing the pull of my muscles. “I appreciate it. Laundry is my least favorite chore. I’d much rather clean bathrooms.” Sorting through the clothes on my bed, I untangle a triangle bikini top from a thong. “Ugh, not again.” I groan.
“What?”
“The dryer keeps eating the padded inserts of my bathing suit tops. You haven’t seen them, have you?”
“Hmm? Oh, uh. Nope. Can’t say that I have. That’s so… strange. I hate when that happens. Dumb dryers.” Asher backs up, refusing eye contact. “Anyway,” he says from the doorway, pointing at me with his index fingers, “I’ll leave you to it.”
Brushing off his weird reply and finger guns, I tell him I’ll be ready to leave in forty-five minutes.
An hour and a half later, when I’m finally dressed and packed, Bea is outside, running over Asher’s foot with her jeep. He keeps his cool when dusting the dirt from his crisp white shoe.
It’s fairly overcast this morning and there’s a slight chill in the air, so I threw on a sweatshirt, but I’ll be stripping out of it as soon as we arrive in the city, I’m sure.
Natalie startles me when she rises from the porch swing. I was too preoccupied with the view to even notice her. With her cup of coffee in hand, she bumps her shoulder lightly against mine. “You make sure that man has a fun time this weekend.”
“Oh, I’m sure he will.” I chuckle. “His sister is the life of the party. It’s impossible not to have fun around her.”
Turning to face me, she holds my gaze, and with her voice barely above a whisper, she says, “That’s not what I meant. I like you, Claire.” Her words are even and take me by surprise. “You’re incredible with my granddaughter, and she thinks highly of you.”
My cheeks heat, despite the cool temperature. “I think highly of her too. She’s a pretty awesome kid.”
“That she is. But that man over there,” she points to Asher, who is pretending to write Bea a speeding ticket, “has a hard time letting people in. Be patient with him.”
She pats my shoulder, then walks into the cabin before I’ve processed her words.
“Look, Claire,” Bea yells, holding her father’s hand in the air.
I stride their way, quickly noting what she’s showing me. Mint green polish on Asher’s fingernails. “When did you have time for this?”
“While you were packing,” he says with a wicked look. “I knew you wouldn’t be ready in forty-five minutes.”
I stick my tongue out at him.
“Hey! That’s not nice,” Bea reprimands.
“You’re right, Dolly.” I boop her on the nose. “I’m sorry. I was just teasing, though.” I wink at her dad.
After we give Bea multiple hugs, she scurries inside, where Natalie is waiting.
Once we’re off the property, I turn to Asher. “Does she know Millie and Ezra are getting married?”
“Are you kidding?” he says without looking away from the road. “She would’ve flipped out and snuck into my bag.”
The visual pops into my head, making me laugh.
“I told her we had a work thing, and she quickly lost interest,” he says. “We’ll bring back Levain cookies and all will be right in her world.”
“That’s my girl.” The words slip out, dripping with adoration, before I can think them through.
Shit. Heart in my throat, I busy myself with the air vents, too afraid to look at Asher.
He clears his throat and rests a hand on my leg, his warm touch putting me at ease. “So. What’s the plan for this evening?”
I pull my phone from my purse and navigate to my latest text thread.
“My brother and Joey will meet us at my place, then we need to get supplies to decorate the honeymoon suite for Millie and Ezra. Wanna come?”
He squeezes my thigh. “Sure, sounds fun.”
Like he’s going to pull away, he loosens his hold. But before he can, I rest my hand on top of his and finally peer over at him. The grin he gives me in return lights me up from the inside out. We remain like this until we pull into the parking garage at my family’s hotel.
The elevator doors close behind us, and as I’m about to scan my card for the penthouse, a thought occurs to me. One I should have already considered. “Did you, um, need to check in, or…”
We haven’t discussed where he’d stay. It’s been such a whirlwind since Millie and Ezra called that there hasn’t been time to contemplate sleeping arrangements. Maybe he’s staying with his parents?
“Oh, I…” He steps forward, trapping me against the metal wall. It’s cool against my back, where a sliver of skin is exposed above the waistband of my leggings. “I was hoping we could have a sleepover.”
A shiver runs through me.
He parts my legs with his knee, igniting a spark deep within my core.
“Is that so?” I whisper against his jaw.
“Mmm,” he hums. “Though I doubt there will be much sleeping.”
Just as he nips at my earlobe, the elevator doors open, revealing a middle-aged couple and a teenage boy.
I jump like I’ve been caught with my hand in the cookie jar, but Asher only shifts his weight and tucks me into his side, discreetly adjusting his junk in the process.
The trio steps into the stainless-steal box, and the man presses the button for their floor.
I pass Asher my key card. He taps it against the sensor, and we ride up in awkward silence.
Only once the elevator has stopped, the family has stepped out, and the doors have slid shut again, do we break into a fit of laughter.
It only takes a moment to make it up to the penthouse, and as soon as my front door clicks closed, he hoists me up by the back of my thighs and pins me against the door.
With a sigh, I drop my head back against the surface and lock my ankles around his waist.
He covers my mouth with his, and when I slip my tongue inside, he groans against my lips. “Mmm. I love the way you taste.” He grinds his hips into me.
I tug at his hair with one hand, the other clutching the back of his neck. He’s hard now when he thrusts against my pelvis, the friction lighting up my nerve endings. His sense of urgency flatters me to my core. Literally.
We haven’t made it any further than that when there’s a knock on my door. We startle and freeze, and when Cam calls out to me from the other side of the door, the high I’m riding comes crashing down.
Big brothers are such big cockblocks.