“If we do, it’ll be the first time it gets used since I bought this place.”
“Really?” She frowned, wrapping a lock of loose hair around a finger and twisting it absently. “Why?”
I shrugged. “I'm just not a big fan.”
“But you’ve got such a beautiful view. I mean there’s the city, park, and water. What could be better than relaxing in your private hot tub with a cold drink on a warm summer night?”
“Uh.” I flicked my finger toward the air conditioning unit. “Lying on the couch underneath that with a cold drink in my hand. No water, no humidity.”
“Do you have zero sense of adventure?” She turned away from the window and came to stand in front of me. Instead of putting her hands on my chest, purring, or attempting any of the other methods of seduction I’d been treated to the morning after, she simply crossed her arms.
With her eyes on mine, she seemed to contemplate something before holding out a pinky finger to me. “If you and I are still friends by the time summer is in full swing, we’re having a beer under the stars in that hot tub.”
I linked my finger with hers, even though I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been made to pinky swear on something, and added a condition of my own. “Fine, but only if you’re naked for the duration of our dip.”
Her lips parted in surprise and I practically saw the objections running through her mind before she shrugged. “Only if you’re naked too and all the lights are off.”
My hands snaked around her hips and I tugged her closer to me. “Now who doesn’t have a sense of adventure?”
“There’s a difference between having a sense of adventure and becoming an exhibitionist. I mean, to each their own, but that’s just not my kink.”
I freed the lock of hair she was still toying with and wrapped it around my own finger. “Pray tell, what is your kink then?”
Our mouths were so close together now that we were breathing the same air. My cock began hardening again just as Luna’s eyes dropped to my lips. “At the moment, it’s just you.”
“Good. Because you’re mine too. At the moment, like you said.” I captured her lips with my own, drawing her in for a kiss that quickly escalated. It was only when I moved to lift her again that I remembered neither of us had eaten since the last time we’d done this.
Groaning into the kiss, I gently shook my head and lifted it away from hers. “We were going to make breakfast, remember?”
“Right,” she said slightly breathlessly, sounding about as dazed as I felt.
My head didn’t work right around this woman. At times, I could ignore it and focus. Especially when we had to talk about the wedding.
But we hadn’t talked about that at all this morning and she was wearing only my shirt. I couldn’t even blame myself for not being able to think straight.
Inclining my head toward the kitchen, I waited until she was a step ahead of me before adjusting myself and following behind her.
“I’m assuming Bachelors-are-us also regularly run specials on stainless steel appliances and industrial coffee machines?” Luna teased as she ran her fingers across the marble countertop.
Looks like she got her head back a lot quicker than I did. Fuck, I was still waiting for blood to resume a flow in the Northern direction and here she was right back to kidding. “Yeah, it’s a two for one special. Buy a dishwasher, get the coffee machine with it.”
“That actually sounds pretty good.” She laughed, carefree and relaxed. As she settled with her hip against the counter, she looked around the space again. “This is a really nice place, Cyrus. Thanks for showing me around.”
“As long as you don’t go getting any ideas,” I joked, but her face fell and her expression hardened.
“I don’t care about your money or your house. I’m not interested in material things.” She straightened up and jerked a thumb over her shoulder in the direction of my bedroom. “I have to go get dressed or I’m going to be late opening the shop. Thanks for offering to make breakfast.”
She spun on her heel, very clearly offended by my comment. Stalking off to my room without a backward glance, Luna disappeared down the hallway.
I shouldn’t have said that to her, but why do I even care if she’s offended?
Before I could figure it out, Luna was dressed and breezing past me on her way to my front door. She lifted her hand in a wave. “Bye, Cyrus. See you when I see you.”
The door slammed behind her. I was still standing right where she’d left me, holding a pan in front of my stove.
Rolling my lips into my mouth, I realized I wasn’t hungry anymore. I stashed the pan back in its drawer and went to take a shower.
If I’d expected it to clear things out for me, it didn’t work. By the time I was dressed and ready to go, I was still confused.
There was only one person I could think of that might be able to help me make sense of this, and that was my brother. A glance at the watch on my wrist told me he’d be at work by now, so that was where I headed.
Gallagher Plumbing and Electrical where Peter worked operated out of the basement of an old warehouse. I’d always found their offices surprisingly bright and cheerful and the people were so friendly they made me uncomfortable.
I found my brother on the stairs descending into their offices, his toolbox in hand as he chatted with one of his coworkers. His brows rose in surprise when he saw me. Then a frown tugged them together.
“Hey, bro. What’s up? What are you doing here?”
“Brought you some coffee.” I held out the cup I’d picked up from a truck down the street. “Do you have a minute?”
“Of course.” He said goodbye to the other guy, who gave me a friendly wave before jogging down the last few stairs into their office.
Peter took the coffee from me and sat down on a low wall surrounding a patch of flowers beside the stairs. “Thanks for the coffee, but I’m assuming you didn’t come here just to fortify me for the day ahead.”
I sighed and dragged a hand through my hair before taking a seat next to him. “No, I think I fucked up.”
“What did you do this time?” He gave me a side-eye as he blew into his cup. “And to whom?”
After giving him a rundown of what had happened earlier, I took a sip of my coffee and shook my head. “It was a joke, kind of, but she knows where we stand. I don’t know why she got so offended.”
“Seriously?” His brows knitted so tightly together, I wasn’t sure if he’d ever look normal again. Then he let out a dry sounding laugh. “You’re so full of shit sometimes.”
“Why?”
His light green eyes opened wide and his jaw slackened before it tightened. “Because not everyone cares about money, dude. I know they do in your world, but this chick doesn’t sound like she lives in that world. If anything, she lives in mine, and down here on the working-class level, we care about making ends meet.”
“But—”
Peter held up his callused hand, already showing signs of having had grease on it at some point in the morning. “I’ve never taken you up on any of your offers for money and it doesn’t sound like this girl would either. To her, as someone who doesn’t know what you’ve been through these last few years since you made your money, you just sounded like an insensitive dick.”