Page 57 of Take Her from You

“I’ll make a start on it tomorrow evening. Just need to order in a couple of things.”

“What’s on your list? We might have it.”

I took out my phone, paging through to my notes, then handed it over to Ben. For Mia’s place, we’d had an order in from a DIY store, but I was lacking a couple of fixtures necessary for the other project.

Ben scanned the list. In his hand, my phone buzzed. His eyebrows dove together, then my brother recoiled. Silently, he turned the screen to face me.

Kellyread the caller’s name.

Oh, fuck.

The very person I didn’t want to talk about with him, and she was forcing her way into our conversation. Two weeks ago, my ex-girlfriend had texted me, but I’d deleted the message and forgot about it. The woman didn’t occupy my mind at all, but when faced with my brother, I got a damning snapshot image of her lips on his.

Taking the phone from him, I stabbed to end the call.

“Kelly’s calling? What does she want? Surely—” he started.

“Did ye get that list?” I cut over him. Then, because I just wasn’t going to go there, I moved away, storming off to the corridor at the back of the great hall that led to Raphael’s rooms. “Never mind. I’ll text it to ye. Later.”

I locked myself in and blasted out music, almost solely so I didn’t have to answer the door if my brother followed.

A while later, I scrubbed shower water from my skin, pulling on a pair of joggers. Raphael was putting in airtime, so I’d had the place to myself, doing a workout to dislodge my bad mood before hopping in the shower.

Seeing Mia dressed up like a wet dream had become a welcome distraction, and I’d beat myself off under the hot water with her on my mind.

Someone tapped at the door.

I crossed to open it, towelling my hair.

Mia stood in the frame, her cheeks pink, and a wine glass clutched in her fingers. Her gaze coasted over my bare chest. “Hi, I found you,” she said, a little glassy-eyed and seriously cute.

I leaned on the doorframe, trying not to smile. “Were ye searching for me?”

“Might’ve been.” She peered into the room behind me. “Viola said you were sleeping here tonight, and I wanted to say hello.”

She’d been talking about me to her friends. I liked that way too much.

I gestured for her to come inside. Mia grinned and tottered past me.

Aside from the big double bed, there was my single camping bed against the opposite wall, a small sofa, and a long countertop across one whole side of the room that acted as a desk and sideboard. Raphael kept the place neat, and I barely owned anything I couldn’t get into two kit bags, so there wasn’t much for her to examine.

She perched on the sofa, and I sat cross-legged in front of her.

Mia took a sip of her wine then regarded me. “Stop it.”

“Stop what?” I flexed in case she meant my being handsome.

“Avoiding me.”

I snorted. “I see ye every day.”

“And apart from playing bodyguard at the supermarket, you don’t say a word. I miss you. I want my friend back.”

Tension crept around me, mixing me up. The way she was looking at me was decidedly sexy. Little Valentine was already getting hard for her.

“Friend,” I repeated with a note of derision.

“Yes, my friend.”

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