Page 10 of Never Let You Go

“This is adorable,” Alexandra exclaims. She’s a little out of breath, and her shallow panting makes my dick twitch again.

I set her bag down next to the twin size bed. “When I was an apprentice, I shared a room with the master’s kids. I thought this would be more than adequate. But we can change things around to make it more comfortable for you. I wasn’t expecting a—” Woman? Sex symbol? Bombshell? “I was expecting a teenage boy. I must have misunderstood.”

“Are you kidding? This is perfect,” she says, setting her handbag on the bed. She crosses to the dormer window and kneels on the small built-in bench underneath it, looking outside. “Oh, my god! This is sooo romantic.” She pulls her phone out.

“Yeah,” I say, scratching my head. “Bathroom is here.” I get self-conscious about the dull, thin towels hanging on the rod. “I’ll get you nicer towels.” I have a visual of her naked body wrapped in a towel while I am literally feet away in my own room. This is going to be near impossible.

She gasps at the clawfoot tub. “Awww, how cute!”

“That’s really old—been here since the fifties. The water probably gets cold really fast in there. I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“Oh, I won’t use it,” she said. “It’s so deep, it’d take up all your hot water.”

Good. Last thing I need is to know she’s lathering her generous boobs, soap suds floating around her, toes sticking out… Stop. I have to stop these thoughts.

“I’m a shower person, anyway.”

Yeah, me, too. Do you like them hot and …

Stop. Stop right now. “We’ll have dinner in an hour. You’ll meet the woman of my life,” I say with a smirk.

Her eyebrows furrow.

“Kitchen and den are all the way downstairs, behind the bakeshop, which is behind the bakery,” I continue.

She seems puzzled. Doesn’t she know the difference?

“The bakery is where we sell the bread—where you came in. The bakeshop is where we make the bread. Some people call it a lab. There’s a door behind the counter that leads to the bakeshop. In the back of the bakeshop is our private kitchen and the den where we hang out.”

Her gaze darts intently from my eyes to my mouth as if she can’t decide where to focus her attention. She takes another shallow breath, her parted lips revealing the tip of her tongue.

I dash out of her room.

This isn’t going to work.

three

Alexandra

When he leaves the room, my head is dizzy, and my heart is pounding.

I’ll chalk it up to the long drive. Nothing a shower can’t fix. I climb inside the antique tub, careful to tuck the shower curtain inside. The bathroom floor is a beautiful solid hardwood I would hate to damage. The tub, sink, and toilet must have been added long after the house was built. The shower handle leaks slightly, showing its age. Everything here is so effortlessly vintage. People in the city would pay thousands for this country feel that is just so authentic here.

As I lather my hair with shampoo, I find myself smiling. This will be good for me. The aftermath? I’m not so sure about. But for now, I will find some self-indulgence in this fantasy land.

The shower gel feels good on my body, and my thoughts drift to Christopher before I rein them in. Yikes! I’m not that person. I can’t help but wonder though. What is it like to be with a man like him? I’ve never dated a guy with such a healthy masculine vibe. Like testosterone wrapped in a flannel blanket. Besides his incredibly good looks, what struck me most about him was his strong confidence that was everything but arrogant.

It felt good to be in his presence.

And the way he treated the sweet gossip, Sophie?

So nice.

Most people I know would have turned her away. She wouldn’t have made it through the door. Granted, I come from New York, and this is Vermont. So sure.

But he gave her bread and muffins and whatever she wanted. And then he walked her outside. In the freezing cold. It must have dropped to fifteen degrees out there.

And he was wearing just a shirt.

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