Page 25 of An Unexpected Home

Chapter 7

Two days passed and Leah barely had time to breathe let alone think about Brandon.

That was a lie. And when she started lying to herself she knew she was screwed.

And oh how she wanted to be screwed by Brandon.

If anyone knew the dirty thoughts that had gone through her head in the last few days, they would think she was a sex-starved nymphomaniac. But she couldn’t stop them. Everything reminded her of him. If Carly said how hard opening the studio was, all she would think about was his hard abs that she’d seen the night she met him and how she wanted to lick those abs. Hell, when she drank coffee every morning, she'd remember the note he left her and then that would lead to her imagining him bending her over the counter that he’d left the note on.

She was crazy. Absolutely, certifiably crazy. This was out of control and as far as she was concerned, not normal behavior for a twenty-eight-year-old woman.

Needing a break from the forms she was filling out, she went to see what Melanie and Carly were up to.

She found them both in Studio A cursing at each other.

“Seems like you guys are getting a lot done in here,” she said from the doorway.

“Get over here and help us hold this,” Carly said. They were holding a ballet bar against the wall and, from the cursing, she assumed they were trying to hang it.

She grabbed an end. “Do either of you have the slightest idea what the hell you are doing?”

Carly said, “No,” at the same time that Melanie said, “Yes.”

“Don’t lie to make yourself look good,” Carly said. “You have no freaking idea how to hang this.”

“I’ve hung several bars,” she stated.

“You had help,” Carly said and rolled her eyes. “Male help.”

“Fine,” Mel conceded. “Let’s set it down,” she said to Leah and they carefully placed it on the floor.

Melanie slid down to sit on the floor, back against the giant mirror that was already hung on the wall. “We can’t afford to hire anyone, so what do you suggest we do?”

“I’ll see if Brandon and Logan can come to help us tonight.” Leah wasn’t sure but she thought she saw Mel blanch at Logan’s name.

“Whatever,” she waved her hand. “We just need it done.”

Carly let out an exaggerated sigh and turned to Leah. “Did you need us for something?”

“No, I was just going stir crazy in there and needed a break.”

“Let’s go grab some lunch. Mel?”

“You guys go ahead without me. I’m just gonna sit here and die.”

“Stop being dramatic.” Carly threw a towel at her as they left the room.

“What’s up with Mel?” Leah asked. “She’s kinda been in a mood the last couple of days.”

“Did you happen to notice that her mood coincided with the return of my cousin, Logan?”

Leah had met Logan briefly yesterday morning when she and Carly had grabbed coffee and donuts at the bakery. He was every bit as handsome as his brother – and the object of her dreams – but there was something sad about him.

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