Page 141 of Crazy for this Girl

“They’ll still be waiting for you when you get back.”

Laynee steps in front of her, probably about to foam at the mouth. “Mom, I’m working. Go shopping.”

“But I’m here now.” She gestures to herself. “And I spent a lot of money on a plane ticket to surprise you, honey.”

“No one asked you to do that.”

Alright, enough of this shit.

I can hear the displeasure of Beatrice’s visit in Laynee’s voice. Shit, I wouldn’t want my, now dead, father to come popping in anywhere near me either after what he did.

So, it’s natural for my protectiveness to come in when it comes to my blonde teenage, turned adult, crush.

“I’ll take you ladies to lunch if you’re absolutely starving, and it possibly can’t wait, Mrs. Reese.” I narrow my gaze on her because I’ve never been a fan of hers over the course of years that her daughter and I have been apart. “Laynee didn’t tell me that you had diabetes.”

“I don’t.” Her brows furrow at me, then Laynee as if she’s been talking shit about her. “I just haven’t spoken to my daughter in weeks, and I wanted to—”

“Mom, please,” Laynee mutters, and I can hear the desperate pleading in her tone for her mother to just listen to her for once instead of arguing. And as much as I applaud Laynee for her work ethic, no one is going to disrespect her when she’s clearly saying no.

“I’ll have the car brought around,” I cut in, placing my hand on the small of Laynee’s spine. “I have just a place that I think you’d enjoy, Mrs. Reese.”

She smiles at me, alluding to another victory for an argument started by her.

“Miss Reese, I do need your input on something before we head out.” I keep my eyes locked on her mother. “My receptionist, Marie, will see to it that you get some coffee or a latte while you’re waiting. We won’t be but five minutes.”

She beams, like I need her permission. “Absolutely. Take your time.”

Pivoting, she heads for the front desk, and I guide Laynee inside my office, dropping my hand before any one of my employees sees me touching her.

I’m able to appreciate the blue dress she has on that tightly outlines her ass and curves before she’s pivoting around and I almost slam into her.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Harper,” she emits as soon as she’s through the threshold of the room. “I didn’t know she was coming. Honestly, I have no idea how she found—shit.”

My brows furrow as I click the door closed behind me. “What?”

She rolls her eyes and places a hand on her hip as if suddenly annoyed. “Jonah. The little brother that I’m not going to have for very much longer that ratted me out and told her where I was.”

“I guess he never grew out of that.”

“Apparently.” She brings a hand up to her temple and begins rubbing at it. “He’s dead.”

I step closer to her, erasing the taut space between us because her in my life is starting to tilt it. “I don’t have to go to lunch with you and your mother if you don’t want me to. You looked thrown off, so I was buying you an out.”

“How about you go,”—she points at me and gives me an unworldly smile—“and I’ll stay here.”

“How about we go, and I’ll…” I’m trying to think of an incentive to make this situation better but all I can think of is proposing my cock deep inside her.

“You’ll, what?” She looks hopeful that I’m about to offer her something she can’t refuse. Like the whole collection of Nancy Drew books or a year subscription to Spotify or something.

“Depends. Do you want to give you mother a heart attack?”

Laynee pops a brow. “How mild?”

I chuckle deep in my chest. This girl…this woman is still going to be a handful. And I don’t mind keeping my dirty ones all over her perfect body.

“Mild enough. However…” I meet her baby blues with suggestive purpose. “She might cause a scene. I’ll just work on being the buffer instead.”

“Let me guess,” Laynee prods, crossing her arms along her chest. “It was something super inappropriate.”

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