“Damn, woman. You’re killin’ me all over again. You look sexy as hell in my shirt, but then you bent over and gave me a peek at that gorgeous ass of yours and about sent me into cardiac arrest.”

She laughed as she strode over to where her shorts were and bent forward to grab them, offering Chevy another risqué glimpse, and earned another moan from him.

Where had this shameless woman come from?

She’d just been thinking about how awkward and shy she’d suddenly felt in the bedroom, then a little encouragement from Chevy, and she’s bending over and flashing him her cheeky bits.

She normally tried to hide her butt and certainly never flaunted any part of herself, especially in naked form. But he made her feel beautiful. And sexy. It was the way he looked at her. And he made it so fun to tease him.

“Found your bra,” he said, holding it up by one strap. “It may have gotten a little slobbered on though, so I’d suggest not bothering to even put it on.”

She laughed. “You are shameless.”

He shrugged, not troubled at all by her remark, as he pulled on his boots.

“Was the one you gave me the only shirt in that drawer?” she asked, glancing at this bare chest and trying not to drool.

“Probably not,” he said with a wink and another grin before he walked out the front door.

She took advantage of his absence to run to the bathroom and wash her face. She was a mess. Her hair was a crazy tangleof curls, and she tried to finger-comb out the worst of it. Finding some toothpaste in a drawer, she swished some around in her mouth, rubbing it onto her teeth with her tongue before rinsing it out.

She heard the door open and close, and she came out of the bathroom to see Chevy holding up her flip flop.

“Found your sandal, but no luck tracking down your top. I’ll keep looking.”

She shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. It’s one of a few I bought from Walmart last night after realizing I was staying longer than I’d planned. And I’m sure it will eventually turn up.”

“I’ll buy you a new one.” He glared at the dog who had followed Leni into and out of the bathroom and was now lying at her feet. “And I’ll take it out of Murphy’s dog treat budget.”

The dog let out a groan as if he’d understood Chevy’s threat.

Leni’s underwear had been dry, so she’d pulled those back on, but the denim shorts were still damp and the thought of putting on a slobbery bra made her grimace, so she just slipped her sandals on with the flannel shirt and hoped she could sneak into the house that way without her sister catching her coming home braless and in someone else’s shirt.

“I’ll call you later,” Chevy said, pulling her to him to kiss her goodbye. “Or call me if you need anything. I can always run into town. I mean it. For anything.”

“Thanks,” she told him, and wasn’t sure what else to say.

This whole afternoon had felt surreal, and now that she was getting ready to go back into the real world, her old insecurities were rearing their ugly heads.

Her brow furrowed as she peered up at him. “You’re not seeing anyone else right now, are you? I mean, not thatwe’reseeing each other, or that I’m expecting anything, but I guess, I’m asking…” She was royally screwing this up. It was hard to believe she led whole teams of people and explained complicatedformulas to other engineers.Just spit it out.“Do you currently have a girlfriend or someone that you’re dating?”

His eyes widened. “What? No. Geez. Do you think I would have done that…” He tilted his head toward the bedroom. “Orthat…” Heat warmed the back of her neck as he gestured toward the kitchen island. “…if I was seeing someone else?” His eyes narrowed. “Why? Doyouhave a boyfriend.”

She huffed out a laugh. “Um. No. Not in a very long time. I’m mostly married to my job.”

He nodded. “Good. Well, I don’t have a girlfriend either. And I’m not with anyone else. Although I am hoping to say that I’m seeing someonenow.” He lowered his head and offered her a sidelong glance, as if afraid of the answer to the question he was covertly asking.

Didthis all mean they were seeing each other now? Did shewantthem to beseeingeach other?

She certainly didn’t want toseeanyone else.

But that didn’t mean she was ready to go ‘all in’ and commit to getting back together with Chevy Lassiter.

Apparently, her mouth hadn’t been paying attention to what her mind was thinking, because it blurted out, “Yes. You areseeingsomeone now. And I’llseeyou later.” She gave him another quick kiss then slipped out the door.

She got to her car and slid into the driver’s seat, the flannel shirt barely covering her tush, and the leather seat was warm on the back of her legs. Digging through her purse, she found her phone and checked the display. No messages from her sister.

She sent Lorna a quick text. “Everything okay?”