Page 36 of Love Without Demands

“Let me just move this stuff. I was doing my toes.” I picked up the towel from the coffee table and placed all the polish bottles back in the small basket before setting them on the dining table.God, she’s going to think I’m such a slob.

“You really should find a good pedicurist,” Mrs. Jones advised, glancing down at my freshly painted toes.Harlot red to match my naughty nightie.

I hadn’t grown up with money, and therefore, had never had a professional pedicure in my life. I could definitely afford it now, but I had gotten pretty good at it, so I continued doing it myself.

“Okay, I’ll think about that. Can I get you anything to drink?”

“A sparkling water would be divine,” she replied with a smile.

“I don’t have any sparkling water. I have regular and can add some Sprite to it,” I said with a chuckle.

Mrs. Jones was not amused, and my own smile faded. “Tea is fine.”

“Coming right up. Dwight, why don’t you help me in the kitchen?” I requested in a sweet voice that contradicted thedaggers I was shooting at him with my eyes. I also needed to check on dinner. “I made that Mexican casserole you like.”

“Sure, babe, and that sounds good.”

As soon as we were in the kitchen, I whirled on him and hissed, “Why didn’t you tell me you were bringing your mother? I was wearing lingerie for fuck’s sake.”

Dwight winced. “Sorry, I thought you’d be surprised.”

Oh, I was surprised all right.I wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my cheek on his chest. “It’s okay, but some warning would have been nice.”

He kissed the top of my head and smoothed his hands up and down my back. “For the record, I liked the lingerie.”

“Maybe you can see it again later, if you’re a good boy,” I purred, snuggling a little closer.

“Probably not,” he said with a tiny laugh. “Unless you want Mother to see it too.”

“After she leaves,” I whispered, kissing my way up his neck. “Did you book her a hotel close by?”

“Yes,” he said and then hesitated. “I got us each a room at The Langham.”

I halted my kissing and looked up at him. “So I’m staying with you at a hotel? I thought we could christen my new apartment since you’ve never been here before.” I wiggled flirty eyebrows at him.

Dwight stepped back and looked down, running a finger along the forest-green countertop. “This is a really nice place. Even better than the pictures you sent me.”

“You didn’t answer me, Dwight. Should I pack a bag to stay at the hotel?”

His nose wrinkled as he shook his head. “No. Mother wouldn’t approve of us staying together.”

I blinked in confusion. “Where does she think you sleep when you come to visit?”

He lifted one shoulder and then let it fall. “I tell her I get a hotel room when I come here.”

I gawk at him and shake my head slightly. “That’s just weird, Dwight. You’re thirty-three years old.”

“Do you need some help in there?” Mrs. Jones called from the living room, startling me into action.

“Crap, the tea,” I whispered before calling out, “Just a minute.”

I rushed to put some water in the kettle and set it on the stove to heat while I found the chamomile tea bags I kept for when I had trouble falling asleep.

Then I searched through my cabinets for a nice teacup. I wasn’t exactly fancy. I drank my coffee from a mug Artie had given me that read,Blow Me… I’m Hot. Somehow, I didn’t think Mrs. Jones would appreciate that.

I finally found a pretty cup that had a matching saucer and no chips. It had been my grandmother’s before she passed. Pouring the hot water in it, I placed the teabag on the saucer, and questioned Dwight.

“How does your mom take her tea?”

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