Page 8 of Inked Obsession

That was the problem; they wouldn’t. I would judge myself. I walked Lee out and then locked the door, double and triple-checked the lock like every night these days, and went to bed.

The nightmares came as hardas they usually did, shocking me awake. I heard the screams, the shouts, that final piercing pop that had nothing to do with someone’s voice. I shook my head and glared down at my sweat-covered body.

“Well, fuck,” I whispered. I had the day off, it was Sunday, after all, but I still needed to work on a few things. I wanted to work out, do some stuff around the house and get some paperwork done.

I was a construction project manager, the lead of Montgomery Builders. All of my siblings and I worked together, Annabelle was the architect, Benjamin our landscape architect, Paige our office manager, and Archer our lead plumber. We had a rotating set of electricians and others to help us since our company was getting larger by the day, but we did well for ourselves. I was in charge most days, so I had a lot of fucking paperwork to do. And I didn’t want to bother Clay, my assistant project manager, on the weekend. He was raising three kids on his own, which meant he had more than enough on his plate. I’d work out, get some paperwork done, and maybe work on my yard—anything to keep my hands busy.

I quickly showered, rinsing off the sweat and doing my best not to think about anything too serious. I thought briefly about jerking off, just to do something, but I wasn’t in the mood. It was probably a good thing I hadn’t brought Sally home last night, considering the only person I thought about doing anything with was the one person I shouldn’t.

Except there was noprobablyabout it. The sexy, dark-haired woman who haunted my dreams didn’t need to haunt my waking hours. I snorted, turned off the shower, and dried off. I wrapped a towel around my waist and then went to find something to wear.

I would exercise, but it wouldn’t be anything big. Maybe I’d eat breakfast first. Hell. I had no ideawhatI wanted to do. I slid on another pair of gray sweatpants, not bothering with underwear since I would just change in a minute anyway and headed towards the kitchen for coffee. The doorbell rang, and I cursed. It’d better not be fucking Lee again. I left the coffee brewing and headed to the entryway. I looked through the peephole and smiled.

I opened the door and grinned. “Hey, there,” I said as Brenna walked in. She had a box in her hand from our favorite donut place and a smile on her face.

Her eyes caught mine, and they widened. “Oh. So… Are you trying to seduce the poor delivery people who show up at your house?”

“What?” I asked, then looked down at my naked torso. “Shit, I can go put on a shirt.”

She blushed and then waved her hand. “Don’t on my account. I brought breakfast.”

“Did we plan on meeting this morning?” I asked, rubbing my face. I should have shaved, but it was the weekend, and I didn’t care.

“No, but I’m your best friend, and I felt like coming over. Is that okay?” she asked, a little hesitant.

I was a bastard. “Of course, you’re welcome over. I don’t have many plans today, though, just housework, maybe a little paperwork.”

“I have to decorate a few things later today, projects are piling up, but I just wanted to see you. We haven’t really hung out that much lately.”

Because I was keeping a secret from her, and I wasn’t good at lying to Brenna. Unfortunately, I couldn’t say that to her.

“No problem,” I said. “Come on in, I’ll make you a cup of coffee.”

“Do you have the good creamer?” she asked.

“Of course, I do. It’s your favorite. Why wouldn’t I have it?”

She gave me a weird look that I didn’t understand, and I shrugged. I took the donuts from her and set them on the counter. Brenna hopped onto the kitchen island, dangling her feet, her favorite position in my kitchen, and I shook my head. I poured her a cup of coffee and then doctored my own as we sat and ate donuts.

She grinned at me, and I leaned over and wiped jelly off her chin. “Messy eater,” I said.

She blushed and shook her head. “You’re a jerk, you know that?”

“Maybe, only I’m your jerk. What cakes are you working on tonight?” I asked, munching on my second donut. I would be working out hard later.

“It’s a four-tiered monstrosity, but it’s a large wedding, and I’m enjoying it. I’m calling it the crystal palace.”

“Lots of sugar work, then?” I asked.

“You don’t even want to know. It’s going to work out. The bride and the bride’s mother couldn’t agree on anything, so I’m sort of melding their two ideas. It should work, and they loved the design that I sent. They picked out a light and airy vanilla cake with a chocolate ganache filling.”

“You know me and chocolate,” I said as I bit into the last of my eclair.

She rolled her eyes and grinned. “Yes. You and chocolate. It’s a sickness. Anyway, I also have a groom’s cake to make, and an order of cupcakes for a birthday.”

My eyes widened. “You are busy.”

“I am, but I did schedule some time off this morning so I could just breathe. And I wanted to see you.”

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