Page 5 of So Close

There was nothing luxurious about her digs—the room was small, cramped, even—but she loved it more than any place she’d ever lived. And one day, when she saved the money, it would be hers for real.

She sloughed off her clothes, ran hot water in the claw foot tub, then sank down in the water. Her muscles relaxed, even as her nipples tightened at the contrast between the hot water and the cool air. Usually this was where she let her mind wander—over what had gone wrong and right in the running of Beachcrest that day, over what could go better the next. But for whatever reason, as she luxuriated in her bath, her mind kept going back to her interaction at Bob’s. Trey Xavier, disturbingly attractive in his expensive suit. And even though she knew it was thelastthing she should be asking herself, she couldn’t help but wonder what she’d be doing right now if she’d let her body, and not her better judgment, steer the evening.

2

“You’re a million miles away.”

Trey’s sister, Brynn, watched him from the passenger seat as he turned off 101. He could feel the power of her stare as he drove.

“Yeah—sorry.”

“Work stuff?”

“Yeah,” he lied.

It was the best of all guesses, but for once, it wasn’t true. He’d been thinking of the woman from the night before. Chastising himself. He’d been impulsive, and he was never impulsive.

On paper, he’d followed the rules he’d made for himself after Karina had left him: No one he knew. No one near home. No one who might tempt him into commitment or a relationship or—in short—no one who’d ever ask anything of him that would pull him away from his business. He preferred to have sex when traveling and he always made it clear that it was a one-time-only thing.

On all those fronts, he had nothing to regret. Last night, he’d been in a town far from home, in a bar, and he’d issued a one-night invitation that didn’t pretend to be anything else.

But he knew that he’d violated thespiritof the law.

Not because he wanted her. That was harmless and made sense. She was striking and vivid—not his type at all, but hot as fuck all the same. Curls in a riot all over her head, like a kid’s impression of a lion’s mane. Cobalt blue eyes in a face too cute to be pretty. Generous curves packed into a sports top and leggings, and wedge-heeled flipflops. He’d pictured her naked almost from the get-go.

But that wasn’t why he’d walked the length of the bar to buy her a drink.

No. He’d donethatbecause she’d helped the waitress.

His mom had worked two or three jobs at a time when he was a kid. Most often, she waited tables or tended bar, and she’d come home with stories for him and Brynn about what it was like. She’d been invisible to most people and used as a punching bag by others. The ones who treated her well were rare. The ones who went out of their way to make her feel human? Practically nonexistent.

Translation: Trey had seen something in the curly-haired woman that he could admire, evenlike. And that wasstrictlyagainst his post-Karina rules of engagement.

He was thankful, now, that she’d turned him down. Well, mostly thankful. He kept seeing the expression on her face during the conversation when she’d lit into him about the cologne. She’d been dead right about the cost. And about him, too. He’d be the first to claim the label “asshole.”

And yet, there’d been something behind her eyes as she did it. Interest. No.Hunger.

He would have liked to explore it.

“How much further?” his sister asked.

There was a childlike eagerness in her voice. He’d promised her a surprise, and he wasn’t the kind of guy who did surprises. Maybe this was a bad idea, but he couldn’t stand for her to stay in that rundown rat hole of a house.

“We’re here,” he said. “More or less.”

He turned down a side street and slowed the rental car—a disappointing mid-size when he would have loved to spring for the Tesla Model S.

“Ta-da.”

She slowly pulled herself out of the car and came to stand beside him on the sidewalk, in front of the newly constructed four-bedroom. There was a realtor sign out front, with a sale pending badge slapped across the top.

“What the hell is this?”

“Your new house.”

Her eyebrows dove together. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s for you and Jacob and Tyler. I put an offer in on it. I vetted it completely. I know the developer. The builder’s very well-regarded. It’s good materials, sturdy construction, all new everything.” And best of all, a ninety-day closing period, so he could mop up his mess, complete the sale of Home Base, and make this purchase.

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