Page 8 of Scorched

Chapter Four

Myles

It was kinda cute that she thought I was Matt.

It was really cute that she was so flustered about the misunderstanding.

I wasn’t mad. She’d clearly been teasing, not actually wanting to complain.

I smiled and shook my head, trying to ease her concerns. “Don’t worry about it. Matt isn’t the worst thing I’ve been called.”

Her face relaxed and she nodded. Finally, she took my hand, shaking gently.

“I’m Cassie. Nice to meet you, Myles.”

I nodded. “Good to meet you.”

“Will you be taking care of the pool from now on? Instead of Matt?”

I shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. Depends on the rest of my workload and how quickly I can hire somebody new.”

Cassie nodded. “Okay. Well, yeah. I’m sorry for the confusion.”

“It’s okay.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry about earlier. I tried to get your attention a few times. I promise, I wasn’t being creepy.”

It was hard not to glance down at her tits, which were sadly covered by a cotton halter dress.

Her nipples were still hard underneath.

I cleared my throat and continued. “I’ll be dropping by on Mondays and Wednesdays to clean the pool. Until I can find a replacement, anyway. Should I call your husband to let him know?”

She tilted her head, brows furrowed in confusion. “Husband?”

“Yeah. Isn’t that who I’ve been talking to? Mr. Raynor?”

“Oh! No, he—he’s not my husband.” Her cheeks went red. “He just, like, helps handle stuff around here. I don’t really know what his job title is.”

“Oh.” I nodded. “I see. Are you the owner then?”

“I am now.” She lowered her head a little. “My stepdad died. He left everything to me, so this is mine now. I’ve only been here a week.”

Shit. That was rough.

And I definitely knew how hard losing someone was.

“I’m so sorry to hear that.” I reached out, touching her shoulder sympathetically. “I lost a good friend of mine recently. It’s hard.”

She nodded, swallowing. Her expression was tight. “Yeah. It really blows.”

I nodded, but changed the subject immediately. She probably didn’t want to dwell on her dead stepfather for long. “And sorry about assuming you were married to Mr. Raynor. Honestly, I haven’t talked to him since the one time he called, and that was a few years ago. I just send a guy out to handle the pool and he cuts me a check twice a month.”

“That’s good. I’m glad he’s handling things well.” Cassie smiled weakly. “Listen, so, earlier? I’m just having a bad day.”

“Every day’s a bad day when you’re grieving.” I shrugged. “I get it. I’ve been having a rough one, too. Feeling pretty lonely.”

She sighed. “Lonely, yeah. Same here.”

Poor girl.

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