Page 69 of Someday You Learn

Her frustrated groan snaps my attention back to her, and I immediately regret it. She stands up tall, turns her back to me, and then rips her sports bra off up over her head, throwing it to the ground.

Fuck. Me. Sideways.

“Um, is everything all right?” I manage to choke out as she covers her breasts with her forearm and turns around to face me. But why does she bother? I already know what those rosy, pink nipples look like and how they feel in my mouth.

“I think that top is just too small. It’s digging into me and I couldn’t take it anymore.” She grabs her water bottle and then walks right up to me, an innocent smile on her face. “Thanks for trying to adjust it for me, but I guess I just need to get rid of it.”

Swallowing down my frustration, I say, “You could’ve waited to take it off in your room, Cashlynn.”

She blinks a few times, dips her eyes down to my crotch, and then lifts her eyes back to mine with a pleased smile on her lips. “Yeah, I could have, but I just couldn’t take it for another second.” She shrugs and then moves to the door. “I’m gonna hop in the shower.”

As soon as she’s gone, I look down and see my cock standing at full attention, straining against my shorts. Yeah, there’s no way she didn’t see that—or feel it with how close she was standing to me.

I drag my hands through my hair and place them on the top of my head, looking up at the ceiling, asking God why I’m being punished when I was just trying to help the woman out.

But it seems karma is hell-bent on making herself known, and Cashlynn is a lot more to handle than I bargained for.

***

“Where’s Grady?” I ask as I walk into Catch & Release for our Thursday lunch, finding my brothers already in their usual spots—Dallas behind the bar and Penn on his stool, shoving a burger in his mouth—but no sign of our friend with his daughter strapped to his chest like normal.

“Callie had a doctor’s appointment,” Dallas says, filling up a glass of Coke for me and sliding it down the bar.

Penn looks at our older brother. “That’s going to be you soon. Have you and Willow discussed cutting back your hours at this place once your son arrives?”

Dallas looks out over his restaurant, the business he takes immense pride in. One day, I hope to do the same with Carrington Cove Animal Hospital. “We have. I’m promoting Sara to manager and hiring a few more servers. I won’t be working night shifts anymore, gentlemen. And I’m not sure what will happen to our Thursday lunch dates.”

The chime above the door rings out as Grady strolls in. “Sorry I’m late.”

“I thought you weren’t going to make it,” Dallas says.

“Callie’s appointment was quicker than expected, so Scottie took her home for some one-on-one time since she has the afternoon off.”

Grady slides onto a stool to my left and Dallas pours him a drink. The kitchen bell rings, signaling that my lunch is ready, so Dallas grabs it and asks the cook to throw down another burger for Grady.

“Jimmy’s gonna get you a burger going,” he says to Grady, setting my plate in front of me.

“Appreciate it.” Grady tips his chin to Dallas and then leans back on his stool. “So, what did I miss?”

“We were talking about how Dallas’s life is about to change once the baby comes and he has no fucking clue what he’s in for,” Penn replies.

Grady huffs out a laugh. “There’s no preparing for it, man. Life and all of your priorities shift.”

Dallas nods. “Yeah, I was telling them I’m not going to be working nights anymore.”

Grady nods. “Probably a good idea. Evenings are the witching hour. One night Callie’s easy to bathe and put to sleep, then the next, she screams for an hour before bedtime.”

Dallas blinks. “Joy.”

Penn chuckles. “You’ll adjust.” Dallas nods, taking a deep breath.

Penn looks to me now. “Speaking of adjusting, how’s living with Cashlynn?”

I finish chewing my food and wipe my mouth with my napkin. “It’s…interesting.”

Dallas laughs. “How so?”

“Well, I swear the woman is trying to drive me nuts. Otherwise, she just has weird fucking habits and I’m not sure I’ll make it through the timeline we agreed to.”

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