Page 84 of Can't Take My Eyes Off You

‘Don’t fret, what we lack in comfort, we make up for in entertainment.’ I motion towards the store. ‘Borrow any reading material you want, just put it back when you’re done. Here’s your bedding.’

‘Thread count?’ Melinda asks.

‘They’ve got threads,’ I answer, knowing full well these sheets also came from my grandparents’ place. I drop the bedding onto the couch.

At their house, they sleep in separate bedrooms, probably on sheets spun with gold thread. But tonight, they get used everything. Bwa-ha-ha-ha. That’s my evil laugh. The villain they’ve always pretended I am has settled in, it seems.

‘Bathroom is down the hall, and should you want to shower or cook, please text Will to schedule that.’

‘We have toscheduleour bathroom visits?’ Melinda gawks.

‘No,’ I say. ‘Public bathrooms are always open, and if scheduling a shower is too inconvenient, sponge baths are good enough for medical patients; I’m sure you’ll do just fine.’

Melinda huffs a breath, crossing her arms over her chest and giving Will the stink-eye. ‘You’re OK with this?’

‘More than, actually,’ he says, a wide grin on his face.

I flash him a smile.

‘And for our single guest, right this way…’ I say to Mike, shoving him back through the double doors ahead of me.

He half stumbles the first couple of steps.

‘You’re gonna let her abuse us too?’ he asks Will, who’s now walking a few steps behind us, the bedding for Mike in his arms.

He nods.

‘Oh, please. I’m probably the first person to touch you that you haven’t paid.’

I stop just inside my office, pointing to the oversized lounge chair. ‘That opens out into a single bed. Almost. It’s a tad shorter and it’s like sleeping on the worst cabin cot ever. And, bonus, I chased a spider that disappeared into the cushions recently, so sleep tight, princess.’ I grab the bedding from Will, shoving it into Mike’s chest as he takes a step away from the chair.

Spiders. Mike’s number one fear.

He looks from the chair to me. ‘How big of a spider?’

‘Big enough I saw all eight eyeballs but it probably wasn’t venomous and it wasn’t aggressive; I mean, it didn’t want to die but… I bet you’ll be fine.’

‘Seriously?’ Mike asks Will. ‘You’re going to let her treat me like this?’

‘Yep,’ Will says with a nod.

‘You two are assholes.’ Mike tosses the bedding onto the chair.

‘We’re just getting started, sugar. Now, the alarm is already set, so if you leave the building and set it off, I’ll just call the security center and let them know what’s happening and ask them to leave it on to annoy you. So don’t try sneaking out to party and think you’ll somehow get back in. ’Cause until the store opens tomorrow at ten, you won’t.’

‘She’s kinda mean,’ Mike says.

‘Yet I’ve never been more attracted to her than I am right now.’

I smile proudly.

‘Since you’re doing this little “goodness of your heart” scam prison-style, can we at least get our bags or did you have a jumpsuit you want us to wear?’ Mike asks me.

‘You’ve got five minutes,’ I say, walking to the alarm keypad just outside my office and punching in the code. ‘Your time starts now, and we lack a bellboy, so you’ll have to get your criminal parents to help you.’

Mike groans as he pulls his keys from his pocket, yelling for his folks.

‘I’m seeing a little bit of evil in you, Berx,’ Will says with a crooked grin, clearly enjoying it.

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