Page 64 of Here and Now
“You heard the call.”
“I heard half.”
He hands me his phone. “Okay, oh-distrusting-one ... call him. He’s the last number dialed. His name is Justin.”
Now I feel bad. “I trust you.”
He pulls the phone back. “Good. Now I’ll get to work.”
I watch him walk away, trying—and failing—to not stare at his ass. Why does he have to be so damn cute?
After mentally slapping myself, I head into Kai’s bedroom and quickly grab some clothes for him.
Then I go across the hall to my room to pack a bag. I don’t need a lot if it’s just one night, but I grab way more than I need in case the tree does fully fall and my house is destroyed with all my belongings.
I need to let Jackson know since he owns the house. I’m not sure which phone to use, but I grab the burner, because at least I know that one is totally untraceable.
“Penelope?” Jackson’s deep voice comes through the line after the second ring.
“Hey, I didn’t know if I should call, but we had a massive storm. It’s bad, and there are trees and limbs and ...” I relay the facts about the tree and Miles.
“Wow. Are you guys okay?”
“We are, but there’s some damage, and I need to get a tree removed.”
He cuts in quickly. “I’ll pay for everything. Just do whatever you need for the house to be habitable.”
“No, that’s not why I’m calling.” I’ve taken so much from him, there’s no way I’m asking him to pay for this. “I just wanted to tell you and get permission to handle whatever. You are my landlord.”
He chuckles. “I guess I am. Of course, send all the bills to Quinn. This will all be covered. You need to worry about you and Kai, not this shit. The company will pay for everything, and we have ways of hiding things.”
“Okay, that really isn’t necessary.”
“I know you feel like you’re taking advantage or whatever, but you’re family, Penelope. We take care of our families in this company. Not only that, but we need to keep any paper trail clean, and if you were renting from anyone, you’d do it this way. Keep with the script.”
“Thanks, J.”
“Of course.”
“Tell Catherine and the girls I said hi.”
“I will. Be safe, Penny.”
He hangs up and I sit on the edge of my bed, letting out a long sigh. Sometimes my life is just exhausting.
Nothing is normal or feels like it’s real. It’s part of why I’m fighting so hard against this ... thing ... with Miles.
He lives in a world where everything is as it seems. Bringing him into a web of lies feels like the most unkind thing I could do.
I just don’t know that I’m going to be able to hold out, because the desire just keeps growing, no matter how much I tell myself it’s a bad idea.
twelve
Miles
We spent about six hours working on cleaning up her property. It was hit hard, and then she suggested we stop and check on Mr. Kipland. It was a good thing we did. While he has power thanks to his generator, there were a lot of downed branches and trees we were able to clear for him.
Both of us were sweaty, tired, and in need of clean clothes and a hot shower.
