Page 46 of Look My Way
I lie here for a while, stretching out my body and pushing myself against the bed. My whole body is still tingling and feeling boneless. My head moves from side to side, and my eyes close, opening again when the doorbell rings. I jump, sitting up in bed and almost falling flat on my face from standing too quickly. There’s a rush shooting through me, my head all fuzzy, and I rub my temple.
The doorbell goes off again and I let out a sigh, grabbing the first set of clothes I come across in my drawer. I throw on a pair of gray shorts and white shirt before rushing toward the howling sound of the bell. I pull open the door and Zavier’s smile almost has me tumbling forward all over again.
“I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“No.” I lean against the door frame, opening the door wider. “Not at all. Come on in.”
“I did say after one, right?”
“Uh, yeah.” I run a hand through my hair, looking back at the clock on the wall behind me. My eyebrows jump. Holy fuck. Is it really one forty-five already? Where the hell did the time go? Finishing a book does take a lot out of me, and I spend many days similar to this one after hitting the end—minus all the orgasms of course.
He squeezes past, looking me up and down. I swear I hear a low growl, and goosebumps cover all my exposed skin.
“How are you this morning? I’m almost to the epilogue in your book. Had an exhausting day yesterday so I didn’t get quite reach it yet.”
“I’m good, and that’s okay. Gives me some time to tweak it if I have to. They call them first drafts for a reason.” I tilt my head back and smile, shoving the door shut, then I follow him to the back yard, stopping when my feet touch the hot concrete.
I yelp, jumping back, and he quickly turns around, his forehead lifting. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I laugh, stepping back again. “Forgot my shoes.”
His gaze drops to my bare feet. “Someone was a little too eager to come outside. Cute toes by the way.” His head nods at my green toenails.
“Thanks.” I turn my feet inward shyly, curling my toes, and he chuckles.
“You’re welcome, carino. You go put those shoes on and I’ll be out here getting started. I won’t be here too long today, so that means longer tomorrow.”
“Oh, okay. Busy schedule?” I tilt my head, opening the door behind me.
“Yeah. Something came up that I had to take care of. Was much too important to put off.” His stare darkens and my tongue suddenly feels too big for my mouth.
He clears his throat. “Carino?” he says with amusement in his tone.
“Yeah?”
“Shoes, mi pequeño.”
“Oh. Yes. I’ll be back.” I duck my head, slipping inside and softly shutting the door behind me. I smile when his laughter cuts through the door. He sets down his bag, taking out histools, and I go to the front of the house to slip on my slides, not wanting to cover my toes in case he wants to take another look.
My cheeks heat at the thought as I fix us some lemonade, carrying two glasses outside when I’m done. He quickly takes a cup from me as soon as he sees me juggling the two while trying to shut the door.
“Let me help.” His fingers brush mine as he takes his drink, and he picks up the wedged lemon, licking at it. My eyes eagerly follow his suave movements. “Thank you, carino. Looks delicious. Perfect for this warm day too.”
“Yeah. I figured it would be.”
“You getting work done today too?”
I shake my head, carrying my cup to the nearby table. “No. I’m taking the day off so I can jump into the document in two days with fresh eyes. My editor will probably gripe about it but he’s well aware of my process.”
“Your editor give you a hard time a lot?”
“Yeah.” I huff out a breath, lowering myself into one of the chairs. “So I’m really hoping he’s not at the work dinner tonight.”
“Work dinner? Like with other writers and stuff?”
“Yeah. All the ones whho are local under the same publisher.”
“That sounds like fun. If he’s there, maybe you can just ignore him and still have a good time.”
