Page 49 of Tinley's Daddy
“What about your father?” Josh asked.
“I never knew him.” I shrugged. “I imagine he’s out there somewhere or he’s gone, too.” It had only been my mother, my aunt, and me. We had no other family. I never felt like a kid. “My mom raised her sister, and she was still so young when she had me. So we all kind of grew up together.”
“You missed out on being a child?” Josh rubbed my arm.
His touch calmed my racing heart.
“I guess so.” I scooted closer to him. He turned onto his back and let out a yawn. His eyes fluttered closed a few minutes later.
“I wish I could give that to you now,” Josh whispered.
I lifted my head, but he’d already drifted off to sleep.
I faced away from him and covered my head with the blanket to shut out the world. More than anything, I wished he could give me that, too.
CHAPTER 16
TINLEY
My eyes blinked a few times before they remained open. I yawned and stretched. I hugged the pillow in front of me and rolled onto my back into him.
I gasped and looked behind me. Josh was sprawled out on his stomach. The pillows were placed down the middle of the bed for a reason. Why was he on my side?
I scanned the room. I was on the wrong side. I rolled back and it all came back to me. I pulled the blanket back up and peeked over the edge. His blanket has slipped down, exposing his muscular back. His body was wasted under suits. The rhythm of his steady breathing calmed my nerves.
His hand ran down the bedsheets as if looking for something. Was he looking for me? His eyes fluttered open. He focused on me and smiled. His sexy grin made my stomach flip. He rolled onto his side and covered himself with the blanket. The air held a slight chill.
“Morning.” His groggy morning voice tickled my eardrums. The low bass made me shiver. “How did you sleep?”
“Good.” My voice came out muffled. “You?”
“Probably the best sleep I’ve had in years.” He chuckled and shifted now on his back. “You hungry? I think I remember how to make pancakes.”
“Pancakes sound good.” I pulled the blanket down so he could hear me.
“Okay.” He sat up and the blanket fell. “How about we both get dressed, and I’ll meet you in the kitchen? You can help me with breakfast and then after we eat, we can take a walk around the property. How does that sound?”
“Sounds good.” I wrapped the blanket around me and rolled out of bed.
My foot got stuck in the blanket as I attempted to get out of bed.
“Whoa.” Josh caught me before I face-planted on the hardwood floor. He sat me back on the bed and unwrapped the blanket from my legs. “Let’s try that again.”
I giggled and hopped out of bed.
“Meet you in ten minutes.” Josh disappeared into the bathroom, and I ran to the other room to get ready.
I used the bathroom and put on a pair of soft brown corduroy pants and a tan sweater. I found the clothes in my closet all in my size. They had the tags on them. I slipped on my tennis shoes but found some fuzzy slippers in the bathroom. I kicked off my sneakers and put on the slippers instead. They made my toes warm and toasty.
A vanity with a lit mirror and chair was built into the bathroom next to the sink. I slid my hair stuff down and climbed on the chair. Most of my hair had escaped the braid. I needed to remember to wrap it up at night. Apparently, I moved a lot in my sleep.
I took down the rest of the braid and sprayed it with the water bottle. I parted it down the middle and used gel to slickdown the left side. I put it in a pigtail above my ear. I worked on the right side when Josh poked his head in.
“Oh, you look so cute.” He stood behind me. “I love your hair like this.” He pulled the braid on the left side. “You want bananas, strawberries, or blueberries in your pancakes?”
“Bananas.” I grinned and worked on securing the second pigtail. “With peanut butter and syrup.”
Josh made a face. I giggled.
