Page 87 of His Heart

“Thank you, Brooke. It’s good to have someone in here with a little enthusiasm,” he said, smiling again. “Well, it’s time for me to go home. Like I said, close up early. You don’t need to sit around if there aren’t any customers.”

“I will. Thanks, Joe.”

After Joe left, I started sketching layout ideas in my notebook. I had a few customers in the late afternoon, but after that, all was quiet. I closed the shop an hour early and went home.

The porch light was on, but the living room was dark when I got there. I wondered where Olivia was. She’d been here for weeks and I wasn’t sure how long she was planning to stay. At first, she’d said she could stay for a week. But a week had come and gone, and she was still here.

She’d asked if I minded, and I told her I didn’t. It was nice having her here. I got the feeling that she liked being away from Phoenix—and not living with her parents. Even though they were nice people, I didn’t blame Olivia for not wanting to live with them. She’d been on her own while she went to college, so moving home must have taken some adjusting.

Plus, we had fun together. Olivia had always been a spitfire, so we’d had our moments. Just a couple of small arguments, nothing serious. The longer she stayed, the more we fell back into the comfort of our old relationship. We loved each other like sisters, but we sometimes we fought like sisters too.

I shut the door behind me and flicked on the light. I was hungry, but I figured I’d wait for Sebastian. Maybe he’d want to grab dinner. Who was I kidding, Seb always wanted to grab food. His diet was the healthiest of anyone I’d ever known, but he was a big guy. It seemed like he was always hungry.

A bang coming from another room startled me. Maybe Olivia washome.

“Olivia?” I called.

She didn’t answer, so I got out my phone to text Seb.

I heard another sound and it made me pause, mid-text. Was that a moan? It sounded like a woman’s voice. I shook my head and grinned. Maybe Olivia was enjoying some alone time.

More noise, and another voice. Definitely not Olivia’s. It sounded like a man. Was she watching porn back there? I shrugged and finished my text. I was going to tease the crap out of her when she came out.

Then the noise kept going—a rhythmic banging. Like two objects hitting each other. Or more like… a bed knocking against a wall.

Oh, shit.

She was either watching porn and getting really into her special-me-time, or she had someone back there with her.

The moaning got louder. Two voices. This was getting a little bit mortifying. I wondered if I should leave. She obviously didn’t know I was home. If she did, she’d at least attempt to keep it down. As it was, they both kept getting louder. Who was she with?

The worst part was, it was kind of a turn-on. God, I was never going to tell her that. But listening to people having what was clearly some very amazing sex made my core tingle. Damn it, my panties were getting wet.

Well, at least Sebastian was coming over soon. Although maybe I’d suggest we hang out at his house tonight. There was slightly more privacy over there—at least the bedrooms were upstairs, instead of right next to the living room.

Sebastian hadn’t answered yet, so I curled up in the corner of the couch and waited for them to finish. And what a finish. They were either having one intense simultaneous orgasm, or Olivia was hard-core faking.

I poked around on my phone for a little while, looking at furniture ideas for the café. I was so excited to get started. I’d never had a job that I really cared about before, but I really wanted to see Booklover’s Corner succeed. It would be heartbreaking if it had to close—and not because I’d need to find a new job. It was a great store with so much potential. It just needed a little boost.

Olivia’s bedroom door opened and an imposing figure walked out. Tall. Thickly muscled. For a split second, his silhouette reminded me of Sebastian and a chill ran down my spine. But then he stepped closer to the light.

Oh my god, I should have known. Charlie. Of course it was Charlie.

He stopped in his tracks in front of the bathroom and looked at me. Dressed in nothing but boxer briefs, he had his shirt over his wrists like he was about to put it on.

“Oh, hey, Brooke,” he said. “You’re, um… you’re here.”

“Yep,” I said.

Olivia stumbled out of the bedroom, giggling. She was dressed in a fitted t-shirt that wasn’t long enough to hide her bright pink underwear. She wrapped her arms around Charlie from behind, then seemed to realize he was looking at something. Her eyes moved to me and they widened in surprise.

“Oh god,” she said. “You were supposed to be at work.”

“Sorry,” I said. “I came home early.”

“How long have you been here?” she asked.

“Long enough,” I said with a wink.

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