Page 33 of Make Me Whole

I wanted to eat back my words and instead tell her I was there to do unspeakable things to that gorgeous body. I would have done that if Aiden hadn’t yelled from downstairs announcing that the food had arrived. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was happy or upset for the interruption.

“I have to go pay for the food,” I told her.

“Okay. I’ll be right there.”

“I’m sorry.”

She gave me a small smile. “You always are.”

Aiden called me again. I yelled over my shoulder that I’d be right there. When I looked back at Sky, she was sashaying her round, bare ass to the closet. I ran a hand through my damp hair, turned around, and went down the stairs, absolutely convinced that for as long as I lived, the image of her would be burned into my brain.

I was also absolutely certain I’d be jacking myself off to sleep no matter how guilty it made me feel.

14

SKY

After my mother abandoned us, I went through a deep cleaning phase. I was only ten, so my dad worried I had snapped and took me to a psychologist. In one of our sessions, she explained that when a person obsessively cleans and organizes their house, especially after a meaningful life event, they’re actually trying to clean and organize their minds.

She had been right about me then, and she was right about me now.

Three days had passed since Max saw me naked in my bedroom, and neither of us had broached the subject. I didn’t want to be rejected again, while he seemed content with acting as if nothing had happened. Life simply went on as usual. We had Dad over for a barbecue on Sunday, work breakfasts every single morning, and time with our kids at night. The normalcy messed up my mind a surprising amount.

So I cleaned. Obsessively, but this time, it only made me more tired and frustrated, which in turn made me very jumpy when a knock sounded at the door.

My heart halted with fear that it was Eli. I carefully made my way to the foyer and looked out the window. It was a tall, slim woman who looked remarkably like Jane Fonda circa 1990. She waved when she saw me, her glossy pink lips spreading into a friendly smile.

I had never seen her before, and she was too old to be one of Eli’s girlfriends, but she could be one of his hired minions. The thought made me consider running to fetch Max, but that idea wasn’t pleasant either. I didn’t need him to be a knight in shining armor again. I just needed space.

She tilted her head as if confused and waved again. I vowed to buy some curtains for that front door and held the mop like a sword as I walked toward the door.

“What do you want?” I demanded as I opened the door.

“Oh, my,” the lady exhaled. “I just brought you some brownies, dear. I’m Molly, your next-door neighbor.”

My cheeks flamed as I saw the plate of brownies and the open door on the adjacent house. With an embarrassed smile, I said, “I’m so sorry. I’m Sky.”

Her expression relaxed, and she shook her head. “That’s okay, darling. A lady does well if she’s a bit jumpy. There are a lot of creeps out there, and we can never be too careful. I was married three times, and my last husband was the reason I moved from Texas to Windy River. He was a prick who wouldn’t accept that we were over and ended up camping in my yard and slashing the tires of a guy I went on a date with. I can surely pick the freaking losers.”

Her understanding mademefeel like a freaking loser. I propped the mop on the wall next to the front door, hoping that hiding it would make her forget what a fool I had made of myself.

“You’re not alone,” I told her with a smile. “I’ve only been married once, but if you look up the wordassholein the dictionary, I’m sure you’ll see the face of Eli Walsh.”

“The mayor?” she asked, brows tugging together.

Shit! I shouldn’t have said that.

I wanted to backpedal, to say that it was a different Eli Walsh—though the probability of a small town having unrelated namesakes was so low it wasn’t believable. Luckily, Molly spoke first, saving me from further humiliation.

“Bless your heart, Sweetie Pie. I saw that man once, and he has crazy eyes. A man with crazy eyes is usually crazy all over.” I chuckled even though I wanted to cry. She smiled at me with a twinkle in her blue eyes. “You may have gotten screwed in your first try, but the second one seems good to me.”

I tilted my head. “Excuse me?”

She blushed. “I don’t mean to sound like the nosy neighbor, but I watched y’all from my kitchen window on Sunday when you had the barbecue with your cute friend, and I decided your guy is a keeper. Handsome, clearly a good father, and he stares at you like you’re a goddess, all makings of a rare find. Hold on to him, sweetie.”

I knew Max was a rare find and would gladly keep him if he were mine. Which he wasn’t. My mind returned to its previously frenzied state.

As I thought about how to set her straight about Max’s and my situation, her gaze shifted to inside my house. “Speak of the hot devil.”

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