Page 59 of A Bossy Roommate
You can handle this, I tell myself and smile back at her beaming face. It’s just an hour alone with an elderly lady. What could go wrong?
We makeit back to the apartment, and Carter takes the time to bring up all of Eleanor’s bags. After he takes them to the guest suite, he gives his aunt a quick peck on the cheek. I look around. The maid is gone, and everything is perfect.
“One hour,” he repeats. “At the most.”
“We’ll be fine.” I offer him a smile, playing the loving wife to the T. “And you can make it up to us later.”
To my surprise, he leans in and gives me a kiss on my lips. The impact is so strong, it leaves me breathless. Even though it’s only a brief press of our lips, it still has my knees wobbling like the night before. In the heat of the moment, I forget I need to stay in character. When he pulls away, my head is spinning, and then I remember his aunt and that the kiss was all for show.
Right. It was all pretend.Don’t get too invested, I warn myself.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can, love,” he says.
Sweet heavens. He called me “love.” During our just-the-tip sex he’d called me “baby.” Now, he’d called me “love.”
Don’t get emotionally attached, I warn myself.
Carter leaves, and I’m alone with his aunt. I can feel her intense eyes watching me as I turn away from the door.
“Young love! My heart!” she coos when I finally regain my senses and turn to face her.
Apparently, the happy face I’m wearing due to him calling me “love” is an Oscar-worthy performance.
“Iknow.” I beam. “How about we get you settled in the guest suite?” I suggest, ready to help her unpack.
“Oh,nonono, we do not have to do that right now.” She shakes her head, making her way to the couch. She takes off the animal-friendly coat, and it makes her look even smaller. Without it, I can see that Eleanor is more fragile than her charisma suggests.
She lets herself sink onto the couch.
I follow, taking her coat and hanging it on the rack by the door. “Can I get you something?” I ask when I return to her. “A snack or some tea, maybe?”
“Tea would be grandiose.” She makes herself comfortable with a pillow. “How about Earl Grey? As long as you make a cup for yourself and join me.”
“I’d be happy to.”
“Ma chère, I have atonof questions.”
17
CARTER
The only reason I’m going into the office is because I know it’s an emergency.
Bradley wouldn’t have called me otherwise. He knows my aunt is in town and that it’s important for me to spend time with her and sell the whole marriage thing. But when two board members call a secret meeting and one of them is Huxley, I can’t sit back and not get involved.
Bradley is waiting for me in the parking lot when I pull in.
“You know, for someone who lives in Connecticut, you sure are here a lot,” I comment, getting out of my car.
Bradley bumps my fist, giving me a once-over. “Something’s different.”
“Yeah, I’m not in my suit. You caught me right on the way back from the airport.”
“Nah, that’s not it. You seem way too relaxed.” Bradley studies me closely. “Wait a minute, I know that stance. You had sex.”
“Not quite.” I shake my head, annoyed. “Get out of my ass.”
Part of me is glad I’d taken Eden up on her offer, even if Vance’s showing up couldn’t have come at a worsetime. The cupcake sex was hot as fuck. I can’t stop thinking about what would have happened if Vance hadn’t appeared. Us rolling between the sheets all night, that was what would have happened—naked, sweaty, sticky. Luckily, I jerked off this morning. Hard. Twice. Still, there needs to be a repeat performance, and soon—this time preferably with an uninterrupted outcome.