Chapter Eight
Sydney
I woke to sun rays.
I’d never woken to sun rays before. My mother kept the blinds to my window shut to keep me from staring at the football boys that practiced in our back yard during high school.
That’d been years ago. When Ryder was still alive. Back before I turned into the person I am today. I wasn’t even sure who that was anymore.
Opening my eyes, I willed the demons away. And prayed that God would help me push those memories far back into my head. I sat up, blinking at the clear sky above me. I could definitely get used to this.
My cellphone rang as soon as I slipped out of bed.
“Sydney!” Frankie yelled into the phone.
“Geez, Frankie. What’s going on?”
I could hear commotion in the background. “I’m getting my things together to come see you. I need to talk to you now! You didn’t come home last night, and I’ve been dyin’ to talk to you.”
I walked toward the white marble bathroom. It was big, with an angular sink and shower. It looked like something that came from a fancy home magazine. My hair was piled on top of my head in a messy bun, emphasis on messy. I ran my toothbrush under the faucet. “Well, you won’t find me at my parents’.”
“Uh, why? Who did you stay the night with?”
Everything shined like in a toothpaste commercial. It wasn’t that I hadn’t been around nice things, but my parents’ home wasn’t nearly as modern. I loved it. “Because I’m in Cash Jenkins’ guest house.”
Frankie gasped. “You took the job without telling me? Did you sleep with him? Is that why you didn’t answer my calls last night.”
I shoved my toothbrush into my mouth. “No. I just decided to take his offer. Now, what did you want to talk about,” I said around my toothbrush.
She huffed. “Jeremy and I got into a big fight last night because Asher Jenkins brought me home Friday.”
I finished brushing my teeth and flip-flopped to the spacious living room. “He knows nothing happened, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, but that’s what I need to talk to you about. Can I come over?”
I hadn’t gotten a great look at everything in the dark the night before. The house was open in every way possible, and it made me feel at home. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I’d decide later. “Yeah, I think that’d be okay. Give me an hour or two before you come. I’m sure he’ll be at work by then.”
“Okay, I’ll see you in a bit.”
Sunshine shone through the glass bay doors and I felt like I could swim in the warmth. Nyla slept sprawled wide in front of the window, her graying belly splayed for the world to see. Must be nice to have no responsibilities.
It wasn’t until I looked up that I noticed Cash walking toward the pool. It was about to forty yards away from the window where I stood. His shirt wasn’t on, and I found myself memorizing every line in his chest. Each rip in his abs had my breath stalling. I’d seen my share of shirtless men, but nothing compared to what stood in front of me. His stance was wide, shoulders wider. Why hadn’t I realized he was so toned and tight?
I knew why. Because his face was just as beautiful.
Nyla purred at my feet, and I swooshed her off. I needed my full concentration for this. I rose onto my tiptoes, not sure why, but I felt like I could see him better that way. I was examining the way his basketball shorts slung low on his hips when I noticed him staring at me.
Oh shit. His head turned and he went still. I willed my body to move but I froze in place. The realization of what I had on didn’t hit me until the corner of his mouth drew up into a devilish smile. I glanced down and immediately remembered exactly what I wore to bed the night before. A tank top and panties.
Move, Sydney. You’re standing in your panties.
Before he could act, I darted from the room and raced toward the marble bathroom, slamming the door behind me. Crap. Crap. Crap.
This wasn’t appropriate. Your boss should never see you in your underwear. I hated that my body vibrated at the look on his face. A look I knew mimicked on my own. The bathroom clock said six a.m. I had no idea he’d be outside this early. Being an early riser wasn’t something everyone was into.
It was too soon to leave the room, due to the potential embarrassment, so instead of facing the music I stripped and got into the shower.
The shower was completely glass with one of those overly large showerheads, like the one my parents had hung in my bathroom. Twenty minutes in that shower erased the fear of Cash showing up.
The towel I wrapped around me felt like a cloud, with a scent I recognized instantly as his. It wasn’t the soap he used, but the fabric softener. I tried to push the tingle in my lower stomach away as I walked toward the bedroom. I didn’t want to like him. I really didn’t. It was doomed for disaster, but something about him was irresistible. My body stayed turned on a completely different wavelength than my brain.
As I got dressed, I examined the room in daylight. This was the nicest guest house I’d ever seen. Sunlight spilled across my damp skin from the bedroom window. I could have laid and basked in the warmth, but I dressed quickly, drying my hair and braiding it. Nyla trotted behind me to the kitchen.
“Sydney.”
I screamed, stumbled backward, and stepped on Nyla’s tail. She hissed and ran full speed toward the bedroom, where I knew she hid under the bed. “Oh, shit! I’m so sorry, Nyla.”
Cash chuckled from the bay windows. From across the room I could smell the cologne I’d thought about too many times over the past few days. His freshly washed James Dean hair was slicked back, the scruff on his jaw thicker than before. “Are you okay?”
I wasn’t. I was turned on with one simple look. I nodded anyway. “Yeah, you just scared me. I didn’t know you were in here.” I tucked my hair behind my ear, and mentally scolded myself for it. Nervous habits die hard.
He swallowed. His eyes dropped to my breasts and down my legs. My torn jean shorts and old T-shirt didn’t compare to his dress pants, but I planned to spend the day painting. The way he swallowed slowly put me on edge. “I brought your breakfast,” he said, gesturing behind him.
I glanced over my shoulder at the dining room. The smell alone made my mouth water. Everything I could ever want sat neatly on the dining room table, a flower in the center. “You weren’t jokin’. I’m already happy, and I haven’t eaten anything yet.”
The devil-may-care smile on his face turned my stomach. I knew what he thought about, and he wanted me to know he was still thinking about it. “I didn’t realize you woke so early.”
I shrugged, picking at the fringe on my shorts. “I don’t like to miss out on the day.”
Cash shoved his hands into his pockets. “We wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on anything this morning.” I ignored the way his eyes pinned me to my spot on the floor. “Are you hungry?”
I nodded.
He gestured at the dining room table. “Ladies first.”
I walked slowly over, aware of his eyes on me from behind. “You’re eating with me?”
He lifted a brow. “Unless you’d rather I eat outside?”
“No, no. It’s fine; I just didn’t know.”
Cash watched as I loaded my plate with sausages, eggs, and bacon. The strawberries tasted like my own slice of heaven. It was an easy distraction from his dominating presence. “This is great,” I said.
Cash sipped his juice. “I told you I’d make sure you were happy this morning. Are you pleased?”
The purr of his voice settled easily against me. “Definitely pleased,” I said. “They say the key to a man’s heart is through his stomach, but I think it’s a two-way street, because I love to eat.”
Cash grinned and took a slow bite of his sausage. “I’ll keep that in mind. Have you any ideas on what you’re gonna paint today?”
I had thought about it. The night before I’d spent staring up at my skylight, thinking about what I could paint for Cash. “Yeah,” I said. “I have some things in mind.”
He sloshed his drink around in his glass and smiled. “I’m sure you do. Have you looked at your art supply room yet?”
I shook my head. “No, I passed out last night. That wine at dinner had me a little tipsy.”
He nodded, and I knew he’d noticed. “I remember. Your head didn’t feel fuzzy this morning, did it?”
Warmth spread over my body. “No, and I didn’t realize you’d be up. I’m sorry—”
He scoffed and sat forward, his elbows braced against the table. “There is nothing to be sorry for. I’m sorry it took me so long to look away.”
God, my cheeks are burning. There is no way he can’t see my blush. Nervously, I tucked my hair behind my ear and took another bite. “What time do you have to be at work?”
He cocked a brow at the subject change and checked his watch. “Thirty minutes. I need to leave in ten. Do you want me to show you what I need painted first? Are you finished eating?”
I pushed my plate away. “Yes, I can’t wait to see.”
Cash guided me out of the guest house and toward his home, which looked entirely different in the daylight. The large white pillars stood tall; the pool glistened in the shape of a huge J, for Jenkins.
The bay doors stood open and we walked in together. An older woman with cotton-white hair stood in the hallway, examining the dust on a picture frame. “Gloria, this is Sydney, the woman I told you about?”
Gloria tossed her hands on her hips. “Don’t say it like I don’t remember, Cash. I remember.” She turned to me. “It’s so lovely to meet you, Ms. Henry. You’re just as pretty as Cash said.”
Had he really said I was pretty? I took her hand. “Thank you, Ms. Gloria. It’s so nice to meet you.”
She gave Cash a look I couldn’t pinpoint, which he ignored as he ushered me toward the front entrance. It was pretty high, which explained the ladder that leaned against the stairway banister. “I want something above here.” He looked up, and I noticed the muscles in his neck. The slope from his neck to his shoulders was thick, and the tight blue button-down shirt he wore was skin tight.
He gestured toward the ceiling. “Whatever you’re thinking—I want it up there.”
I wanted a lot of things, especially the things I knew I didn’t need. “I can do that.”
He turned when the door swung open. Frankie came stumbling in, Joey reaching for her. “Get off of me!” she shouted.
Joey gave Cash an I’m gonna kill her look. “She just barged in, Cash—”
Cash waved him off. “It’s okay. You’re Frankie, right?”
Frankie snatched her arm away and tilted her chin up at Joey. “Yes, I’m here to see my best friend,” she snapped over her shoulder.
Joey held his hands out in surrender. “Whatever. I’m gonna go get the car. Call me when you’re ready, boss. I can’t deal with this girl.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you in person, Frankie. I assume you girls have a lot to catch up on. I have to leave for the office.” He turned toward me. “Call me if you have any questions. I have my cell phone on me always.”
“Okay.”
Frankie watched Cash as he walked out of the door until it clicked behind him. “Holy shit, he is sexy. How in the hell are you gonna keep away from him? How can you speak more than two sentences at a time to him?”
Good question. Sighing, I rolled my eyes and gestured for her to follow me. “Why don’t we talk about this fight and Ash taking you home?”
Frankie huffed. “He’s an asshole, Sydney.”
I pushed opened the bay doors. “Who? Jeremy?”
“Yes, but not this time. Asher is an ass.”
Frankie stopped when we walked toward the pool. “Tell me that’s not the guest house? It’s bigger than my parents’ house.”
I shrugged even though I felt giddy on the inside. “It’s the guest house. Now, why is Asher an ass?”
Frankie’s eyes turned toward the pool, and then to the concrete below us. “He’s arrogant.”
“I guess the brothers have that in common,” I mumbled. “Why are you acting so funny?”
Frankie shuffled inside, pretending to look at the house while I made my way toward the paint room I’d been dying to see.
I walked inside and my mouth opened wide. Art supplies filled the room. Canvases lined an entire wall; chromatic colors were shelved differently than the pastels. I felt like I had walked into my own personal heaven.
The door clicked, and I felt myself snap out of my daze.
Frankie’s bottom lip trembled. “What’s wrong?”
She frowned, covering her face. “Asher—he kissed me.”
“Oh shit.”