“If I wipe the form, it’ll smudge the ink,” Addy grumbled, wrinkling her nose.
“It’s a miracle that didn’t happen when it got stuck to your ass,” I pointed out, moving to put the vacuum back where the charger was mounted on the wall. “It’ll be fine. They’ll never know.”
“Is there a chance you could print out another copy?” When I shook my head, her shoulders slumped until another idea hit her. “What about cologne or that spray deodorant stuff men wear, and it gets stuck in the back of your throat? Do you keep anything like that in here?”
“I wear roll-on deodorant because it works better, as you know.” We’d had this discussion not long ago when she’d asked me why I didn’t just use the spray stuff. “And I don’t need to keep cologne in here.”
When she chewed nervously on her bottom lip, I put her out of her misery and took the form across to the photocopier.
She clicked her fingers and then squealed. “I forgot those things existed. Thank you, Xerox gods.”
With the new form in my hand, I put the ‘sex-scented’ one in the shredder, then joined her back at my desk. Like we always did when I had paperwork to do, I lifted my arm so she could sit on my lap while I filled it all in. Addy usually used this time to hit Amazon or shop online, and today was no different. By the time I’d finished, she was hitting checkout for whatever she’d decided on.
Resting my chin on her shoulder, I squinted at the monitor. “What did you get?”
“Okay, don’t be mad.”
She glanced back at me, then gave me a sweet smile, making me narrow my eyes at her. The words ‘don’t be mad’ were usually an omen for ‘you’re gonna get pissed, and I don’t want you to be, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.’
“What did you get?” I repeated.
“I love that little bit you have at the side of the house, the one covered with the lattice wood awning, so I ordered an inflatable hot tub for it. It was on one of those lightning deals, and it’s got everything you need in the box, including the thing that heats the water, so it won’t be a hassle to put together.”
“Cool,” I shrugged, ignoring how shocked she looked at my response. But I wasn’t doing it lightly. I had conditions. “I’ll help you put it up when it arrives, but on one proviso.”
“It’ll be here tomorrow,” she whispered, then asked, “What’s the proviso?”
“That if we like it, I get a proper one installed out there.”
Squealing, she spun around and grabbed my face pulling it towards her and giving me a loud kiss.
I had selfish reasons for agreeing on top of my plans. The thought of Addy hot, wet, and naked in the tub with me and the things we could do together was too good to pass by. It was also a plan we’d formulated together, something I loved doing with her, and it helped bring her into my house in a way.
Sure, she had some of her stuff here, and we’d ordered blankets and a new duvet cover together, but this was something different.
So, no, I wasn’t going to argue over it with her.
Kissing her back, I smiled against her lips when she moved, so she was facing me more. Just as I deepened it, the door rattled again.
“For the love of God, Marcus. Still? Open the damn door.”
Pulling back from her, I winked and gave her a peck on the nose. “Better go and let Remy in before the vein in his head explodes.”
When I opened the door, the grin I was wearing grew wider when I took in Remy’s glaring face.
“Sorry, we didn’t hear you out here. Do you want to come in?”
My best friend’s nostrils flared, and then he was pushing past me into the office. Not for the first time since I’d found Addy, I had to wonder what he’d be like once he had a woman in his life he cared about. I was fairly sure I’d be coming up against the same predicament he had today.
I could only hope he kept it to his own desk.
Chapter Eleven
Addy
I’d been so nervous about meeting Elijah and Sadie, but from the second they’d arrived, both of them had been friendly and warm. Especially Sadie, who I flipping loved.
The one detail the guys had left out was that she was British, so when she’d first started talking to me, it’d taken my brain a second to catch up and understand what she was saying, but I was good now.
The men were currently somewhere on the ranch, doing and discussing who knows what, and Bronte had conked out for a nap in the living room with cartoons playing, so me, Sadie, and Santana were relaxing in the hot tub, talking about random stuff.