“Wouldn’t put it past him.”
“Asshole,” I said with a chuckle. “I let him live here if he agreed to house our mother, but he found a loophole.”
She finished her food, wiping her plate clean.
“You like my cooking?”
She laughed loudly, like I’d made a joke.
I stared at her with the same serious gaze, unsure what just happened.
She noticed my expression. “I laughed because your question is ridiculous. Of course, I like your cooking. I don’t get to eat like this at home.”
“Why?”
“Mainly, I don’t have the time.”
“Well, if you ever want to join me for dinner, my door is always open.”
Her eyes softened as she pulled her laptop close to her. She hit the keys so the screen would brighten. “Here are some photos. Let me know what you think.”
I pulled the laptop close and clicked through the pictures.
Cleo dropped her gaze to her paperwork, absentmindedly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyelashes were down toward her cheek, and her short-sleeved blouse showed the small muscles of her arms, the beautiful color of her skin.
I stopped clicking and stared.
She grabbed her pen and made a note in her pretty handwriting.
When my stare went on too long, I forced myself to look at the computer again. I clicked through the pictures until the end. “She’ll like it.”
“Great.” She lifted her chin and took the laptop back. “I’ll work on finding her an assistant.”
“I’m sure you’ll get the right person.”
“Well…” She gathered her papers and her laptop before placing them in her bag. “Let me know when she gets here. I’ll make all the arrangements to make this as smooth as possible. And if she likes the place, I’ll get the inspections done immediately so we can close fast.”
“Thank you.” I needed this to happen at the speed of light.
“Thank you for dinner, Deacon.”
I got to my feet and walked her to the door.
“You don’t need to do that, Deacon. I can let myself out.”
I ignored what she said and opened the door for her.
She crossed the threshold and smiled at me. “By the way, I got those tickets you asked for.”
“You did?” I asked in surprise.
“Yeah. I’ll drop them off tomorrow with the bill.”
“Thanks. Tucker will love that.”
“You’re a very thoughtful man.” She waved before she walked down the hallway.
I shut the door and turned back to my condo, the silence suddenly deafening. I used to thrive in it. Now I sometimes hated it.
“Her plane lands tonight.”
Tucker chuckled. “Wow, your first sleepover with Mom.”
I glared at him as I took a drink. “You’re a fucking asshole.”
“What?” he asked incredulously. “It’s not my fault she wanted to stay with you.”
“Oh, don’t pull that shit. You told her all that stuff about Cleo—”
“I was dating her,” he said. “I mean, it’s not that crazy to mention her.”
“Did you tell Mom you were dating her?”
“Well…no.”
I glared at him again. “We had a deal. I put up with you for weeks.”
“Look, I don’t blame her. Why would she want to stay in my tiny-ass place when she could live in a building full of billionaires?”
His argument made sense, but I still didn’t want to accept the truth. I was a grown-ass man who had to stay with his mother, had to be roommates with her. “We’re showing her an apartment tomorrow. Hopefully, she likes it and gets out.”
“Mom is picky.”
“Yeah, but Cleo hunted this place down. It’s nice. It has everything she could want. And Cleo found her an assistant.”
“Wow, you’re trying to get rid of her as quickly as possible, huh?”
“I’m glad she’s moving to the city—but no, I don’t want her in my condo.”
“Because you and Cleo are fucking all over the place?”
I gave him a blank stare, feeling my neck get a little warm when the mental picture exploded into my brain. I sat on the couch with her on top of me, her tits in my face, her wet pussy around my dick. Oh Jesus Christ.
Tucker drank his beer and stared at me. “What? Are you not fucking all over the place?”
“Tucker.” Even if I were, I wouldn’t share those details.
“It’s a legitimate question. After she dumped me, I assumed you would go for her.”
“She works for me.”
Both of his eyebrows rose. “You’re serious? You didn’t ask her out?”
I shook my head.
“What the hell is wrong with you? She’s a perfect ten—”
“Let’s not do this.” I already knew she was gorgeous. I already knew she had nice, perky tits and an ass that was so juicy I wanted to take a huge bite out of it. I knew her skin tasted like candy and her pussy tasted like vanilla fucking ice cream. I’d rather not listen to my brother notice all the same things I did.
He sighed. “She’s awesome. Why wouldn’t you want to be with her? And she’s so hard up for you, man.”