Page 16 of Obsessed Fox

Resigning myself to what I had to do, I swiped my phone off the counter and sent a text off to Hendrix.

Maisie: I can't just sit here all day and do nothing. I need to bake to keep busy but your kitchen leaves a lot to be desired.

The response was almost immediate, as if he were sitting around waiting for me to text him.

Hendrix: I was just leaving work anyway. Tell me what you need and I'll stop to grab it.

He was leaving anyway? I glanced at the clock. He was barely gone a handful of hours. There was no way he should be leaving so soon.

Maisie: Everything okay?

I could practically hear the attitude in his words.

Hendrix: Just tell me what you need so I can grab it.

If I didn't need to bake to keep myself from killing him, I would tell him where he could shove his request. But alas, baking would keep me sane and killing another person was probably not the best idea.

Maisie: Go to the One Stop Shop and tell Ivan you're there to grab my secret stash. He'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

Some of my ingredients are hard to get in a timely manner when living in a small town. I could just travel the thirty minutes or so outside of town to get what I need but that would've meant exposing the car I own. Since that wasn't an option, I made a deal with Ivan. He would order extra for me and keep it on hand, just in case, and I would pay him accordingly. It was a win-win really. I never had to leave town and Ivan got to make some nice cash being my only supplier.

The ping of an incoming message pulled be from my musings.

Hendrix: You've got all the guys in town wrapped around your finger, don't you?

I could practically feel the jealousy through the phone and had to stop myself from rolling my eyes since he wasn't here to see it.

Maisie: He's the only shop in town. Now are you going to stop for me or do I need to leave the house to get it myself?

It was an empty threat. There was no way I would leave his house and chance being arrested.

I knew it. Hendrix knew it. But thankfully he was nice enough not to call me out on my lie.

Hendrix: I'll get what you need from your boy toy Ivan and be home shortly.

Now Ididroll my eyes because seriously? Boy toy?

Maisie: He's old enough to be my grandfather, you dumb shit.

Hendrix: And you've already proven you like older men.

"Fucking A." I tossed my phone on the island with a curse.I can't believe he just said that to me!

Never mind.

Yes, I could. Hendrix had proven time and time again that he had no filter. Nothing that came out of his mouth should surprise me.

And his comment about older man?

Not true.

At least, it wasn't until recently. Hendrix was the firstolderman I had ever been with.

What was fifteen years anyway in the grand scheme of things? He was only forty-nine to my thirty-four years. It wasn't like I was some gold digger shacking up with a man four times my age just waiting for him to croak. An age gap was common. All the romance books said so. Hell, authors practically advertised it as a way to bring readers in.

So if they could normalize it, then there was no shame in actually living it.

That was my story and I was sticking to it.