Page 43 of My Heart To Heal

‘That shelf isn’tstraight, honey. I don’t know what you’re planning to put on there, but it’s going to slide right off. You can’t do it all on your own, Missy. Let me help.’

‘Shit.’

‘It’s okay to accept help sometimes.’ He taps my ass and steps out from behind me, then, with one foot on the ladder, points to my cell phone. ‘Put the music back on, and let’s get this place fixed up.’

Nick

She’s so fucking hotlike this, working her ass off in dungarees and an old t-shirt, her hair bundled up on her head. She’s determined to make this something special, and I believe it’s going to be.

We fixed the shelf she hung and got the rest up. We attached the mirrors to the walls, and now I’m watching as she puts the reception desk together. I’m banned from helping, so I’m happily watching because she’s incredible.

She doesn’t want a relationship, she was as clear as glass about that, and I worked my ass off to school my features and convince her I was on the same page. But the truth is, I had already started to think we were heading toward more when she hit the brakes, and I had a millisecond to decide — get on the same page and be okay with casual, or let her go — so here I am, watching the woman I agreed to casual with, despite wanting the complete opposite, on her hands and knees putting together furniture at three a.m.

‘Honey,’ I say without meaning to, and she turns to look back at me. Holy shit, I like the way she looks right now. ‘It’s time for bed.’

The flare of her eyes and the way she catches her bottom lip between her teeth alerts me to the fact that that came out way more suggestively than I intended, but her reaction tells me that isn’t a bad thing.

‘It is?’ she asks after pushing herself up to standing and walking over to stop in front of me.

‘Yes, it is.’ I grip her chin between my thumb and finger and tip her head back before lowering to press my lips to hers. ‘Your bed or mine?’

She smirks and reaches for the waistband of my jeans, hooking her finger in and tugging me toward her.

‘Mine,’she says softly before turning and walking away.

CloseYour Mouth, Honey, Or I’ll Find A Use For It

Missy

‘Okay, honey. Go washyour hands, please.’

Jonah jumps up and runs to the bathroom as I carry our bowls of pasta to the table when there’s a knock at the door. A knock that makes my stomach flip over, and my kitty get ahead of herself.

What is he doing here at this time?

It’s been two weeks since Christmas and five days since Nick came down to the shop and convinced me to let him help. It’s not that I didn’t want his help or that I have trouble accepting help normally, but I’m trying to keep the lines very clear. We only just made friends, and then pretty soon after that, we agreed to sleep together, and, yes, that makes things a little blurry, but having him help me in the shop in the middle of the night felt very muchmorethanfriends. He stayed over that night, but I’ve kept a little distance since then.

Opening the door, already knowing it’s him from the way he knocks, I try to prepare myself for the attack of his face on my senses, but it’s no good,goddammit. He’s standing there in black sweatpants and a grey hoody, a grocery bag full of what appears to be snacks in his arms, and a smile a mile wide on his face. A smile, I might add, that is bright enough to rival the moon and hot enough to melt my panties right off.

‘Hey.’ He beams, and I raise my eyebrows.

‘What are you doin’ here?’

‘Our show is on tonight, a double episode. You want to watch?’

I laugh and shake my head.

‘You are an addict. You know that, right?’ He nods, yes. ‘Have you had dinner?’

‘No, I was just going to eat popcorn.’

Turning, I walk into my kitchen, leaving the door open and him standing there.

‘Well, come in then.’

‘Nick.’

Jonah runs to him as I serve him up some pasta, and he puts the bag on the counter.

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