Page 7 of Body Heat

“Nah, it’s always been just my mom and me.” Rowan grabbed a sweatshirt off a hanger and pulled it over his head. He’d worn a pair of athletic shorts and a T-shirt to bed last night, and he kept those on.

I tugged a sweater on over my shirt, thanked the creator of my favorite sports bra for being comfortable enough to sleep in, and grabbed a pair of jeans from one of the drawers Rowan had told me to use. “I’m going to pop into the bathroom real quick. Wait for me before you head downstairs please.”

“Sure thing.” He grinned, and I swore I felt it in my ovaries. “If I went down by myself, my mom would just grill me about you anyway. I’m all for you handling her interrogation instead of me.”

Considering all the training I’d received in the military, I figured I was more than up to the task. “No worries. I can handle your mom.”

“That’s what you think,” he chuckled as I shut the bathroom door.

It didn’t take me long to get ready, and then we headed down to the kitchen. The woman busy stirring eggs wasn’t who I’d expected. The resemblance between the two was strong, but she looked way too young to be Rowan’s mom.

“Mom, this is Sera.” Rowan smiled at both of us, looking completely relaxed. “Sera, this is my mom, Rachel.”

“Ahh, the mysterious woman who moved in with you for your protection.” Rachel's dark eyes—so much like her son’s—twinkled with humor. “It's lovely to meet you.”

“You as well.” My greeting came out awkward as hell, but I wasn’t used to meeting a man’s parents the morning after I met the man. Or ever. And certainly not after I’d spent the night in their bed. Even if nothing other than sleeping had happened, and I had a perfectly good reason for being there that had nothing to do with sex—other than the vivid dreams I’d had of Rowan.

A hint of mischievousness filled her eyes as her lips curved up in a grin. “You didn't tell me she was so beautiful.”

“Mom,” Rowan groaned, shaking his head.

“What?” Rachel batted her lashes, putting minimal effort into trying to look innocent. “I'm just saying that I can see how Sera's cover story would easily work. She’s gorgeous, confident, and accomplished. If anything, people will probably wonder what she's doing with you.”

This wasn’t how I pictured the conversation going after Rowan had warned me about facing an inquisition. I tried to bite back my laughter but failed.

“It's going to be like that, huh?” Rowan sighed, shaking his head. “I should've known you two were going to team up against me from the start.”

“Yup, you should’ve,” Rachel agreed, winking at me. “Us women have to stick together.”

“What about team Charles?” Rowan asked as he dumped ingredients into a blender.

“I’m always on your team, bub.” Rachel patted him on the back. Turning to me, she urged, “Please sit. I'll have breakfast whipped up in a jiffy, and the coffee is already brewing. I made extra just in case you wanted some. My boy here sticks to a pre-workout supplement and a god-awful smoothie in the mornings during the season.”

I perked up at the mention of coffee, but a frozen fruity drink sounded good, too. “What kind of smoothie?”

“A super-healthy, protein-enriched one.” Rachel made a gagging sound. “They’re disgusting, but he's been drinking a variation of them ever since he started bulking up in high school. Honestly, I have no idea how he manages to choke them down.”

Rowan shrugged his broad shoulders as he ambled over to the fridge. “You get used to them after a while.”

“But why should you when I can make you a perfectly good breakfast that tastes a million times better?” his mom argued, shaking her head.

“I’m a football player, Mom. I've got to do what it takes to stay in peak physical condition,” he reminded her after pouring his smoothie into a glass and taking a gulp of the dark green mixture.

Rachel flashed him a soft smile. “Not for too much longer. At least you’ll be able to eat whatever you want soon.”

Rowan tensed at his mom’s reminder that he was going to be leaving the game soon. To ease the tension, I joked, “It can't be worse than some of the MREs they served us in the military.”

“MRE?” his mom echoed, spooning scrambled egg whites on a plate already loaded down with turkey sausage and whole grain toast.

“They’re meals ready to eat, but calling them a meal is overstating things by a lot,” I explained, taking the plate from her as I slid on the stool at the counter next to Rowan. “One of the best things about getting out of the military was never having to see another one of those again, but it’s rare for me to eat a home-cooked meal like this.”

Rachel patted my hand. “I love to have people to cook for, so plan on plenty more while you’re here. It’s the least I can do since you’re helping to keep my son safe.”

It was messed up, but between Rachel’s cooking and my attraction to Rowan, I was starting to hope this case remained unsolved.

Chapter 6

Rowan

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