Page 30 of Pucking Your Best Friend

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “With me?”

“Yes. To be specific: a woman I don’t sleep with,” he said openly. If he hadn’t been feeling strange the last few days, he would have spoken to her about it, right? “Apparently, you’re a cockblocker.”

She gasped dramatically. “What do you mean? I’m actively preventing you from having sex?”

“Something like that.”

“Have you told him how many times I’ve acted as your wing-woman?”

He chuckled softly. “God, no. Then he might have demanded that you do it for him, too. I don’t want to lose my Maddie James exclusive rights.”

“You never will,” she replied seriously. “As long as you keep feeding me tequila sunrises.”

“Deal.”

“Great. Do the others think it’s a stupid idea to let me live here?” She plucked her lower lip with her thumb and forefinger as if she hadn’t thought about it until now.

Hesitantly, he rocked back on his heels. “A few of them. Mostly because they think you can’t live together as two singles in a small space.” Curious, he waited for her reaction. Her thoughts on the matter interested him more than he wanted to admit.

She snorted. “What kind of chauvinistic attitude is that? As if everyone is going to pounce on each other. Come on, that’s not a problem for us.”

Hm. Yeah, he thought so.

Slowly, his shoulders sank. That was good. She had wanted him in the beginning, but that was ages ago. It didn’t matter. Yes, it helped.

A little. Yeah.

So, why didn’t he know whether he was relieved or disappointed by her words?

“I mean, things are going well, aren’t they?” Maddie interrupted his thoughts. “Sure, you’ve been gone the last few days, but you don’t have a problem with me staying here, do you?”

“Nope,” he said, not wanting her to feel bad about it for a second.

“It won’t be forever,” she replied hesitantly. “They said they’d need about three more weeks in the apartment…so, if you wanted to bring women here…” She cleared her throat and buried her chin in his sweatshirt. “Obviously, that would be, um…”

“I don’t want to bring anyone here,” he interrupted her stammering.

Did she sigh in relief? “Okay.”

“Good.” He scratched the back of his neck. “What about you? I mean I said you could invite people over…”

She laughed loudly. “Matt, I want to find the man of my dreams, not just have sex. My dates won’t involve a bedroom for some time.”

He exhaled in relief. “Okay.” He always enjoyed listening to Maddie, but certain things…

“Oh, I did your laundry too, by the way!”

He blinked himself back to the present. “Maddie, you’re my guest, not my housekeeper,” he replied angrily.

“That was pure selfishness! I can’t stand the thought of you wasting water. I don’t mind housework, cleaning and cooking, I find it meditative. Folding socks is kind of romantic.”

He snorted. “Really?”

“Yes. I’m helping them find their life partner who they lost sight of in a terrible flood. If that’s not what Hollywood movies are about then I don’t know what is.”

He chuckled reluctantly and walked past her to his bedroom with his suitcase and bag. He paused, irritated because the door had almost certainly been closed when he left.

“Were you in my bedroom?” he asked, perplexed.

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