Page 41 of The Playboy's Playbook

“I know I have a lot to work on and you have standards that I have to meet, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to tick every box of yours.”

I let out a sad sigh because I have to state the obvious. “I’m only here for the summer, Matty.”

He closes his eyes and nods. “I know and I wish summer would last forever. We’ll figure this out, but can you promise me one thing?”

“Well, that depends on what it is.”

He lets out a shaky breath and grabs my hands. “Promise me that no matter what, we’ll still remain friends. I don’t think I could survive losing you.”

I can’t help but smile sweetly at him. “Even when we’re older and have to start thinking about things like mortgages?”

He laughs and I know he remembers me saying something similar when we were kids. “Even when we’re older and have to start thinking about mortgages.”

I agree with a smile and he breathes a sigh of relief, pulling me closer to kiss me slowly. I carefully straddle him, making sure I don’t drop on top of him.

“You’ve had a long night, baby. We don’t have to do another round.” He kisses me before finishing his sentence.

“There’s plenty of time for that.”

Chapter Nineteen

MATT

I’ve never been big on cuddling, but I want Laila to invade my space. Her legs are tangled in mine, head on my chest, and arm outstretched over my stomach. At some point after our bath, Laila must have gotten Nola because the small puppy is perched above my head, the panda bear toy long forgotten.

I look over at the time and see that it’s nearly five in the morning. I have to be at work today by eight. As much as I want to stay here with Laila, I have to leave now to make it to Meadowbrook on time or Luke will kill me, bring me back to life to finish the construction, and then kill me again.

I try my best not to wake Laila as I creep out of her bed and try to find my clothes. I don’t bother with my shirt since Laila’s in it and damn does she look good in my clothes. As I put on my boxers and jeans, I stare at the beautiful woman before me.

As much as I feel relieved that she trusted me enough to be her first, I can’t help but feel guilty for taking that for myself when I haven’t been honest with her. I probably slept for a total of three hours last night, the guilt eating at me for not telling her about my jail sentence and charges. The fear of losing her creeps up my spine every time I try to bring it up.

I lean down and press a kiss to her head before making my way out of her room. Nola hops down from the bed and follows me, going to the backdoor.

I let her out before stopping by Ms. Gina’s home office to grab paper to leave Laila a note. I let Nola back inside and fill her food bowl, kissing her tiny head before I put her in her kennel.

“Be good for your mom, Nola,” I whisper as I grab my keys from the counter. I place the note near the flower vases before I leave, making sure to lock the door before I close it. As soon as I step into my truck and its engine roars to life, my phone starts ringing and Luke’s name appears on the screen.

“Yes, Dad?” I ask.

“I hate you,” Luke huffs.

I let out a belly laugh and continue driving out of the neighborhood to merge onto the bypass to get back to my place for a quick shower before heading into work.

“To what do I owe this hatred, Lucas?”

“Eh, nothing in particular that I can note. I just hate you.”

I chuckle. “I stayed with Laila last night.”

Luke shuffles in the background and I hear a door close before he answers. “How’d it go? How was the lovely night out at Hugo’s?”

“We actually didn’t stay at Hugo’s,” I say, preparing for the inevitable boost to his already big ego.

“What? You were so adamant about that restaurant and you didn’t stay?” he asks.

I sigh because I know after what I tell him, he’s going to give me an earful. “We ended up at Waffle House.”

“You fucker! I told you to take her there from the start, but did you want to listen to me? No.”

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