Page 83 of Rookie Move
She disconnected the call and then scurried into her bedroom for the extra set of sheets and the blanket she kept for visitors.
“Wha’s the matter?” Leo asked sleepily.
“Nothing,” she hissed. “Can you do me a favor? Be absolutely silent? My dad is on his way up.”
“’Kay,” Leo said sleepily.
She left her bedroom, pulling the door partially shut, then scrutinizing it, hoping it looked like it wascasuallyhalf closed. When a tap came on the apartment door, she opened it to admit her father.
“Hi, Princess,” he said, with a little slur. “Never drink with people half your age.”
“I’ll try to remember that.” She moved over to the world’s ugliest couch and dropped the folded sheet onto it. Holy hell. There were clothes all over the floor. Thank God it was pretty dark in here. Panicking, she kicked Leo’s big shoes under the couch. “Why don’t you use the bathroom? There’s, uh, an extra toothbrush in the medicine cabinet. In the package. You can’t miss it.”
“Thanks,” her father mumbled. “Dental hygiene isn’t my biggest issue right now. You got any Advil?”
“Help yourself.”
As soon as he lumbered into the little bathroom, Georgia dove for Leo’s belt and their shirts. She scooped them into her arms and carried them into her bedroom, depositing them on the chair in the corner. How had she turned into someone’s misbehaving teenage daughter again? This was ridiculous.
Back in the living room, she shook out the sheets and the blanket and put a pillowcase onto one of her throwpillows. It wasn’t the Plaza Hotel, but her father could just deal with it.
“Thanks, honey,” he said when he emerged from the bathroom. “Sorry to wake you. I really appreciate the favor. We were right in the neighborhood...”
“I get it.” She sighed. “Sleep tight.”
“I’ll take you out for brunch tomorrow as a thank-you.”
“Uh, thanks. Good night.”
Damn it. There went her lazy morning in bed with Leo. Her heart thumping guiltily, Georgia tiptoed back into her own room and shut the door all the way. She slipped into bed again.
Leo rolled onto his side and pulled her in. “Hey. You okay?”
“Shh!” she whispered into his ear. “He’s right on the other side of that door!”
He was quiet, but she could feel his belly shake with laughter. Then he put his lips right up to her ear, his voice a low growl. “Ours is the love that dares not speak its name. Does this mean there won’t be any morning nookie?”
“Leo,” she warned in the lowest voice she was capable of using. “Please. He can’t know.”
He licked her earlobe. “Are you ashamed of me?”
“No!”
Still chuckling, he pressed his face against her cheek. “Is it awful that I just want to be outed? You’re mine, Gigi. I don’t care who knows.”
“Just a little while longer,” she mouthed. “The trade deadline issoon. I don’t want to lose you.”
Leo rolled on top of her. “Okay,” he whispered. “But I’d sure like to make a whole lot of noise right now.” He kissed her neck.
She wrapped her arms around him and sighed. It reallywassuch a pity.
***
When Georgia woke up next, there was plenty of sunlight in her room. And she was alone in the bed.
Shit!
She sat up fast, listening. She heard her father snoring on the sofa. And then the flush of the toilet. There was the creak of the bathroom door, followed by someone moving carefully through the apartment.
