Page 111 of Mr. Fixer Upper
Paige blinked, convinced the spectacle approaching the truck was a post-orgasmic hallucination. Gannon was loaded down with shopping bags. Clipped to his jeans was a bouquet of balloons proclaiming birthday sentiments. Flowers peeked out of one of the bags.
He opened his door and started shoving bags and balloons into the backseat. “Don’t look at this stuff,” he ordered, pointing a finger at her. “You just turn your pretty little self around and ignore everything back here.”
She turned around, shaking her head. “You’re ridiculous.”
“You’reridiculous,” he countered.
They drove the half dozen blocks to his apartment, and when Paige tried to help unload, he slapped her hands away. “Go upstairs and unlock the door,” he said, tossing his keys at her.
Relieved that she didn’t have to be part of the attention-calling birthday parade, Paige jogged up the three flights of stairs and let herself into the apartment. Not much had changed since her last visit this summer. The couch was still leather and battered, the kitchen was still tiny, and the bedroom still reminded her of long, late hours of pleasure.
She did find something new here. The shelf next to the TV held a framed picture that hadn’t been there before. She picked it up to examine it. It was one of the candid shots from the set ofKings of Construction. Paige was standing hands on hips in a tank top and shorts, giving orders and grinning. They were at the Russes’, mid-shoot.
She heard the commotion in the hallway and put the frame down just as Gannon stormed in with his haul. He kicked the door closed behind him and dumped the lot on the kitchen counter. Without bothering to unclip the balloons from his belt, he yanked a bottle of wine out of the cabinet and opened it.
He poured a glass and handed it to her, the balloons buffeting against each other over his head. She couldn’t not laugh. A scowling birthday fairy delivering wine? No one could keep a straight face.
“Take your wine and go take a shower.” He started unloading items from the bags. She spotted a giant box of condoms and raised her eyebrows.
“That should get us through the night,” she quipped.
He held out a shopping bag to her. “Shower,” he insisted. The giant smiley face balloon with hearts for eyes peeking over his head ruined the effect.
She sidled up to him. “What are you going to be doing while I’m naked and soapy in your shower?” Now that she’d had him again, she wasn’t even close to done with him for the night.
He leaned down, kissing her hard and then nipping her lower lip. “Taking care of dinner.”
“I’m not that hungry.” She rose up on her toes to press a soft, suggestive kiss to his mouth. He deepened the kiss, his hands settling on her hips. She let him take the lead as he walked her backwards. Her body was humming to life again, a slow burn that began to build in her belly and lower.
She felt cold tile under her feet and Gannon’s heat at her front. He pulled back, and she stared up into his lust-glazed eyes.
“We have all night,” he promised as if he was reminding himself as much as her. “Shower, dinner, dessert.”
The way he said dessert gave Paige a delicious shiver up her spine.
“Sure you don’t want to skip straight to dessert?” she offered.
“If you keep looking at me like that, it’ll be more like breakfast.” He closed the door harder than necessary.
Paige caught her reflection in the mirror over his vanity. She saw flushed cheeks, bright eyes, and a kind of excitement that glowed from within. That’s what Gannon did to her. She felt loose, relaxed,good.
Maybe a shower wasn’t a bad idea, she decided. She poked through the grocery bag he’d shoved at her and was delighted to find her favorite shampoo, conditioner, body wash, even moisturizer. He’d thrown in a few impulse items, too, she noted with amusement. There were two tubes of Chap Stick, a stick of deodorant, and a new toothbrush.
It looked like she’d been invited to spend the night. And with an early shoot start tomorrow, she certainly wouldn’t complain about the shorter commute from Gannon’s apartment. Not that a night in Gannon’s bed left much to complain about.
She cranked on the hot water in the shower stall and stripped. Looking at her wine, she shrugged.What the hell?It was her birthday after all. She took the glass with her into the steam.
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Hair still damp and body now clean, Paige padded into the kitchen in one of Gannon’s t-shirts and her own underwear. She wasn’t sure which of them was more startled by the other. Gannon, raised his head and promptly dropped the spoon he was using to abuse a bowl of something dark and chocolaty.
He’d lost his shirt, splattered with the same dark chocolaty substance from the bowl, while she was in the shower and replaced it with a Kiss the Cook grilling apron. He stood eyeing her, bare feet braced, jeans low on his hips, and a sexy as sin half grin on his face.
“You look good in my shirt.”
“You look good in your apron.”
There were two large grilled chicken salads still in their plastic containers on the counter. He picked up the spoon and rinsed it in the sink before returning to the bowl.
