Page 26 of Addicted

CHAPTER 13

DENISE

“Hi?” Hugh shut the front door behind him, a water bottle and towel were dangling from his hand. And he was… very sweaty.

It was mid-morning and I’d slept like a dead person and somehow still woke up exhausted. Part of me was grateful that the shitshow happened on a Friday because it gave me two days to get my game face on before work.

The question in Hugh’s voice wasn’t surprising. I was also shocked that I was up and facing the day already. But, I didn’t have much of a choice.

I could be a puddle, watching sappy movies and second-guessing everything that had happened in my life over the past decade. But, why?

That wouldn’t help me fix a damn thing. And if there was something I was good at, it was fixing.So, I got upand got dressed because I was the only person who could fix this.

While sitting in front of the coffee maker, I had already created a running list of everything I needed to do to get things together.

I’d been to Hugh’s apartment exactly once and it was the fanciest, most over-the-top condo I’d ever been in.

When he first moved in, he had a housewarming party for a few folks from the office. It was just as remarkable as it had been the first time I’d seen it.

Most people in the city salivated over photos of this fancy-ass place. The complex sat in the very north end of Mission. It was so close to work, I could see our office from his living room window. We were thirty-something stories up and it had all the things a girl could dream of, including a terrace, an infinity pool, and a fancy doorman that knew his name.

I padded back across the kitchen and handed him the untouched coffee.

“Hi,” I said.

“I didn’t think you’d be up.” He took a sip, and I watched his glistening throat move as he drank.

The shirt was so soaked it clung to him, outlining every curve and plane of his chest. Did he always work out that hard? Should I expect this view tomorrow too? Hmm. I turned away so that I wouldn’t stare and busied myself makinganother cup of coffee since I’d just handed mine to the dripping man behind me.

Now that he was back, I tried to school my expression as I ran my fingers along the incredible marble counters in front of me. What I really wanted to do was run around the place like Belle inBeauty and the Beast, but I had a feeling he would frown upon me snooping through his personal space. Before the day was up, I definitely was going to spend at least an hour on his terrace, though.

But, before I could reward myself, I needed to get to work on my list. I popped a capsule into the coffee maker and tapped it to start another brew.

“I have a ton of stuff to get done,” I said, touching pen to paper.

Hugh frowned and put his stuff down on the island that somehow doubled as a fancy glass cooktop. I could really just live in this kitchen.I wondered how fast the eyes heated up.

“What about processing?” His words were soft, and I took a step back, shaking my head. He wasn’t going to convince me to mope. Nope, nope, and no.

“Denny.”

“Don’t Denny me. Look, I’m fine. See?” I twirled in my jeans, sneakers, and t-shirt. I turned back to the coffee machine to avoid his gaze.

“I’m dressed. I have a list. I’ll be out of here tonight. Probably? Maybe... I have to see if they can deliver a newbed in a few hours. I mean, the old one looked fine, but can I really trust anything in there? And the couch, I mean, I can live without a couch for a little while.”

Hugh slowly walked towards me as I babbled, his hands came on either side of me and cocooned me in his damp warmth and I shuddered.

“I figure I’ll clean-slate the whole thing. And the locks are changed, so that’s good. I can get someone to throw everything out and I’ll just start over.”

He breathed in, inhaling the scent of me, and I bit my lip, partially because I really was babbling and partially because I really loved the feeling of being near this man. My brain went blank as my body became hyper-aware of his touch.

Hugh’s fingers slowly stroked the skin on my arm. I sighed. Before I could stop him, he grabbed the list from the counter.

I turned around and made an irritated noise and he just leaned forward, erasing the rest of the distance between us.

“One, you are staying here for as long as it takes. We both know no one delivers furniture in the city in hours. Two, I’m confiscating your list. Having a clean slate is more than just stuff, it’s breaking patterns. That leads me to three, you’re spending the weekend out. With me.”

I looked up at him and gave him a coy smile, leaning towards his mouth before diving right to snatch at my list.Somehow, Hugh saw it coming and held it up, far beyond what I could reach. That didn’t stop my pathetic jump for it.

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