“I guess I was preoccupied.”
Honestly, I wasn’t certain that I could physically handle more of what we’d done. My body was sore and worn out in the best of ways. I lifted myself up on my tiptoes and gave him a kiss. “We can talk about the line, if it still exists, in the morning.” I turned to go into the bathroom. Before I shut the door, I said, “Good night, Van.”
This was my way of not being clingy. I wasn’t in the market for forever. Walking away, even to the bathroom, gave Van an out without either of us feeling abandoned.
After taking care of business, cleaning myself, brushing my teeth and hair, and deciding to keep Van’s shirt as my nightgown, I opened the door. The sitting room was empty. Van was gone.
I stood for a moment, contemplating his departure. There was nothing to overthink. I’d offered him the door, he took it. Besides, if we were to maintain any form of line, he’d made the right move.
Turning off the lights, I made it back to the large bedroom when I heard a knock.
‘There are no people for miles...’
His words from earlier left little confusion regarding who was at the door to my suite.
When I opened the door, Van was standing with one arm on the doorjamb, looking sexy with his messy hair, five o’clock shadow, no shirt, and low-hanging blue jeans. “Yes?”
“You forgot this.” He pulled my bra from behind his back.
A smile came to my lips. “Oops.” I retrieved my bra.
“I thought you might not want to leave it out for Margaret to find.”
“Who’s Margaret?”
“She’s Mrs. Mayhand’s daughter.”
I was trying to remember. “The woman who cooks?”
“Yes. She and Margaret come here every Friday morning. That’s tomorrow.”
“Will she make it through the snow?”
“It’s stopped. Margaret’s husband will be here in a few hours to plow my lane. I usually leave for the office before seven.” Van looked down at his shirt that I was wearing and back to me. “I wanted you to know because even though no one heard or saw us tonight, tomorrow, if you decide to go to the kitchen dressed as you are, you may run into Mrs. Mayhand or Margaret.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m glad you told me.”
The clock on the bookcase said that it was nearly one in the morning. “Do you care if they know I’m here?”
“They know.”
I stood taller. “They do?”
“Not who you are but that I have a houseguest.”
“You’ll be gone?” I contemplated meeting these people without Van present. If I were to stay for a while, Fridays would come and go. Tomorrow, or today, was as good of a time as any. “I’ll be fully dressed before leaving the suite.”
Van’s devilish grin returned. “As your employer, I am considering a dress code, a uniform.”
Heat returned to my tired body. “We can discuss that and the invisible line tomorrow.”
Van took a step closer, crossing the threshold and reaching for my face. “I have meetings tomorrow and am overbooked because of meetings I canceled for today.” He kissed my lips. “Never have I wanted to play hooky this badly.”
I reached for his hand. “Did you turn off all the lights?”
“The house is secure, if that’s what you’re asking.”
My focus went to where our hands were connected. “Mr. Sherman, do you cuddle?”