Eye Candy: An Opposites Attract, Spicy Romantic Comedy (Holliday Family Series Book 1) by Esme Brett

Author:Esme Brett [Brett, Esme]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-09-18T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 20

CAROLINE

Chase didn’t sit next to me on the bed, as I’d expected from a man who’d fingerbanged me within an inch of my life.

Instead, prim and proper Mr. Moral dragged an armchair from the corner of the room and settled facing me.

“Are you comfortable?” he asked. “Is your tea OK?”

“Despite your lack of a jug, it’s great.” Untrue. It was fine at best. “Thank you.”

His brow wrinkled. “What do you mean a jug? Like a pitcher?”

“No, like a kettle. An electric one. Even a stovetop one would work. I hate to break it to you Chase, but heating water in the microwave is prehistoric.”

“Noted.” Then he asked, “Where’s the real Teddy?”

“I’m told she’s in Germany somewhere. Living her best off-grid life.”

“Do you regret it?”

I pretended to misunderstand. “Letting you finger me? No. And I hope you don’t either.” I said it flippantly, but I meant it. When I was nothing more than a memory to him, I wanted to be the fondest one in the spank bank.

“Of course not. Tell me Caroline, where are you from? I can’t place your accent.”

I’d let myself relax with him. He knew I wasn’t a New Yorker, and my natural accent was Frankenstein’s monster anyway. Being from a remote island and touring cities all around the world, I had to modify the way I spoke to be understood. Over the years, a strange mix had cemented: it was a bit British, a bit American, and a bit Australian. The blend worked fine in most countries, and whenever I went back home I only had to hear another Kiwi talk for my childhood accent to come back. This was very lucky, because my brother would rip the shit out of me (Kiwi-speak for tease mercilessly) if it didn’t.

“I’m from Woodville,” I answered.

“Where is that?”

“Exactly.”

Chase made a noise. It was impossible not to be charmed by the little sounds that erupted from his chest whenever he thought I was being a brat.

“It’s in Aotearoa.”

Two lines appeared between his brows.

“Aotearoa New Zealand. Aotearoa is the te reo Māori name for my country. It means land of the long white cloud. Pretty, huh? If you’re done with your tea, I can take your mug⁠—”

He held it out of my reach. “I have more questions.”

This was it. He was going to ask why I’d lied about being Teddy.

“How old are you?” he asked instead. “You’re older than Joe and Teddy. But I don’t think older than me. I’m thirty-four.”

Relief dropped my shoulders. “I’m twenty-nine. A Leo.” I yawned and stretched, extending my spine with a few tiny pops. “And Scorpio moon. What’s your star sign, Chase?”

He ignored that. I thought he might. Chase was definitely the kind of guy who thought star signs were silly, and if I had the luxury of time, I would love to tease him about this until he cracked and let me do his full star chart.

“Are you tired?” he asked. “We can finish this tomorrow.”

“I’m fine. I like late nights.” I hesitated for a second and then decided to give him as much honesty as I could.

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