More than Money (Found in Chicago Book 1) by Allison Michaels

Author:Allison Michaels [Michaels, Allison]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ALLISON MICHAELS
Published: 2016-11-06T22:00:00+00:00

18

Ryan

A sweet scent permeated the air in Collette’s bedroom, courtesy of the body lotion she slathered on every night before bed. It smelled like someone had left a lemon meringue pie to cool in front of a window, the breeze from the ceiling fan spreading the aroma around.

I peered around the edge of the bathroom door just as she flipped the bottle shut. Collette looked…God, she looked so damn beautiful, it was hard to breathe. The look she currently sported–tiny sleep shorts decorated with dancing ice cream cones, a white camisole, no makeup, and hair in a sloppy knot on top of her head–was my favorite. I actually preferred this ensemble over the teddies and negligees she occasionally wore to bed.

Don’t get me wrong–lingerie was sexy and lined the road to pound town with green light after green light. But there was something refreshing about cartoonish figures and a tank top. And I loved how she felt comfortable enough to bounce from one end of the spectrum to the other in front of me.

Collette opened a vanity drawer and rummaged through the contents. With a bottle of dark nail polish clutched in her hand, she lifted one foot to the edge of the marble counter.

“I thought you were tired,” I said softly.

“The cold water I splashed on my face must have given me a second wind,” she replied, unscrewing the cap and withdrawing the little polish-soaked brush. “Thought I’d give myself a Halloween-inspired pedicure.”

I stepped inside and took the bottle from her. “Hop up here.” I patted the counter and reached for the tufted stool in front of her vanity table.

“Have you ever done this before?” Her smooth legs dangled in front of me as I settled in between them and propped her right foot on my thigh.

“Nope.” I wiped excess polish off of the brush and swiped a stripe of black lacquer down the center of the big toenail on her right foot. I’d never painted anything other than houses. Working with less real estate and a tiny brush was a new experience for me. But I wanted badly to do this for her, to take care of her and be here for her since I hadn’t been there before.

The worry that had waned during the tickle war returned with a vengeance. It had joined forces with guilt, and the pair wreaked havoc on my conscience. I focused on Collette’s feet to avoid looking at her face, specifically the discolored area stretching across her cheekbone.

“Wow.” Her toes flexed against my jeans as I moved to her other foot. “I’m not sure how to say this nicely…” She pulled a cotton swab out of a glass jar on the countertop and dabbed at the skin around her nail beds.

“Guess I can rule out a career change.” What a mess. How the hell did people do this for a living? I lifted my head, rolling my neck around to work out the crick that had formed in it from hunching over.

Big mistake.

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