Name Your Price by Holly James

Author:Holly James [James, Holly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2024-07-30T00:00:00+00:00

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As Olivia pounded her feet on the treadmill’s belt, she wondered what could be eating at Chuck. Perhaps it was simply the aftermath of all their arguing and the scene in the bedroom earlier; she was spent from it too. From her position on the treadmill, she could see him in the mirrored wall going hard enough on the rower to snap the cable. Sweat poured off him, and he’d probably put in enough meters to be halfway to Hawaii already. She was at least thankful he’d opted for cardio and wasn’t putting on another show in the squat rack.

She further wondered about his mood when he easily agreed on having chicken Caesar salad for dinner without a fight. He even cleaned up the dishes again.

By the time they’d wound down for bed, his odd behavior was distracting her enough that she forgot they needed to decide who was sleeping where.

She ran into him in the hallway outside the bedroom on her way back from brushing her teeth in the kitchen. He’d already put on a cozy shirt and his glasses. He was barefoot and loose shorts clung to his hips. The distorted light coming from the pool cast rolling shadows through the back wall of windows and turned them both a dark shade of blue.

“Oh,” Olivia said when they crossed paths. “I was just coming to ask where we’re sleeping tonight.”

He eyed her pajamas and the toothbrush in her hand. He didn’t say anything, and Olivia wasn’t sure what it meant.

She tried to break the odd tension. “If I sleep on the couch, you aren’t going to wake me up in the morning with another stunt like you pulled today, are you?”

His lips twitched into a small smile. “What stunt?”

A full smile spread across her face. “Oh, you were so transparent, Chuck. Don’t even pretend. Blasting music to wake me up and conveniently doing pull-ups right when I walk in? Please.”

He looked like he might deny it for a second before he grinned. “Like you said: I know your weakness. And well-played with the swimsuit, by the way. I wasn’t expecting such a swift and precise counterstrike.”

She was glad to see him out of whatever sullen mood he’d been in. “I know your weakness too.”

“Well, maybe we should agree to stop trying to sabotage each other and instead coexist for a few more weeks, because all things considered, I think we’re doing pretty well.”

“I agree.”

“Shake on it?” He thrust out his hand, and she slipped hers into it.

“Deal.”

Before the word was out of her mouth, and before she could remember they weren’t supposed to touch each other, he yanked her forward. Their bodies slammed together like waves meeting in a storm and knocked all the wind out of her lungs. His hand caught the back of her head, cupping it like it was made for that sole purpose, and he pulled her mouth toward his. Olivia didn’t even hesitate before closing the gap.

The kiss was

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