“Okay. We’ll be right there,” she said.

The moment I opened the door, I regretted asking her over. Heather looked beautiful—too beautiful to be merely watching a movie. She wore a pink dress with spaghetti straps that left little to the imagination; her nipples pointed through the fabric.

Christ. This is a bad idea.

“Why are you all dressed up?” I asked as the dog jumped all over me.

“It’s my first formal invitation inside the boathouse. I figured it was a special occasion.” She laughed. “No. I was at a baby shower for one of the waitresses earlier. They held it in the back room at Jack Foley’s.”

Relieved, I nodded. “I see.”

She ran over to the new sofa and sat down. “I love it. It’s so plush and comfy!”

Her dress rode up a little as she lay her willowy legs across the length of the loveseat. She was graceful even when casually lounging around.

Yeah. Not sure what I was smoking, thinking having her here like this was going to be okay.

Fathead raced over to join her.

“Teddy approves, too,” she said as she sat up to make room for him. “What are you in the mood for?”

Going down on you.

I swallowed. “What do you mean?”

“What do you want to watch?”

“Oh…haven’t really thought about it. What about you?”

“Something light and funny without sex so I don’t blush watching it with you.” She laughed.

Damn good idea.

“Alright.”

But as she sat there enjoying the new piece of furniture, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Those nipples piercing through her dress taunted me. How I wanted to bite into them, taste her skin. What’s wrong with me? I normally had better control over my thoughts—maybe not in the shower, but at least in her presence. Tonight, though, I couldn’t seem to stop them. Maybe holding everything in for so long had finally made me crazy. I imagined her spread eagle beneath me, screaming in pleasure as I rammed into her tight, little pussy. I imagined my cock down her throat. I imagined my tongue in her asshole while I rubbed her clit and brought her to orgasm over and over. Licking my lips, I could feel myself getting hard. I needed to refocus my brain before she noticed.

When she seemed to catch me staring, I pulled a question out of my ass. “Is that your natural hair color?”

What the heck did I just say?

“Yeah. My father had blond hair before he lost it all. I get it from him.” Her eyes narrowed. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason. It’s nice.”

“Thanks.”

We ended up choosing some Reese Witherspoon movie. Even though Heather was looking at the screen, she seemed preoccupied. I knew that, of course, because I still couldn’t take my damn eyes off her.

She nearly caught me again when she suddenly turned to me. “Are you sure I’m doing the right thing?”

I sat up straighter and lowered the volume a little. “About selling the house?”

“Yeah. Now that people are starting to look, it’s getting so real.”

“You don’t have to sell if you really don’t want to, but I do think it’s best for your future.”

“We’ll never get it back. You know?”

“You’ll always have the memories. Happiness shouldn’t be about a particular place anyway. It should be something you take with you everywhere you go—transferable. If you really miss it, you can always visit the lake. It’ll always be here.”

“You won’t be here.”

My eyes widened. “No, I won’t.”

She stared long and hard into my eyes before asking, “Are you happy, Noah?”

Heather had been trying to figure out my deal since the moment I moved in. Maybe I could afford to open up to her a little.

“I’m working on it. Being here has been good for that. It’s been exactly what I needed.”

“You needed to work your ass off for no pay?” she teased.

“I’ve gotten plenty out of it. Believe me.”

She turned her body toward me and rested her head on her hand. “Are you ever gonna tell me what you’re running from?”

Heather had really good intuition. But she was wrong in thinking I was running away from something. Whenever we spent time together, I was tempted to tell her the truth, but I was never quite sure it was the right thing to do.

“Why do you assume I’m running? Maybe I needed to run toward something else. I was looking for a change of pace, something different—and I found it here.”

“You were looking for something profound, and you got me instead?” She smiled.

She had no clue how much she’d changed me.

“It wasn’t until I got here that I realized why I was here. Something outside of myself sent me here to help you. I truly believe that. I feel like once I leave, my job will be done. I’ve helped set you on the right path.”

I’m a better person when I’m around you.