Loverboy (The Company #2) - Sarina Bowen Page 0,46

usually lives on the back of the couch.

And someone is moving around in my living room. I’m not frightened, though, because that someone stubs her foot on the corner of the coffee table, and the curse she makes definitely belongs to Ginny.

I sit up, groggy, trying to remember how last night ended. But I can’t quite remember anything that happened after my late-night confessional with Gunnar on the sofa.

He must have carried me to bed and covered me with a blanket.

Oh wow, my hormones say. That’s romantic.

And also embarrassing.

“Hey—are you okay?” My sister appears in the doorway to my bedroom. “I can’t believe someone trashed the pie shop! You should have called me!” She puts her hands on her hips and glares at me.

“You were having a fun date, and I didn’t want to ruin it. You probably wouldn’t have even checked your phone. One of us should be having sex.” I cover my face with my hands. “I tried, Ginny. I almost managed it. But before we even got across the street, the vandal shattered the window.”

“Oh, honey!” Ginny bounds into the room and plops onto the bed. “Really? You picked up a guy? That’s—” Ginny’s eyes go wide. “Omigod. Was it Gunnar?”

“Yes,” I sigh, feeling embarrassed all over again. “I invited him home for spicy chocolate pie and sex. Instead, all he got was a long conversation with the cops. And the pie, I guess. Eventually.”

“Whoa …” Ginny sits on the edge of the bed. “This is more shocking than the break-in, Posy. You really went for it? That’s bold! How did you put it to him …” she wiggles her eyebrows “… so that he’d put it to you?”

“Actually, I was kind of a chicken,” I grumble. “I used the pie as an excuse to invite him over. But my intentions were clear.”

“Were they?” She gives me a once-over. “Maybe they weren’t clear enough, or you could have gotten some after the whole crime scene thing.”

“I was too upset.” I sit up a little. “And too tired. What time is it?”

“Nine,” she says.

“NINE?” I throw off the blanket. “I have to get downstairs. Gunnar asked some kind of security company to stop by and board up the window.”

“Oh, they’re just about done,” Ginny says with a wave of her hand. “Although it isn’t boarded up. They found a glass company that works Saturdays. They’re putting the finishing touches on it. And Gunnar had them give your security grate an upgrade.”

“Gunnar did what?” I wrestle my PJ shirt off and lunge for my bra. “I can’t afford an upgrade.” I’m about to spend my day throwing away pie, cleaning up debris and basically starting over.

“You can’t afford to get broken into again, though,” my sister says, examining her nails. “Aren’t you going to ask about my night?”

“How was your night?” I ask, jumping into a pair of jeans. “Just tell me the G-rated parts.”

“There weren’t any G-rated parts,” she says with a grin. “This guy had all the moves. I’m going to be thinking about it for a month.”

“Aren’t you going to see him again?”

She shrugs. “I hope so, but you never know. He seems a little flighty. A little full of himself. He’ll probably find someone with fewer obligations to bang. Kind of hard to blame him. But at least I got one great night. It could be months before I get another. But that’s okay, I can store it up. I’m like a sex camel.”

“A sex …” I decide not to pursue that idea any further. “Good for you.” Let’s face it—I really don’t understand my sister. We’ve always had completely different approaches to life. She has a very fulfilling sex life, though, and she’s not afraid to pursue it. Note to self.

I dash for the bathroom to quickly brush my teeth and hair before I have to come face to face with the hottest man I almost-but-not-quite had sex with.

14

Gunnar

It’s no accident that I let Posy sleep in while my crew fixed up the pie shop. By the time she appears in tight jeans and a T-shirt that says BAKE right across her delectable chest, there’s a new window installed on the shop, and a sturdier lock on the back door. The floor has been swept clean, and the display case has been repaired.

Except for the pies themselves—which my guys were sad to throw away—the place looks completely untouched by last night’s crime.

Some of our fixes aren’t visible to the eye, though. There are six