stipulation?” she asked with a cautious smile. “I’m not very good at taking orders without asking questions.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t agree.” I bobbed my head back and forth. “If I’m gonna be cool with this nonsense, I need to know I can trust you to do things properly. A lot can go wrong at a construction site if you’re not paying attention or don’t know what you’re doing.”
“Like falling off a ladder and dislocating your shoulder?”
She had me with that one and the quirk to her lips said she knew it.
“Just like falling off a ladder.” Considering most of me wanted to jump her bones while the rest of me couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on, I made the concession as graciously as possible.
“I’m not sure how many free visits to the clinic I can swing before my boss gets suspicious. So, unquestioning obedience it is.” Kennedy held out her hand, but yanked it away just as I moved to take it. “But only when it comes to the job site,” she said with an arch to her eyebrow. “If we’re not working, I’m not obeying.”
“Fair enough.” I extended my hand and we shook on it. The feeling of her soft skin against my calloused palms sent another round of impure thoughts through my head, most of them featuring Penny Dreadful in a white coat, high heels, and not much else. I released her as quickly as I could and she scurried out of my personal space like she could read my mind.
Please don’t tell me she’s psychic, I thought as we navigated an awkward round of goodbyes and the door to the guesthouse closed behind her.
With nothing to distract me, the throbbing in my shoulder notched up a level…as did the concern that Collin’s face was more visible in those pictures than I thought. Arguing with my anxiety, I wandered over to the wall to study them. Of all the shots of the two of us together, I’d chosen to hang those because I was sure his face was hidden.
But if that was true, why did Kennedy stare so hard at the images? Did she recognize her favorite singer-songwriter? Or was she staring at me?
I looked happy in all of them. Did she see that? Or was the only thing she noticed the asshole in black?
“Why do you care what she saw?” I grumbled, then headed to the bed and plopped onto the mattress. Not hating Penny Dreadful confused me more with each pulse of pain in my shoulder. The good mood that bloomed over the afternoon faded. Quickly.
I knew what came next and hated myself for it. Just like I did every time someone new started to pay attention to me, I slid out the box of pictures I kept hidden under my bed. It sat in my lap like a leopard seal, cute and unassuming on the outside but dangerous and deadly on the inside.
I lifted off the lid and a lifetime of shitty memories hit me in the face. Picture after picture came out of the box, each one slashing another reminder into my skin.
Don’t let people in. This is what happens when you do.
Don’t trust anyone. They trade you for something better as soon as they get the chance.
Like a masochist with a blade, I held up each item as proof that life was only good at letting me down. That people pretended to care long enough to get what they needed before they left.
“Except Collin,” I muttered as I dropped a particularly bad memory back onto the pile. From the very first day he’d come into my life, he’d had my back. Just like I had his. “And that’s why his pictures don’t live in this box.”
Blinking, I stared at the wall for a few seconds before I rolled my eyes and raked my good hand through my hair. “You’re also talking to yourself, weirdo.”
So much had happened in the last couple hours.
Falling off a ladder.
Dislocating my shoulder.
Realizing Penny Dreadful might not be so dreadful after all—especially not the version of her my dirty fantasies kept spotlighting.
And finally, talking to myself while going through the reminders of why I was better on my own with my not-so-favorite box of memories.
“Today’s been one for the books.” I sighed as I put the lid back on my box and shoved it as far under the bed as it would go. “And…you’re still talking to yourself.”
Apparently, the day had been strange enough to loosen