color. Even the crop of the photo was better, slightly off center so her smile was the main focal point.
My mouth fell open and she let out a loud giggle.
“Before you say a word, I tried to warn you about it not being for sale. But you insisted and shook on it and everything. So, now, I have Mondays and you have my practice canvas.”
“Hadley,” I rumbled, but she kept right on laughing.
“I’ll get this boxed up for you.”
She didn’t make it to the painting before I bent, put a shoulder to her stomach, and lifted her off her feet.
“Caven!”
I started back to the living room. “You know what? I don’t think I like getting to know non-naked Hadley.”
Her laughter got louder. “But you got a beautiful painting. Truly. All the smears and smudges. It’s my best work yet.”
I slapped her on her ass. “Liar.”
“No, really. The trashmen are going to be devastated when I don’t put it at the curb this week.”
My smile was unrivaled as I deposited her on the couch, the whole thing creaking as I followed her down, my mouth finding hers before my body did.
She opened her legs, allowing my hips to fall through. Then she let out a sigh that erased whatever anger I’d been pretending to carry.
Truth be told, I still got the better end of our deal.
My painting was gorgeous.
And I got her on Mondays.
Fucked up as it was, I’d have happily paid a million dollars for the same outcome.
We made out on that couch until the pizza arrived. Technically, we’d stayed clothed the entire time, but it was far from the get-to-know-you session she’d suggested at the beginning of the night.
By the time I forced myself out her door an hour and a half after I’d arrived, both of our lips were bruised, my face hurt from smiling, and Trent’s pizza was stone cold—just like he deserved.
WILLOW
Caven: Let’s play a game of Would You Rather?
I grinned and put my paintbrush down.
Me: You have my attention.
Caven: Would you rather eat cheesecake or tiramisu?
Me: I’m not sure you understand how this game works. It’s supposed to be two difficult choices both with pros and cons.
Caven: Okay. Let me give it another go. Would you rather eat cheesecake in twenty minutes or tiramisu in twenty-one?
Me: Oh wow. That’s tough. On one hand, it’s tiramisu. On the other, I’d have to wait a whole minute longer to eat it. How will I ever decide?
Caven: What if I tell you I will be accompanying the dessert so you’d have to wait a whole minute without me?
Me: You’ll be accompanying the dessert? Why? Are they out of ranch?
Caven: I’m getting both because you suck at this game. Alejandra asked if she could take Rosalee to a movie. So I decided to order dessert and crash whatever you had planned for tonight.
True to his word, bright and early on Monday morning, sexy businessman Caven Hunt had arrived wearing a mouthwatering suit and a grumpy scowl that almost made me feel bad for my crappy contractor. I wasn’t sure what happened in my backyard that day. From my vantage point of the upstairs window, peeking through the blinds, I saw Caven standing stoic as ever while the contractor’s mouth never stopped moving. Caven said no more than three sentences before turning on a toe and marching to my back door. I opened it. He told me that my studio would be done in ten days, they would be upgrading my flooring and windows free of charge, and he had an inspector that would come by a few times to make sure they weren’t rushing through the process. After that, he kissed me on the cheek and informed me that we were having tacos for dinner at his place. Then, just as quickly as he’d arrived, he was gone.
No smiling.
Or lip twitches.
But damn if Businessman Caven Hunt wasn’t sexy as hell.
It was now Friday night. And while I’d seen Caven on Monday night for tacos, then again on Wednesday while Rosalee and I played with potato stampers, and I was slated to see him again the next day for Rosalee’s art class, the idea of him coming over to spend time with me, alone, was more than enough to send me sprinting up the stairs for a shower. But as I ran, I typed out my reply.
Me: Lucky for us both I have no life and I love cheesecake.
Caven: I guess I’ll be seeing you in twenty minutes then.
I’d decided