Free Back in the Bedroom by Jill Shalvis

“Small harem today,” Reilly noted. “You really need a bigger car.”
    Eddie sighed. “I keep telling you I’ve changed. I like them one at a time these days.”
    “Or three.”
    “Reilly—”
    “Look, it’s your life.”
    “Yeah, you keep saying that.” For a moment, frustration swam in Eddie’s eyes. “But I want you in that life, damn it.”
    “I’m in it. How can I help it, you keep showing up on my doorstep.”
    Eddie sighed again, then let out a rough laugh. “I keep hoping that one of these days you’ll show up on mine.”
    “You’ve got a pretty full plate at the moment.” Reilly nodded toward the carload, which reminded him of his biggest life’s goal— Don’t turn out like good old Dad.
    “Those are my employees, son.”
    Reilly opened the McDonald’s bag. The delicious scent of fast-food wafted up. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to mix business with pleasure?”
    “No. No one ever told me anything of the sort. I learned the hard way.”
    Reilly had heard Eddie’s poor-little-rich-boy storybefore, how his parents had ignored him all his life for their travels, etc. It didn’t wash. Reilly hadn’t had a father around either, until lately anyway, and no one caught him whining about it.
    “And give me some credit for growing up, would you?” Eddie grinned sheepishly. “Better late than never, right?” When Reilly didn’t crack a smile in return, he sighed again. “The women out there really are my employees. I’m taking two of them into my real estate division today, we’re shorthanded. Totally on the up-and-up. The other is a woman I thought you’d recognize.”
    Reilly took another look. The woman in the front passenger seat wore sunglasses covering what he knew to be mossy-green eyes that showed her every emotion as soon as she thought it. Her hair was tucked behind her ears, emphasizing her face, which he knew to be soft to the touch.
    For one beat their gazes collided and Reilly stood there, inexplicably riveted.
    Tessa looked away first.
    “Her car wouldn’t start this morning,” Eddie said. “I offered her a ride to her temp job.”
    “She’s working today?”
    “She’s one tough cookie.” Eddie blocked Reilly’s view of her and dropped the smile. “She insisted on coming in. I don’t know if it’s because she needs the money or if she needs to keep busy.”
    Ah, hell. He didn’t want to know this. Aware that hewas letting his guard slip, he peered around Eddie. She sat very still, staring straight forward now. “Is this job an easy one?”
    Eddie paused so long Reilly took his gaze off Tessa to his father. “Is it?”
    Eddie stared at him, then looked away. “No. But I have a feeling she’s going to be all right.”
    It was true. She was bright, brave and adventurous. She’d be all right.
    “Enjoy the food, son.” Reilly stepped off the porch. “Oh, and I have you on the calendar for a temp through Thursday. Is that right?”
    “Yeah.” His business was up and down, up at the moment. His office manager did most of the everyday work. She’d been after him to hire another permanent office staff member, but Reilly wasn’t ready for permanent.
    “Want her with the usual prerequisites? Old and grumpy?”
    “Funny.”
    “Oh, come on, admit it,” Eddie said. “You like old and grumpy.”
    “I like experienced.”
    “Well, so do I, son. So do I. I’ll see you.” He started to walk away. “Oh, and live a little today, why don’t you. Just for fun.”
    When Eddie drove off, Reilly locked his front door and headed down his steps. He’d like to say he forgot all about his father and the women in the BMW, specifically the one woman in the front seat. After all, he was good about forgetting things that got to him.
    And there was no doubt, Tessa Delacantro had gotten to him.
    The last time he’d let a woman do that, he’d ended up on the wrong side of a beating he’d like to forget, both physically and mentally.
    He sure was melancholy