Free Grit (Dirty #6) by Cheryl McIntyre Page A

brow. “So, how did it go with Blonde and Blonder after we left?” I drag my hair to the side, ringing the ends onto the towel. ‘“ Second Spring ’ acted like a pompous bitch, but Sunshine seemed pretty nice. When does she start high school?”
    “You’re in a foul state today.” He scratches his temple with his middle finger, the way we did when we were kids and didn’t want to get caught flipping each other the bird by Mom and Dad. “You sure you’re feeling better?”
    “Positive.”
    “Her name’s Summer, by the way,” he says as he falls onto the couch. I kind of want to tell him about the dirty things Link did to me a few hours ago in that very spot, but I reign it in. Even I have boundaries.
    “And she’s almost twenty, he adds.”
    “ Almost twenty is just another way of saying nineteen. She’s nineteen . You’re dating a teenager .”
    His eyes meet mine, his expression sobering. “You’re dating your boss.”
    “And?”
    “And, what’s going on between you two? You haven’t shown interest in anyone for years, then I take you to the gym one day to meet my boss, and the next thing I know, you guys are living together.”
    So damn meddlesome.
    “We’re not living together.”
    His head tips to the side, disbelieving. “You come into work together every day and leave together every night. And whose shirt is that?” He dips his head toward me, indicating Link’s blue dress shirt that still smells of his cologne. “Whose boots are those?” He nods to the Doc Martins in the corner. “I know that’s not your protein powder I saw on your kitchen table.”
    I don’t reply. I don’t need to.
    “It looks a lot like you guys are living together.”
    “I honestly don’t know what we’re doing,” I admit after a beat. “He still has his own place, but if he isn’t at the gym, he’s usually here. We’re not dating each other, but there’s no possible way he’s dating anyone else.” I toss the towel onto the coffee table and plop heavily into the chair. “He hasn’t brought it up, so I don’t bring it up. But I’m okay with it. It works for us.”
    He nods slowly, examining my features. “It’s good, though, right? You’re good?”
    “I am.”
    “If you’re happy, I’m happy.” He pushes to his feet, stretching long, muscled limbs above his head and making an obnoxiously loud sound to go with it.
    “You’re off already?”
    “Yeah, I just wanted to make sure you were all right. I’m actually on my way to see Summer. I think if you give her a real chance, you’ll like her.”
    I don’t comment on that. Time will tell.
    Joe drags his palm across the top of my head, mussing my hair. It’s already tangled from washing, but I duck out of his reach anyway, pushing him toward the door. He always has to find a way to drive me crazy.
    “Hey,” he says as he’s halfway over the threshold, “you’re not knocked up, are you?”
    I pause with my hand on the door. My stomach does a little flip. “Why would you ask that?”
    “Autumn wondered if that’s why you were blowing chunks last night. And you know, I thought I should ask.”
    “Did she say that in front of Link?”
    “ Oh yeah . He looked like someone punched him in the nuts. So…not pregnant, right?”
    “I’m on the pill.”
    “You know, I was hoping you were going to tell me you weren’t having sex.”
    I smirk at him, pushing him out with the pressure of the door as I begin closing it. “But that would be a lie. We do it all the time .”
    That will hopefully teach him to be a little less prying into my personal life. His roar of disgust echoes in the hallway as I flip the lock into place.
    I turn, pressing my back into the cool wooden frame, trying to remember if there had been anything unusual about my last period.

 
    Fifteen
    Link
     
     
    After saying goodbye to my last client of the day, I cut Augie loose and close up. I collect the dirty towels, toss them in the washer, and spray down the