007

"Phoenix told us you found the gym this morning," my mother said, wrinkling her nose at me. She found exercise and anything that made her sweaty extremely distasteful. "Did you have a good workout?"

"It was fine," I said with a shrug. I pulled open the fridge, not caring that it wasn't my house. If I was going to live here, I was going to make myself at home. "Do we have any lemons?"

"Um," Andrew scratched his balding head. "The housekeeper does the shopping. If there is something special you need, just add it to the list on the side of the fridge."

I dug through the produce bin until I turned up one shriveled lemon that looked like it was about two months old. I added lemons to the list on the fridge and then squeezed the little juice I could extract from the ancient fruit into my water bottle.

"Would you like some oatmeal?" Andrew asked. I could tell he was trying really hard to be nice to me, probably in some misguided attempt to impress my mom.

I could have told him he didn't need to try so hard.

"No thanks," I took a long drink from my bottle. "I don't eat breakfast."

I saw the look that passed between my mother and the professor, but I chose to ignore it. What I ate and when I ate was really not their business. "What are you doing today?" I asked my mother.

She made a face. "I'm headed into the office. And Andrew has classes today. Will you be okay here by yourself?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm a big girl, Mom, and I've got my own stuff to work on."

"That's right!" The professor set aside his bowl. "Your mother tells me you want to be a writer. I'd love to read your work sometime."

"I am a writer," I corrected him quietly. I wasn't trying to be anything.

"Oh, I don't think so, Andy," my mother jumped in quickly, dropping her voice like she was revealing classified secrets. "She doesn't let anyone read her stories."

There was a very good reason for that. I tried to keep my face perfectly straight. Somehow I didn't think the stuffy professor would really approve of the steamy romance novels I was writing.

I gave him a half-smile and decided to make an exit before they started prying into exactly what genres I was working in. "Thanks anyway, professor. Have a good day, Mom." I leaned down and kissed her smooth cheek, breathing in the familiar scent of her perfume, and then made for the door. I had been thrown off my schedule by the moving-in ordeal, and I had a lot of work to make up.

At least I had been spared an awkward family breakfast scene with the professor's sons.

Phoenix POV

I couldn’t get the kid off my mind the whole day. Every time there was a lull in my office work, I pictured that body. She came out of her room this morning wearing a short tank top and skin-tight exercise shorts. Her lean tummy was bare, showing a small navel ring shaped like a butterfly. Her skin looked so pale and soft; my fingers practically itched for a feel. What made it absolutely perfect was that she had absolutely NO idea what she was doing. She wasn’t trying to be a tease.

When the clock finally struck three, I closed up my computer and headed for the door. I was almost free when our VP, Greyson called out to me. “Hey Phoenix! We are going down to the Cashbox for a drink. You coming?”

“Can’t tonight!” I waived them off. “We’ve got company at the house. I’ll catch you next time!” It was almost true. I couldn’t really consider my dad's live-in girlfriend as company. I also couldn't tell my friends that I was more interested in spending the afternoon with my almost-stepsister than I was in sipping a few beers with them.

When Jack realized I cut out early, he was going to have my ass. He wasn’t my boss though, he was my business partner. I had already accomplished everything on my to-do list for the day. And besides that, what was the point of running your own business if you couldn’t have a little bit of freedom once in a while?

It wasn’t that I wasn’t dedicated. I’d been living and breathing the business for the last seven years. Jack and I were often the last ones to leave the building at the end of the work day. Jack covered the more technical and financial aspects of the company, while I dealt with the people. It worked out perfectly, because Jack was a stickler for detail and order, while I was the more outgoing, personable partner.

The house was silent when I entered. I saw that dad’s car was gone, along with Denise’s. At first, I thought that they had taken Robyn with them, but as I headed toward my room, I heard soft music coming from her doorway. The door was open, and I shamelessly allowed myself to peek inside. She was lying on her bed with a sketchbook in hand. She had an expression of intense concentration on her face as the pencil moved slowly and carefully. I wished I could see what she was drawing. But as soon as I said, “Hi” from the hallway, she flipped the cover closed and jumped in surprise.

“Sorry,” I said apologetically, “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Oh,” she frowned at me, “I didn’t expect anyone to be home this early.”

“Normally, I’m not. But I squeaked out early today.” I watched her slide the sketchbook back into her nightstand drawer. “If you’re finished with whatever you were drawing, would you like to go for a swim?”