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  “It’s adorable,” I say, and I’m sure no one can hear the acid in my voice. I’m masking it so well. Besides, Harper won’t even notice. She’s probably blushing and unable to speak around the man she really wants.

  “Simon,” she says, turning to him. “Thank you for the coffee. And I know Abby is going to be so excited to hear from you. She finishes with her current family next week, and she’s one of the best nannies so she’ll be in demand. You need to snap her up.” Harper snaps her fingers and laughs.

  Simon laughs, too. “I’m calling her as we speak.”

  What the hell did I just witness? Harper didn’t babble. She didn’t speak in tongues. She didn’t freak out.

  “Well, not technically as we speak,” she says, making a joke.

  “You got me on that one.”

  “Okay, I need to run.” She bends to Hayden and pretends to pull a pack of mini Skittles from her ear. “Special gift from Anna the Amazing for the birthday girl.”

  Hayden’s eyes widen, and she clutches the candy. “I love Skittles! They’re my favorite.”

  “I know,” she says then waves good-bye to her. She shifts her gaze to her crush. “Fingers crossed that it’ll all work out.”

  He twists his index and middle finger together.

  “See you later, Harper.” He extends a hand to me. “Good to see you again, Nick. Congrats on your show doing so well. Harper mentioned it to me. She’s proud of you.”

  “Thanks,” I say as Simon walks away with his daughter, and I cock my head, trying to figure out this strange creature in front of me with red hair, wearing Harper’s clothes. Her massive bag is on her shoulder so I’m pretty sure she’s not an impostor, but I have no clue how she pulled off that trick of acting normal. Unless . . . she’s no longer into him. Which would be the best news ever . . . except she only wants to be friends with me.

  But wait.

  Let’s think about that.

  Let’s add up all the facts.

  Last night at my house when she was bent over the couch, she was a lot more than friendly. When she rode me into her third climax of the quartet I gave her, she was much more than cordial. As she cried out, Oh Nick, no one makes me feel like you do, that sounded a touch warmer than simple fondness.

  And it felt like a lot more than lessons in seduction. It felt like much more than mind-blowing sex. It felt like we were falling for each other.

  Maybe I should take another swing.

  “Should we hail a cab?” I ask, thrusting a hand in the air. “Sometimes they come faster here than Uber.”

  “Good idea. Especially since everything ran late after the party.”

  An image flashes before my eyes of her working the kid’s party. “Where’s your cape?”

  She pats the bag. “It’s in here.”

  “You do wear a cape for your shows, right?”

  She nods and smiles. “I do.”

  A bolt of lust slams into me. I can’t help myself. I blurt out, “I bet you look insanely hot in a cape and nothing else.”

  “Generally, I don’t wear my cape with nothing else,” she says.

  I raise an eyebrow. “Would you for me?”

  “I would,” she says, as the yellow cab arrives. I open the door and slide in after her. The door slamming rings in my ears, and it hits me. The game’s not over until the final at bat.

  “Can we talk about the elephant in the cab?”

  Her eyes light up. “Sure.”

  I point my thumb behind us, in Simon’s direction. “English. You’ve acquired full use of the language around Simon.”

  She nods happily. “I’m cured, evidently. Your lessons eradicated my little affliction.”

  “Oh,” I say, my heart sinking as I strike out on pitch one. Guess that means she can behave normally around guys she likes. “We got rid of Princess Awkward. I’m gonna miss her though,” I say, trying to keep the mood light.

  “Yeah, me too,” she says, sighing wistfully, then flashing a huge I’ve-got-a-secret grin. “But that’s not the only reason I’m cured,” she says, and wraps her hand on my arm.

  I hate that sparks fly inside me from that touch. I wish they’d stop. “What’s the other reason?”

  She shrugs happily and squeezes my bicep. “I don’t like him anymore. In fact, when he asked me out for coffee last weekend via text, I turned him down.”

  And we’re back in business. Angels sing. The heavens burst open. Candy rains down from the sky.

  “That so?” I ask, the corner of my lips twitching up in a grin.

  “That is so,” she says, all sexy and naughty and inviting. “The reason I was running late, as you probably ascertained, is that I helped clean up so we could talk about my friend Abby, since he needs a new nanny for Hayden. His ex-wife is hardly around at all, and he does most of the parenting. He bought me a coffee to say thanks.”

  “I did ascertain that. I also think it’s incredibly hot that you just dropped a crossword-puzzle word into casual conversation.”

  “I did it because I knew you’d like it,” she says, and runs her fingers up the back of my neck and into my hair. Those sparks? They don’t just fly. They torpedo across my skin. They race through me. They live inside me with this girl. I’m so far gone for her, it’s ridiculous.

  How did I ever think I could just let her walk away? I can’t, no matter who her brother is. I’ll just have to sort out that little snag another time.

  “I like it. I also really like that you’re not into him,” I say, as I lean my head back into her hand, turning my face to meet her gaze.

  “Why does that make you glad?” She inches closer to me as the cab swings around the corner, nearing the train station.

  “Because I’m a greedy bastard, and I want you to myself,” I say, and it’s not a full-on admission of all that I feel, but it’s a start, and that’s how I’m going to have to take things with her. Step by step.

  “You have me. Don’t you know that? I couldn’t do the things we’ve done in bed and feel that way about anyone else. I swear, Nick, I haven’t felt a thing for him since well before the night you kissed me. Since well before I sent you the pencils. Since before the laundry detergent, even. And I never ever felt a thing for Jason.”

  My heart thumps hard against my chest, fighting its way to her. “I fucking loved it when you gave me laundry detergent,” I tell her, my eyes never leaving hers.

  “I thought I wasn’t your type. That you preferred older women,” she says, on a whisper.

  I shake my head, heat spreading across my skin. “My type is you,” I say, and her blue irises glow with excitement, maybe even a wild kind of happiness.

  “You’re my predilection,” she says, a little flirty, and fuck, now I’m even more turned on, and feeling like I can walk on water.

  The cab squeals to a stop at the train station, and I thrust some bills through the window. I get out with her.

  “I need to catch a train or I’ll be late,” she says, her tone full of longing.

  “Come over when you’re back.”

  “I get back really late tomorrow.”

  “I don’t care how late it is. I want to see you.”

  “I want to see you, too.”

  I tilt my head to the side. “Why did you want me to take you to the train station?”

  Her lips quirk up. “Because I fuck seeing you.”

  I crack up. “Harper Holiday, I fuck seeing you, too.” I cup her cheeks in my hands and kiss her. This kiss is different. It’s as hot as all of them have ever been, but there’s something intangible in it, too, a quality that digs down deep into my chest, that burrows into my bones. An inevitability, and unlike last night, it doesn’t feel like the end. It feels like a promise of more to come.

  She breaks the kiss and turns to go, then she swivels around once more and slides her arm around my waist, tipping up her chin to meet my eyes. “There’s one thing I want in bed that we haven’t done yet.”

  “Name it.”


  “I’m on the pill,” she says and knocks the wind out of me. I nearly sway on the busy street outside the train station.

  “I’m clean. I’ve been tested,” I add, my throat dry. The possibility of feeling her bare is almost too much. I’m not sure how I can function on any level between now and tomorrow night.

  “Can we sleep together without a condom when I see you tomorrow?”

  I nod. “I’ve never done it without one.”

  “I’ll be your first?” Her voice rises with excitement.

  “Yes.” I’m dying to tell her that she’s the first in so many things. First woman I’ve ever felt this way about. First woman I’ve ever cared about more than my work. First woman who’s inspired a cartoon just for fun.

  She presses one last kiss to my lips, murmuring, “I can’t wait.”

  She leaves, and I’m pretty sure the next thirty-six hours will be the longest of my life.

  Because . . . bare.

  32

  I go to the movies with Wyatt that night, checking out a spy flick that numbs my brain with two hours of explosions, knife fights, and one badass motorcycle chase down a never-ending set of stairs.

  He doesn’t once ask about Harper or Spencer when we grab beers and burgers after the credits roll. I’m thankful for that, even though I don’t know what to do about my buddy. I’ve got to hope Spencer will understand that the way I feel for his sister isn’t cause for eyebrow-dyeing or hair-shaving.

  Even if I haven’t been upfront with him.

  I push those thoughts away for tonight. Always the chatterbox, Wyatt tells me about his business expansion plans and how he needs to hire a new assistant. It’s one of the rare occasions when we don’t give each other crap the whole time.

  I’m grateful, too, that I’ve survived the first day in the countdown to bare. When I return home that night, I head straight to my standing desk and draw a puppet with a stopwatch. He stares slack-jawed at the hot mechanic, who fixes brake pads in nothing but a cape.

  I title it Countdown to Bare.

  I know, I know. I’m pretty fucking brilliant. But as they say, a dirty mind is a terrible thing to waste. I turn off the screen, and when I slide under the sheets that night the last thing I do is check my phone. Again, karma loves me, because there’s a photo from her. A close-up shot of her fingers, sliding under the waistband of her cranberry-red lace panties.

  I swear, this woman will be my undoing. She’s so goddamn perfect for me.

  On Sunday morning I wake to my phone rattling on the nightstand. Must be another message from Harper. I grin in anticipation as I grab the phone.

  A note from Serena pops up on the screen instead, with a picture of a baby sleeping.

  * * *

  Seven pounds of torture and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Meet my baby boy!

  * * *

  An even bigger grin spreads on my face over the good news, and because I know Harper will like this picture, I forward her the note.

  I freeze.

  I just sent her a photo of a baby. To make her happy. What the hell has my world become? Who is this dude inside my skin texting pictures of a newborn? To a chick who sent me a dirty photo last night?

  That’s when the Road Runner drops the anvil, and Wile E. Coyote gets smacked with ten tons of obvious, and his head rings, and stars spin, but then everything becomes crystal clear. I want Harper to be happy in every way—in bed and out of bed. I don’t just want to give this woman ten thousand orgasms. I want to see her smile more times than I can count.

  Because . . . I’ve fallen in love with her.

  I groan and flop back against the mattress.

  This woman has upended my world. Once I only wanted to send her soaring, to bring her pleasure, to screw her out of my system. Now I want to make her feel joy in every way. I, Nick Hammer, self-avowed serial monogamist and Magellan of the female orgasm, have become a love-struck fool.

  I wish there was a clue in the Sunday puzzle as to how to give voice to this madness taking over my heart. Knowing how to touch Harper, how to kiss her, and how to deliver ecstasy to every square inch of her body seems easy compared to reckoning with this strange, new foreign object occupying space in my chest. What do you even say to a woman you’ve fallen ass over elbow for? I scratch my head, coming up empty. Sex is my classroom, but love is a language I barely understand.

  I close my eyes, letting my mind wander to all the things I know about Harper. She loves to entertain, to tell jokes, to spend time with her friends and family, to help people she cares about. She loves autumn, and cake, and bowling, and beating me in competitions. She likes taking care of Fido, and learning new magic tricks, and she loves to give gifts.

  Most of all, she likes being understood.

  I flash back to one of the texts she sent me. A non-dirty one.

  I want to look into someone’s eyes and feel like he knows me, gets me, understands me. I want him to see my quirks and accept them, not try to change them. I want to know what that’s like.

  This is a girl who has definite quirks. I latch on to something. Bits and pieces of our conversation back at Peace of Cake. Something she said about cheesy moments. What was it?

  I rub my thumb and forefinger together, as if that can stir the memory to the surface. It works, and I smile inside as I remember her offhand remark.

  Does she write those cheesy sex scenes where the guy tells the girl he loves her while he’s inside her or right after?

  I might not know what to say, but I definitely know when not to say it. I get out of bed, brush my teeth, pull on my workout shorts and a fleece, and go burn off some of this energy, running all the way downtown to Spencer’s house, where I feed Fido, trusting that this cat and his master will have to be okay with this turn of events, because I’m going to be so damn good to Harper. I’m going to treat her like the royalty she is to me. All I have to do is tell her.

  I don’t have a plan, a skywriter, or a bouquet of flowers, and frankly, I don’t think she’d be impressed with any of those. That’s not the kind of person she is.

  But I know the most important part of my plan—there’s no way I can let these lessons with Harper end. Not until I tell her I want to be so much more than friends with her, more than her teacher, more than her love coach. I want to be hers.

  Too bad her train is really late that night. She texts me at ten to tell me it’s stuck in Bridgeport for some sort of engine repair.

  I write back immediately with the only possible solution.

  Nick: I’ll come pick you up.

  * * *

  Princess: Seriously?

  * * *

  Nick: You have no idea how much I want to see you.

  * * *

  Princess: As much as I want to see you?

  * * *

  Nick: Yes. THAT MUCH.

  * * *

  Princess: You won’t use emoticons, but you’ll use shouty caps?

  * * *

  Nick: SHOUTY CAPS ARE MANLY. Get over here, woman. I need your naked body under me.

  * * *

  Princess: WHAT IF I WANT TO BE ON TOP?

  * * *

  Nick: I DON’T CARE. JUST GET HERE. How’s this? I’ll order a car service. I’ll send one to you. Whatever you want.

  * * *

  Princess: This is where apparating would come in really handy.

  * * *

  Nick: Now you’re really turning me on, talking Harry Potter and magic spells. But seriously, princess—can I send a car for you?

  * * *

  Princess: They say the train is going to start again in twenty minutes. I’ll be there soon. If not, I might chew my leg off with waiting.

  * * *

  Nick: Um, I like your legs. Please refrain from all chewing of limbs.

  * * *

  Princess: Ooh! We’re moving again!

  A little later, I check the time. It’s eleven, and a new text says she should arrive in Grand Central by midnight. I figure fifteen minutes
in the cab will put her at my door at twelve-fifteen. I take a quick shower, brush my teeth, and wrap a towel around my waist.

  A new text from her lands on my screen.

  * * *

  Princess: Ugh. Still more trouble. Train arriving at 12:45 now. Should I just go home?

  * * *

  My reply is instant.

  * * *

  Nick: NO FUCKING WAY.

  * * *

  I lie down, read a book, and drift off to sleep.

  The ringing in my apartment is loud. I wake with a jolt, sitting upright in bed. I rub my eyes, orienting myself. I grab my glasses. It’s a little after one. I get out of bed, and answer the phone. The doorman tells me I have a guest, and I say to send her up.

  I pad out of the bedroom, then slide the lock off the chain, crack the door a sliver, and peek down the hall.

  The gears on the elevator crank, then slow, and the lift opens.

  She turns and heads to me. Her hair is in a loose ponytail, and she wears jeans and her pink jacket. Her eyes widen as she nears me. They turn planet-size when she’s inches away, and they drift down my body.

  I glance down. Oh. Seems I’m wearing my birthday suit.

  “I should always show up after midnight if this is my greeting,” she says, her eyes roaming my naked body.

  “You play your cards right, and that can be arranged,” I say, raising an eyebrow. She doesn’t know the half of it, though. She doesn’t know how true that statement is. If she wants me, she can have me any time, all the time.