Page 16 of Coming Clean
“But not a warmone?”
Was she a mindreader? “No. They didn’t really dowarm.”
Sabrina nodded. “I was ananny for a couple like that. They were good people but didn’t knowhow to show their affection to their kids.”
Connor finished arrangingthe last of the furniture. “Let me show you what we’vedone.”
Jeremy would be happy forConnor to show him anything. “All right, but I can already telleverything looks fantastic. How did you make it all soshiny?”
Connor laughed. “Tradesecret.”
“My cabin never looked likethis after I cleaned it.” Which hadn’t happened all thatoften.
He followed Connor throughthe downstairs, oohing and ahhing over how much better thingslooked. Even the rooms that had looked perfectly clean to Jeremybefore, except for a little dust, were much more appealing. Hecould see a buyer going nuts over the house now.
“You ready to check out theupstairs?” Connor asked.
“Sure.” They reached thetop of the main stairs and headed into Jeremy’s aunt and—Jeremy’sbedroom. Connor stood in the middle of the room, right at the footof Jeremy’s bed. Just the proximity of the gorgeous man to his bedsent tingly feelings racing through Jeremy. What would happen if hepushed Connor down on it?
“We cleared all thecobwebs, washed the baseboards, dusted…” Connor’s spiel continued,but Jeremy wasn’t listening. He was staring at the bed. He’d neverseen one made up so tight and perfect. It looked like you couldhave bounced a quarter on it.
“Were you in the army?”Jeremy blurted out, not sure if Connor had finished his explanationor not.
“The Marines,” Connorreplied, sounding slightly offended.
“Shit.”Did I say that out loud?
“You got a problem withMarines?” Strangely, Connor didn’t look angry, though. He lookeddisappointed.
“Uh, no. It’s just… I worrythey’ll have a problem with me.” Fuck!Why did I say that?
Connor frowned.“Why?”
Why? Wasn’t it obvious?Most people knew right off, like Jeremy was wearing a sign. “Um…”Wow, he was articulate today. “Because I’m gay.”
Connor shrugged. “I don’tcare if you sleep with three-eyed aliens as long as you pay yourbills. I’m just here to keep your house clean.”
Jeremy wished that wasn’tall Connor was there for. He looked at the bed and heat rose intohis cheeks. Fucking a straight Marine, what a stereotypical fetish.Jeremy gave a nervous laugh. “I try to avoid those, actually, but…um…. I’m glad you don’t have a problem with it.”
“Life’s too short todismiss a whole group of people because you’ve made assumptionsabout them. That’s one of many things I learned out in thedesert.”
“That’s a goodlesson.”
“Yeah, the rest of themmostly weren’t.”
“I…” What was he supposedto say to that?
Connor held up a hand.“Don’t. I shouldn’t have said anything. Let me show you thebathroom.”
Jeremy paid littleattention to the rest of the tour, noticing only that thingssmelled fresh and looked shiny, brighter somehow, as if cleaning sothoroughly allowed more sun inside. But what his mind reallyfocused on was Connor’s moment of vulnerability. When he’dmentioned the desert, he’d looked so sad, so… broken. It madeJeremy want to know all of Connor better, not just his fine ass.Jeremy wondered about the other lessons Connor had learned. Hecould only imagine how horrible they might have been.
“You’re awful quiet,”Connor said. “How do things look to you?”
Jeremy looked around theupstairs hallway. Connor’s golden gaze caught his, and all he coulddo was nod.
Finally, after too manyseconds of silence, Jeremy forced out some words. “It looksincredible. I could never have done this.” The house truly did lookgreat. It would have taken Jeremy a week to get it anywhere nearthis clean, and by then half of it would have been dirtyagain.
Connor had to know he wasgood at his job, but Jeremy’s simple compliment made him smile in away that eased his hard edge. Jeremy was already contemplating howto get him to smile like that again. He could easily becomeobsessed with that smile.
