Page 23 of Juniper Hill (The Edens 2)

“I changed my mind.” She tipped her mug to her lips. From beyond the rim, she sent me a glare. It was subtle, but fire sparked in those brown eyes. If she let that flame blaze, she’d level me to the ground and leave nothing behind but ash.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’m trying not to be everywhere.” Then she breezed past me into the hall.

Yeah, I’d deserved it. And worse.

The cleaning cart rattled as she steered it away, then the elevator doors dinged as they closed.

“Why can’t I say no to my sister?” I muttered before returning to the kitchen, where Skip whistled as he diced a pile of red potatoes.

“Morning,” he said.

“Morning.” I swiped a clean white coat from the hook and buttoned it up, shoving the sleeves up my forearms. I was about to reach for a knife when I hung my head.

I’d gone to apologize to Memphis.

I hadn’t actually apologized. Fuck.

This plan to keep my distance wasn’t going to work if it took two trips to deliver every message.

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“Headache, Knox?” Skip asked.

“Yeah.” Her name was Memphis Ward.

She had smooth skin, flawless beneath the moonlight. She had dark circles under her eyes that bothered the hell out of me. She had a men’s black T-shirt that she wore in place of pajamas, and as often as I’d replayed last night, I couldn’t remember if she’d had a pair of shorts on underneath or just panties.

Maybe if we could just coexist, her going one direction while I went the other, we’d survive this short-term lease. With some space, I could banish all thoughts of her toned legs and pink lips.

“I forgot something,” I told Skip, then made my way to the lobby.

Eloise was at the reception counter, perched on a tall chair as she clicked away at the computer screen. The guests she’d been talking to earlier were now sitting on the couch in front of the unlit fireplace. When my sister saw me coming, she smiled. “Hey. What’s up?”

“I’m looking for Memphis. I saw her head upstairs. Do you know what floor she’s on?”

“The second, I think. Why?”

“Nothing.” I waved it off. “Just wanted to talk to her about something.”

“How’s it going with her at your place?”

“Fine,” I lied, then before she could ask more questions, I strode toward the staircase, preferring it over the elevators.

When I reached the second floor, I glanced down both sides of the hallway, spotting the cleaning cart to my left. My tennis shoes sank into the plush hallway carpet as I walked toward the room. The smell of lemon furniture polish and glass cleaner wafted from the open doorway.

I paused beside the cart. Her coffee mug was propped between a stack of clean washcloths and paper towels. The black liquid still steamed. When I looked into the room, my mouth went dry. My cock twitched.

Memphis was bent over the bed, stretching a fitted sheet to the mattress. Her tight jeans clung to the slight curves of her hips. They molded to the perfect shape of her ass. Her blond hair swung over her shoulder as she worked.

Fuck me. Why her? Why had Eloise put a woman like Memphis on my property? Why couldn’t she have found me a fifty-seven-year-old ret

iree named Barb who taught swimming lessons at the community center?

It had been a while since I’d been attracted to a woman. Why Memphis? She was as complicated as duck pâté en croûte. Yet I couldn’t look away.

Her phone chimed again and she stood, digging it from her pocket. She huffed at the screen and, like she’d done in the break room, hit decline.

“Forty.”