I raised my eyebrows.  Fuck, this woman was direct; another thing I liked about her.  “What do you want to know?”

“The thing I want to know about you isn’t something I’m going to discover from a conversation over coffee.  I just wanted to sit with you for a bit and get a feel for you.”

“You don’t pull any punches do you?”

“No, but especially not when it comes to Harlow.  She’s been screwed over too many times in life and I don’t want to see that happen to her again.”

“Fair enough.  I have to tell you though, that there’s nothing between me and Harlow, so you can rest easy.”

“See, I would have believed that if you hadn’t shown up here today.  I would have believed it was all on Harlow’s end but you turning up to oversee a fridge delivery that didn’t need overseeing, that tells me a lot.”  She drank some of her coffee and pointed at my cake.  “Eat up, it’s good.”

This woman had managed to do something that most people couldn’t do; she’d stunned me into silence.  So, I ate cake.  It was the safer option.  And fuck, it was good cake.

Smiling, she said, “Harlow’s a good cook.  Would you agree?”

“Did Harlow make this?”

She nodded.  “Yes, it’s her favourite cake.”

Damn, it was now my favourite cake too.  It was fucking delicious; the best cake I’d ever had.  We sat in silence, eating cake and drinking coffee until Harlow joined us a couple of minutes later.

“How was the cake?” she asked looking at my empty plate.

“Was just about to tell your Mum that it’s the best cake I’ve ever had.”

She fucking blushed.  And then she gave me another of her mega watt smiles and I decided right then and fucking there that Harlow was a risk to my manhood.  I wanted her in a way I’d never wanted a woman.  I needed to get my shit together and get laid; that would fix the problem.

Before she could open her mouth and do further damage the front door opened and two delivery guys walked in.  I stood and tipped my chin to them.  “You here with a fridge?”

“Yeah, mate.  Where do you want it?”

I nodded at Cheryl.  “Ask the boss.”

I drowned out the noise of their conversation as they worked out where the fridge was going and instead focused on Harlow as she cleaned away the cake and coffee dishes.  She went out the back somewhere and when she didn’t return, I wandered out there looking for her.  She was loading the dishwasher in the kitchen and I leaned against the doorframe, watching her quietly.

She knew I was there because without stopping what she was doing she said, “Thank you so much for getting us a fridge.  My Mum really appreciates it.”

“Your Mum is something else.”

She finished with the dishwasher and closed it before turning to look at me.  My eyes dropped to her chest.  That top fit her tits like a glove; any man would struggle to keep their eyes off her chest.  I wasn’t a saint and had no problem showing my appreciation so it took me more than a few moments to look back up to her face.  She was shaking her head at me but there was a hint of a smile.

I smirked.  “Sweetheart, if you’re gonna wear shit like that you’ve gotta expect men to stare.”

“Turn around.”

“What?”

She repeated herself.  “I said, turn around.”

“Yeah, I got that but I’m wondering where you’re going with this.”

She walked over to me until she was in my personal space.  A sexy smile came over her face and she said, “I want you to turn around so that I can check out your ass cause baby, a woman’s got needs and if you’re gonna wear shit like that, her needs are gonna be fulfilled.”

I reached out and curled my hand around her neck, pulling her closer.  “Fuck woman, what are you doing to me?”

Her breathing became ragged.  “The same thing you’re doing to me.”

Our eyes searched each other’s and I was just about to kiss her when Cheryl interrupted us.  “Scott, the delivery guys need a hand with the fridge.”

Without taking my eyes off Harlow, I replied, “Be there in a minute.”

She left and instead of moving straight away, I held my hand steady on her neck.  “This conversation isn’t finished; not by a long fucking shot.”

Harlow didn’t say a word; she just nodded.  Reluctantly, I let go of her neck and left her to go and help with the fridge.

Chapter 11

Harlow

I held up the red leather dress and assessed it again.  Bloody hell, I’d never fit in this tiny thing.  And if I did, it was going to stick to me like cling wrap.

Amy laughed and I landed desperate eyes on her.  “Do I really have to wear this?”

“Yes, you do.  But we all do so you won’t be the odd one out.”

I blew out a breath.  “Okay, give me a minute to put it on and then I’ll be out so you can show me around.”

She nodded and left me to it.  I was staring my first shift at Indigo in the eyes and to say I was nervous was an understatement.  After quickly undressing, I wiggled my way into the red outfit.  Holy heck, it was the tightest and shortest thing I think I’d ever worn.  I surveyed myself in the mirror.  The dress was low cut so my cleavage was on display, and turning slightly, I noted how it hugged my ass.  Thank God I kept myself in shape.  I didn’t look too bad but I was a little self conscious.  However, I put on my big girl panties and dealt with it; this was for my Mum and she’d given me everything in life so this was the least I could do in return.