69. Hannah

SIXTY-NINE

This man is so infuriating.

But even as I keep my hands over my eyes, I have to admit he's gentle. Even if it's all overly familiar.

"There." Maddox rubs a hand up the inside of my thigh. "Gimme your hand."

Lowering my palms, I peek up and see him, still completely naked, holding a hand out to me.

I take it, and he pulls me up to a sitting position. Then I climb off the bed.

Maddox glances at our discarded clothes but leaves them and moves to pick my bag up off the floor. "You're welcome to wear whatever you want. But after that"— he nods to the bed— "I'm putting sweats on." He holds the bag out to me. "If you didn't bring anything comfy, I can lend you something."

I take the bag and hold it in front of my body, feeling a little bit shy and a little bit cold, being completely nude in an air-conditioned room. "I have pajamas."

He gestures to his bathroom. "You can get dressed in here if you'd like. I just need to grab my clothes."

I follow Maddox's bare ass into his bathroom. And what a bathroom it is. White marble counters. A white claw-foot tub. Giant glass shower. Double vanities with floor-to-ceiling cabinets on either side of the sinks.

Maddox turns away from me and heads toward a massive closet.

With his back to me, I hurry across to the other door that I'm sure is concealing the toilet. I'm glad Maddox is so comfortable with nudity, but it's very bright in here.

Cleaned up in a pair of soft gray pants, a comfy bralette, and an old Minnesota Biters T-shirt, I exit the bathroom.

Maddox is sitting on the edge of his bed— which has been put back to rights— looking at his phone. And I have to smile when I see he's quite literally wearing the same outfit as me. Only his pants are darker, and his shirt has the newer branding.

He looks up, and his jaw works as he takes me in.

"Well." He stands and starts to cross the room. "I like that."

I take a step back. "This old thing?" I shrug.

"Where are you going?" Maddox keeps stalking me.

I take another step back and hold my palms out. "Stay back, you animal."

He closes the distance, not stopping until my hands are pressed against his stomach. "Give me one good reason."

"One, you're not in your twenties anymore. Remember?" When he makes a sound and pushes closer, I add, "And two, I'm hungry and was promised dinner."

Maddox makes a show of heaving out a sigh. "Fine." He grabs my wrist, then entwines our fingers as he leads me out of the room. "Want a quick tour first, or want to wait?"

"Tour," I answer automatically. I am hungry. But I'm also curious.

We walk back down the hall that brought us here and past the staircase to the other side of the house.

Maddox slows at the first door, which is already open.

"This is one of the guest suites." We step inside the room. "Doesn't get used much."

I can feel Maddox shrug next to me.

"It's really nice," I say truthfully.

It's the same white walls and dark floors as everything else, with big windows and classic furniture.

Maddox leads me across the room and flips the light on in the attached bathroom. Which is just as nice. White subway tile with black grout covers the walls, making the room classic and pretty.

We move back out into the hallway, and Maddox shows me another guest suite that looks nearly identical. Then there's an unused spare office and yet another guest suite.

It's all very nice.

And very empty.

It feels like I'm in a fancy hotel that hasn't opened yet.

Finished with the second floor, Maddox leads us back to the stairs.

"I got the extra space so my family would have a place to stay when they visited. But my parents have yet to downsize, and anytime my brother even acts like he's gonna stay here instead of at my parents' house, my mom acts like her life is ending."

His description makes me huff out a laugh. "Moms can be dramatic."

Maddox squeezes my fingers, reminding me we've been holding hands this entire time. "Ruth seems reasonable."

I scoff. "I'm sorry, what part of anything she did or said was reasonable?"

"Telling Chelsea she could have boys over when she turned thirty-five."