Page 21 of Bad Boy Husband

JAMESON

W hile Sadie had been getting settled in at the townhouse, I’d been sleeping at my place on the estate. I wasn’t the greatest fan of the current setup. Even she had asked a few times why I was doing it, but until everything was finalized between us, this felt like the safest way to go about it.

The safest for her, that was.

Generally speaking, I considered myself a man of control, but around her, restraint had always proven difficult. Hell, back in the day, she’d been the original test of my self-control.

Now that she was actually going to be my wife?

I shook my head and groaned as I reached for the remote to shut off my bedroom lights. Sometimes, I wondered why I was doing this to myself.

The way she’d been looking at me these last few days, I knew I wasn’t the only one feeling that old attraction with a vicious new force, but for now, all our problems were solved. Falling into bed together would only create new ones.

Rain drummed steadily against the roof, my room falling into darkness as I hit the button for the lights, but my brain wasn’t quite as easy to turn off.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her. The gentle swell of her breasts under those soft shirts she wore to work.

The way her tongue swept across her lips every time I slipped and glanced at her mouth.

How she’d looked in that bikini next to Trent’s pool.

All of it and so much more played in a reel across my mind, turning my cock into a steel pipe and my heart into the wings of a fucking hummingbird. I groaned again.

Two days ago, after she’d signed the prenup, I’d briefly contemplated just moving into the townhouse already. I’d never really lived there full-time, but I liked the place. I really liked the thought of sleeping under the same roof with her now that we were pretty much going full speed ahead.

But I’d promised her a month to decide and I didn’t want to complicate things before then. I’d also promised to be there as often as possible, and technically, I’d said we would live together, but I just needed a damn minute. The universe, however, seemed intent on testing me.

Just as my palm slid across my abs, my lips parting with anticipation, my phone rang. I had zero intention of answering until my home automation system told me who it was. “Incoming call from Sadie Shepard.”

My heart practically stalled and I sat up so fast I probably would’ve cracked a hip if I’d been a few years older. Flipping onto my side in the same motion, I grabbed the phone from my nightstand and picked up.

“You’re calling me after midnight. What’s wrong?”

“So, uh, you know how it’s pouring outside?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, let’s just say you’ve got a leak. A big one. There’s water gushing into the hallway, Jamie. It’s not pretty.”

“Fuck. I’m on my way. Just sit tight, okay?” I just about flew out of bed, all my other plans abandoned. I shoved a shirt over my head, grabbed a jacket, and headed out.

It was the middle of the night. The rain was coming down in sheets that made it difficult to see, but I made it to the city and downtown in no time thanks to the lack of traffic.

I burst into the townhouse like a one-man army, alarmed by the fact that she was in this situation because of me.

I’d meant for her to be safer living here, not to risk the damn ceiling falling on her head.

Sadie was sitting in the living room with Hooch, who’d made himself at home on the couch with her. I tried not to imagine how much slobber he was leaving behind. He lifted his giant head when I walked in, but it wasn’t his big, chestnut bulk that caught my eye.

It was her, wearing skimpy pink pajama shorts and a white tank that didn’t leave a whole hell of a lot to the imagination. I swallowed past the stab of lust that made a resurgence and strode over to her. “Are you okay? How bad is it?”

She winced, tilting her chin toward the stairs before bringing her gaze back to my own.

Her red hair was loose and messy, making it obvious she’d at least been trying to sleep—if she hadn’t already been dreaming—when the water had started gushing, but her eyes were bright, as if going to bed was the furthest thing from her mind.

“It’s up there,” she said. “It’s, uh, well, it’s not great.”

I nodded and spun toward the stairs, but I was only halfway across the room when I saw it—the water trickling down from above. It ran down the staircase in rivulets, and as I ascended, the situation only got worse.

From the landing, I immediately spotted the source of the water, a major leak that had turned my upstairs wall into an indoor waterfall pouring in from the roof above. I groaned. I hadn’t noticed any water damage before, but obviously, this storm had been the straw that had broken the camel’s back.

“Can I help you pack some stuff?” I called back down the stairs. “You and Hooch are going to have to come home with me. I’ll call someone about this in the morning, but I think it’s safe to say you’re not going to be able to stay here tonight.”

I really didn’t like having people in my actual house, my home on my parents’ property, but I couldn’t just leave them here. The storm could rage on for days without anyone being able to fix the leak and Sadie probably wouldn’t complain, but I knew she wouldn’t be comfortable here.

“I’ll do it.” Her voice came from right behind me, and when I turned, I saw that she’d come upstairs and was now looking at me like this whole situation was endlessly amusing to her. “I’ll just grab some clothes for tomorrow. If we need to stay longer, I’ll come back to get more.”

Without waiting for a response, she strode around me into the bedroom and emerged less than a minute later, a ratty backpack with a tiny bulge at the bottom in her hand. “Almost done. I just need to get some food for Hooch. Then we can go.”

I followed her back downstairs, and together, we somehow managed to squeeze Hooch into my car for the ride back to the estate. The universe was clearly out to screw with me tonight, though.

First Hooch, who I was becoming certain was an industrial slobber machine disguised as a dog, made himself at home on my ridiculously expensive, custom-design sofa, and then Sadie trudged in, drenched from the rain, hair dripping down the back of her neck like some siren from a soggy shipwreck.

“I didn’t bring extra pajamas,” she said, grimacing before she let out a sigh. “Have you got a towel I can borrow? I’ll just throw these in the dryer.”

“Let me get you a change of clothes,” I offered, mouth dry as I tried not to stare at the white fabric clinging to her chest. “There’s a towel in the guest bathroom just down the hall that you can use in the meantime.”

Turning on the formerly gleaming tiles that were now covered in water, slobber, and God only knew what else, I strode through the dark house, the lights turning on automatically as I made my way up to my bedroom.

I rummaged through my dresser and grabbed one of my old college shirts, soft from too many washes, and a pair of gym shorts that looked so comically large in her hands I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing.

When she disappeared to change, I paced the living room, mentally formulating a plan to keep my furniture and sanity intact while they were staying here. I would need an indoor towel station. Maybe?—

A gasp followed by a giggle floated down the stairs and I felt the blood drain from my face. Oh, hell.

I took the steps two at a time and found Sadie standing in the open doorway to what was supposed to be a locked storage room. My secret sanctuary.

“What are these?” she asked, half-laughing, half-incredulous as she took in the sight of my prized collection.

Five—okay, seven—immaculate, vintage vacuum cleaners. Gleaming chrome, polished handles, giant floor nozzles, and huge cloth bags. Each one lovingly restored over years of careful tinkering. I’d gotten them from eBay auctions and one in a shameful bidding war at a Paris estate sale.

Mortally embarrassed that she’d found them, I cleared my throat and cursed myself for making my motion sensors so damn sensitive. If I hadn’t, the light in this room would’ve stayed off when she’d passed.

“They’re… vacuums.”

Her eyes danced, lips twitching like she was trying not to burst out laughing. “Vacuums?”

“It’s not weird,” I rushed out, heat crawling up my neck. “They’re mid-century. Hoover. Electrolux. Kirby. All original parts. Except that one, which needed a replacement cord. It’s?—”

“A hobby?” she teased, stepping closer to me with her feet bare and her hair still damp from the rain. “This is your passion, isn’t it? The one you wouldn’t tell me about the other day.”

“I’m not a freak,” I said stiffly even as I felt my ears turn red. “I just enjoy antiquing from time to time.”

She turned, that same wicked grin I remembered from our summer together tugging at her lips. “Of all the things I thought I’d find in your secret room, this wasn’t it.”

“Yeah, well,” I muttered, scrubbing a hand across the back of my neck. “I could’ve collected sports cars like everyone else. At least this makes me interesting. Although I do also have a bunch of vintage cars.”

She tilted her head. Those blue eyes studied my face like she was seeing a side of me she’d almost forgotten existed. “I think it’s actually kind of sweet.”

I stared back at her, or maybe it was more of a gawk. “You do?”

“Yeah,” she said, smiling now. “You always were a weirdo. To tell you the truth, it’s kind of nice to know you haven’t completely given up that part of yourself.”

Somehow, the way she said it made me feel lighter than I had in years. I dipped my chin back at the staircase anyhow. “Come on, let’s go back down there before you start trying to use one.”

Sadie laughed but followed me out, leaving the door wide open behind her as if she really didn’t feel the need to hide what I kept in there. Like it was just another room I didn’t use to conceal my most embarrassing secret.

On our way back to the living room, she prodded me gently, sounding curious instead of judgmental or even worse, afraid of me for being a freak. “How on earth did you get into that? I think it’s really cool, but I honestly don’t know how you would’ve discovered a passion like that.”

“In another life, I think I would have been an engineer. Or an inventor,” I said, admitting it out loud for the very first time.

It was still way too easy to talk to her, especially since she wasn’t suddenly looking at me any differently.

“When I was a kid, I spent whole afternoons taking apart my grandmother’s old Hoover and putting it back together again.

It didn’t even need fixing. I just liked figuring out how it all fit. ”

“So you inherited her vacuum?” Sadie guessed out loud. “And that kickstarted this idea of collecting more?”

“Nah, I don’t know what happened to that old thing,” I said lightly. “I got into collecting just because I like to clean. It’s my thing. Sort of.”

God, I was rambling. My brain screamed at me to shut up before I buried myself completely, but the words kept coming in circles, looping over themselves. She had to think I was completely off my rocker.

“There’s too much chaos in the world. Too many things that are way outside of our control, and I like it when things make sense.

I like it when my personal surroundings are clean and tidy, you know?

When things are where they should be, the world feels a little safer.

So I like to clean. And that’s how I got into it. ”

Sadie’s face lit up in a way that punched me right in the chest. “This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. And it makes total sense.”

I frowned. “Does it?”

She nodded. “You should display them. Be proud.”

“Absolutely not,” I snapped immediately. “No one can know about this.”

She shrugged, still smiling like she genuinely wasn’t contemplating running for the hills. “Well, I love antique shops. I could look out for parts for you if you want.”

For a second, it felt like my heart had forgotten how to beat. She was actually trying. Reaching across this weird, awkward space between us to connect with something that was mine. Something real.

Just when I thought that maybe, just maybe, this was the moment I would finally get to kiss her again, she grinned devilishly. “Do you also have a model train set in the basement? Or I don’t know… bodies? Before I legally bind myself to you, is there anything else I should know?”

I let out a short laugh, stepping back to put some distance between us, and shook my head. “No bodies, but I do go to the AVS conference every year.”

She blinked. “AVS?”

“Antique Vacuum Society,” I clarified. “I’m a VIP.”

“I bet you are.” She snorted softly and giggled. “You’re such a nerd.”

Suddenly closing the space between us again, she swept onto her tiptoes, kissed me on the cheek. Her lips were warm and gone too quickly, but it was still enough to send my pulse into a tailspin.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Jameson,” she said, turning to leave like nothing had happened, and that was that.

Until the next morning, when I rolled over and hit a wall. A warm, wrinkly, drooling, snoring wall. Hooch was sprawled across my mattress with his tongue lolling out, dead asleep.

I was balanced on the very edge of my own damn bed, wondering how exactly my life had turned into this. And then I realized that I honestly didn’t hate it.