Page 6 of Stripping Bare

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Asheville, NorthCarolina

One YearAgo

It was November,and Jonah was sweating his ass off. But that was what standing on the porch of Tessa’s parents’ stone-and-timber home got him. A big ol’ pool of flopsweat.

Because he hadn’t seen her since the day he’d walked out of Steele Trap for the lasttime.

Trying to cool the hell off, he turned back his shirt cuffs, which revealed the tats on his forearms. An intricate triforce on one and a chrono trigger on the other, both done in black and jewel tones. Seeing as his own mom had cried a little when she’d seen them, it probably wasn’t the best idea to leave them uncoverednow.

Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs.Martin.

I’m JonahSteele.

I’m the dickhead who once abandoned your daughter on this veryporch.

Oh, and then years later, I screwed her on my office desk. And I now need her help to get my tattooed ass out of asling.

Yeah, that wouldn’t go overwell.

He rolled down his sleeves and rang thebell.

“Hello?” The woman who answered the door stunned him. Although her skin was several shades lighter than Tessa’s, she had the same dark eyes and welcoming smile. This was what Tessa would look like twenty or thirty years fromnow.

And Jonah would still want her twenty or thirty years fromnow.

“I’m…ah…you’re…” Jesus, when had he developed a stutter? He stuck out his hand. “I’m Jonah, and I’m here to see Tessa. Is shearound?”

He’d initially tried to call her in Seattle, but he’d been told she was away for Thanksgiving. So he’d taken the chance that she was here with herfamily.

“She’s in the kitchen, helping me with a turkey casserole. Would you like to come in? I could get you a hotdrink.”

He wasn’t sure he deserved to be invited inside their home, so he just said, “This will only take a minute if she’s willing to comeoutside.”

Mrs. Martin’s smilewavered.

“We used to worktogether.”

It must’ve all connected for her, because her pretty eyes widened. But she recovered quickly and said, “I’ll gether.”

Jonah turned to stare out at the scenery—trees losing the very last of their leaves, their piles heaped in yards and filling the ditches. The natural death of late fall, which normally depressed the hell out ofhim.

But this year was different. This was the year Micki had come home, and he’d be damned if she’d leaveagain.

But Tessa was the only one who could guarantee Micki couldstay.

“Jonah? This is asurprise.”

He whirled around to find her wearing an honest-to-goodness apron—with a white bib and ruffles along the skirt—over a black outfit. But in his mind, he pictured her naked, hip cocked in invitation and feather duster at theready.

Dude, stay away from the sexy maidfantasies.

He definitely didn’t have any right to those thoughts, not after what he’d done to her. After he’d deliberately kept his distance. After he’d sold his company to get the hell away fromher.

“You look”—Kissable? Edible?—“good.”

But she didn’t smile at him the way her mother had. In fact, her eyes were guarded. “What are you doinghere?”