“Fuck me properly? If last night was how you fuck me improperly, I’ll have another serving of that, please.”

She rolled her eyes and readjusted her robe to hide the breast I’d bared. “Make yourself a cup of coffee,” she said, cinching the belt on her robe tight. “We have time. In fact…” She grabbed her phone from the speaker dock and tapped on the screen before sitting it back on the dock again.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out. When I saw the alert, I laughed. It was an invitation for a dick appointment an hour and a half from now. I accepted the invitation. Her phone chimed from where it sat in the speaker dock and smiled a secret smile.

“So…lemon ricotta pancakes,” she said, heading toward the pantry. “It’s been so long since I’ve made them. I hope I remember the recipe.”

I licked my lips, still tasting her, and grabbed a coffee cup out of the cabinet. “Where’s the bourbon?”

“In the freezer, sweetheart.”

Sweetheart. The endearment warmed me, and in that moment, I decided to indulge in a bit of fantasy.

Darcy re-emerged from the pantry, her arms full of the ingredients for the pancakes. “Could you grab the big mixing bowl from the top shelf in the cabinet by the fridge? Minerva is taller than me, and I swear she puts things where I can’t reach just to wind me up.”

I went to retrieve the bowl she wanted, feeling her eyes on me the whole time. I’d briefly considered running over to the garçonnière to change, but now I was glad I hadn’t. “Where’s Minerva this morning?”

“I gave her the day off, so she’s spending it with her grandkids.”

“Minerva has grandkids?” I asked, setting the bowl on the kitchen island. “Why is that such a surprise to me?”

“Probably because she’s here so much you thought she was a live-in. Minerva has been the one constant in my life. I’m so grateful for her.” She shook her head and opened the utensil drawer to retrieve measuring spoons and a whisk. “She was there for me when I was a new wife, a new mother, a new widow… Minnie has become a sort of security blanket for me.”

I leaned on the counter across from where she was setting up, and her eyes immediately went to my shoulders and my bare chest. Yeah, shirtless was definitely a good decision. “But you and Minnie are close, right? I mean, it’s not your typical employer/employee relationship.”