I open Beau’s bedroom door to find him typing away on his laptop.

“We said no work,” I say, standing there like an outsider. In so many ways, an outsider. Why did I ever think we were like a family? What kind of insane adrenaline rush made that thought run through my head. Mr. Rochester, and I will call him Mr. Rochester from now on, is my boss.

“You said no work,” he says without looking up. “I can type just as good sitting down as standing up. The hydrocodone makes it so I can tell people to get their heads out of their asses.”

“You don’t do that already?”

“I can say it better now.”

“There’s someone at the door.”

He does look up then. “Who?”

We live on a remote cliffside. It’s not exactly flush with visitors. Mrs. Fairfax comes once a day. She brings any groceries or supplies we need. The Uber driver was right about that—the only place that winding, terrifying road leads is the Coach House.

“A woman. Umm, I probably should have asked for her name. She said you’re dating.”

His eyes become veiled. “I’m not dating anyone.”

“So I should send her away?”

“What does she look like?”

“You’re going to date a random crazy person if they look good?”

A quirk of his lips. “I’m trying to figure out who she is. Not gauge if I should date her.”

“Pretty. Blonde. Rich.”

He sighs. “Shockingly that does help me figure it out. It’s Zoey. Send her up.”

“Mr. Rochester—”

“What happened to calling me Beau?”

“I guess that stopped when you started dating some pretty rich blonde woman.”

An eyebrow rises. “Are you jealous?”

“No,” I say. “I need to call Noah anyway and let him know what happened.”

Mr. Rochester narrows his eyes. “Send up Zoey. And then leave us alone. I think she can handle my needs from here on out.”

I slam the door, which is childish. I’m feeling childish at the moment. I let Zoey in with a brittle smile and go back to heating up the lobster casserole. Sure enough, Zoey comes down to get servings of the dinner for both of them. They eat together in his room.

Only a few days ago, he kissed me. He touched me. He made me come.

What was I thinking?

Besides the fact that he was very good at it.

I’m no one to him. My cheeks heat with embarrassment. I was convenient to him. He probably imagined her beautiful blonde hair when I went down on him in the study.

When I finally make it to my bedroom, I don’t call Noah.