Doll House: Book One

fifteen | cologne

Hodges arrived at the apartment right before dinner that night after Cecelia returned from the Rebel house.

She had been stirring the pasta sauce when she watched him walk in with a purpose. He hadn't seen Cecelia but in that moment, Chanel leaned over the banister of the stairs, further distracting him.

"Hi sir." She smiled while Candy hopped over and wrapped her arms around him in an embrace.

"Mr. Hodges, you came to visit us!" She gazed up at his tall frame with her irresistible eyes.

Since Hodges loved his dolls, he gave them all the privacy they needed with the apartment, stopping by only when an urgent matter arose or to join for a meal. In this case, Cecelia could guess which one he was present for.

"Are you joining us for dinner?" Chanel asked.

"No, not tonight." He removed Candy's arms from around him. "Where's Cecelia?"

Candy slowly smiled then pointed behind Hodges at the girl in question who paused her stir process.

"You need me?" She asked. Hodges gave a curt nod then started toward the recording room that had once been a library.

Cecelia rolled her eyes, handed the spoon to Candy, then followed him down the hall, shutting the French doors behind her.

"Cece," Hodges turned, "you know how I conduct business and we have an arrangement. So why is it that you're not keeping up your end?"

"The arrangement was that both of us chose to be with each other as long as it was kept quiet and didn't interfere with my work. What have I not kept up?"

"Your emotions aren't in check. Are you involved with Dax?"

"You've ignored me for the past two weeks for no reason."

"Are you involved with Dax?" He repeated more slowly.

"No, I'm not involved with anyone." She didn't know what he was even asking but she knew that she wasn't lying. They'd had sex twice but it was a matter of the moment. Dax was different and she enjoyed him, but 'involved'? How would that even be defined?

"Cece, you know I care about you, right?"

Cecelia looked at Hodges in confusion. Did he care about her as a person or just as one of his business ventures? She helped to distract him from reality but they also shared some great moments together. Their relationship was a constant game of ping pong which was hard to grapple with emotionally.

"Yeah, I know." She sighed, biting down on her bottom lip. He touched her chin then bent to kiss her lips.

"There's a lot of logistical things happening with Doll House and I need to make sure we're on the same page." He began. "Your only business with Dax is Sweet Tooth."

The intense gaze made Cecelia feel as though he knew more information about them. Was this why he'd ignored her? So that he could figure out how to handle the situation with Dax? No, no Hodges was so busy that he had no time to solve mysteries and investigate. However, he knew something, that was certain by the very fact that he brought it up in the first place.

"I know." Cecelia assured with a hard gulp. "We have to record and then attend the sexpo."

"That's fine, meet for those occasions and nothing else." He said. "It's unnecessary."

Cecelia felt uneasy about the request but she didn't protest. She reached for his hand and then leaned into him, accepting the way his arms wrapped around her body and embraced her frame. The citrusy scent of his Clive Christian cologne filled her senses and she melted into him, remembering how much she missed this.

Hodges was finally talking to her normally and it was all she wanted. Or maybe, it was all she thought that she wanted.