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Chapter Nine
Mark was gone again when I woke up. He’d made love to me twice last night, proving definitively that he was a man unafraid to show his emotions through physical touch. Most importantly though, he hadn’t pushed beyond my limitation of still needing the lights off.
And as after our first night together, he left mystery bags on my kitchen counter. I marveled at the fact that he’d not only gotten up early enough to leave before dawn, but had also come back to leave his thoughtful purchases. Intrigued, I moved first to the coffee cup and smiled at the Post-it: “Drink me. I know you’re tired.”
Item number two was a brown bag with bagels and cream cheese. Also included were two containers of fresh fruit. I knew he’d gotten them mainly for Tristan, which made the gesture even sweeter. “Enjoy your breakfast” is what the note said.
Finally the third item was a rosebud and “You’re beautiful.”
Sex without strings just became a whole lot stringy-er, and I didn’t mind one bit.
I lifted the flower to my nose and inhaled deeply. Maybe this was karma’s way of giving me a good man this time around. The problem was the doubts which immediately followed. I wondered what in the world had him settling for a single mom with a mere high school education and stretch marks.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to shut up my inner critic. Pesky bitch was determined to bring me down. Damn, another dollar in the swear jar. Shit. Two more. Crap. Now three. Wait, internal cursing didn’t count. Whew.
I texted him quickly.
“You’re amazing and I don’t mean just in bed.”
I regretted the message the minute I sent it, overthinking my attempt at being funny, but then I shrugged. Hell, Mark had already been exposed to my madness in all its glory. If I couldn’t be myself with him, of all people, then who could I be real with?
His response made me smile. “I look forward to expanding upon that compliment tonight.”
His nerdy reply had me grinning.
* * *
Later that night,as I stirred the chili I’d made in the Crockpot, I waited for the knock on the door. I’d traded in my usual sweats for skinny jeans and had put on a cute top instead of a hoodie. And maybe I’d done more than merely swipe my lips with Chap Stick and put up my hair in a ponytail. I wanted to look somewhat pretty for Mark.
But instead of the knock, my phone buzzed with his number. “Hi, there. You running late?” I asked.
His audible sigh answered my question before his words did. “I wish. Instead, I’m stuck down in New York and heading with Josh to LA tomorrow morning.”
“Oh.” Even in the one word, I was unable to hide my disappointment.
“Sorry, Jules.”
“No, don’t be. I mean I am, too, but it’s work, and I understand.” I did. However, I was still wishing he was here. But he had an important job.
“Most likely I won’t be back until late Friday. We could do something then.”
“Actually, Brian called. He and Sasha will be in town for the weekend starting on Friday.”
“Good grief. Don’t tell me it’s another party or charity event? I swear, it’s something every weekend these days.”
“Um, it’s my thirtieth birthday, so everyone is taking me out on Saturday night. I told them they didn’t have to, especially since they were up just last weekend for Catherine’s party. But they were insistent.”
It was true. I hadn’t wanted the fuss, but Brian and Sasha wouldn’t take no for an answer. Truth be told, I was happy to have a reason to celebrate. But evidently Mark wasn’t so keen on these social gatherings.
In response, I heard a loud clunk on the other side of the line.
“Are you there? What was that noise?”
“That was the sound of me beating my phone against my head as I cringe. I didn’t mean to be a complete asshole about your birthday celebration.”
I laughed. “It’s not as though you knew. And I have to admit this crowd does seem to have a lot of parties and functions going on.”
“I shouldn’t complain. It gets me out of the house. Is Saturday your party?”
