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The scent of bacon hit my nose. My stomach grumbled, the first part of my body waking up. I loved bacon, but I rarely cooked it because the last time I did, I started a fire. As good as it was, it wasn’t worth the cost of replacing the cabinets around my stove again.
My mouth watered, and my feet were on the ground before I’d processed being awake. Yawning, I walked down the hall into the kitchen. I jerked to a stop, taking in the sight.
Nathan’s back was to me. The muscles pulling his t-shirt tight as he transferred cooked bacon from the pan to a paper towel covered plate. My eyes tracked across his body, falling to his ass in his jeans. My mouth watered for a different reason now.
He turned, and I was greeted with his strong jaw and a hint of a smile on his lips. I didn’t know if he’d felt me watching him or heard my footsteps. But it was like he sensed I was there.
Butterflies erupted low in my belly as he looked at me with those serene blue eyes. I could get used to seeing that expression on his face. It was soft and sweet. It made my heart beat faster.
“Did I wake you?” His gaze turned to concern as he took me in, still dressed in my cotton pajama shorts and top. “I didn’t want to shut the bedroom door all the way in case you heard it. But I couldn’t leave it open because the light or noise might have woken you.”
“No, you’re fine.”
I’d convinced him to sleep over after the fundraiser last night. Not that it was hard. Especially because he was taking me to work today to watch me. But he’d had to call someone to bring him clean clothes.
I rarely enjoyed sleeping with someone else. They crept into my space. Or wanted to cuddle, even though it was the worst. Cuddling was a lie you saw in movies. You were too warm, or the position wasn’t comfortable.
Or so I’d thought. Until I’d fallen asleep with my head on Nathan’s chest. When I’d shifted off him in the middle of the night, he’d still been wearing his tux. It was sweet how he’d left it on, so he wouldn’t wake me.
“You didn’t need to do this.” His thoughtfulness had me smiling as he handed me a coffee. It was in one of my tumblers and doctored how I liked it. We’d only had coffee once, but he seemed to remember what I preferred.
“I wanted to.” His lip twitched as he placed a plate of food in front of me. “Better than starting off the day with a fire.”
“Hey.” My eyes narrowed, but there was no real heat behind my words.
As the first bite coated my tongue, I moaned. The bacon was extra crispy like I liked. And the eggs he’d made were runny. If I could cook, this would be exactly the breakfast I’d want to make for myself. Instead, I usually put a bagel in the toaster or grabbed a fast food sandwich.
“Wait. How did you know I was a terrible cook?” The thought had my fork stilling.
Had I mentioned it? I’d been too busy to make anything since the cameras were installed, so he hadn’t seen my failed attempts.
Nathan straightened where he was standing on the other side of the counter, eating his breakfast. “I smelt it the night you were attacked.”
“Oh.” He was more perceptive than I realized. I wondered what else he noticed. What little secrets I gave away without even realizing.
“Is this rude? Should I have asked first?” He looked so concerned that he’d overstepped that I forgot about my own worries. “I wanted to do something nice to show you how important last night was to me.”
His sincerity wrapped around my heart and squeezed. I felt overwhelmed by how he took my feelings into account with everything he did. He thought about my needs.
He was protecting me. He was my date at the fundraiser. He didn’t even close the bedroom door in case it woke me up. Never had anyone cared for me like this.
“I love it.” Setting my coffee down, I rounded the counter. “You don’t need permission to do something nice.”
I grasped the back of his neck, bringing his lips to mine in a kiss. It was slow and adoring. Perfect, just like this morning had been.
As I pulled away, Nathan swooped in, placing another gentle kiss to the freckles on my cheeks. Happiness flowed through me and I had a feeling he was ruining me from other men.
* * *
“So how much time do we have to go home and clean up if a patient vomits on us?”
I blinked at the student in the front row. Her brown hair was slicked back into a high ponytail. It bounced as she tilted her head to look at me.
“You don’t get to go home.”
“Gross. We just have to change into fresh scrubs the hospital provides?” My eyes flicked to the guy behind her. Sometimes I didn’t understand how clueless people were.
“They don’t provide anything.” I spoke calmly, even though I wanted to call them all stupid. “If you brought extra scrubs and you have a moment in between saving lives, then you can change. But there are a lot of shifts where you’re just have to live with it. Especially if it splashes on your shoes.”
