“You’re staying for dinner, right? A couple of friends are coming over, too, to say hello to my parents.”
“Yeah, I’ll be here. I want to spend as much time with Jules as I can before she goes back to Portland,” she says.
Juliet leaves in the morning, and while I’ll miss her the way I always do…
“Maybe tomorrow I can sneak over after bedtime. We can have the house to ourselves,” I say, stepping closer to her and rubbing my nose along hers, reveling in the breathy gasp that escapes her.
“Like teenagers when the parents are away,” she says, a sly twitch stretching her mouth.
“Something like that,” I say. “Though, I don’t have much experience sneaking out to meet girls.” It was never my style. Besides that, my parents were always laid-back about giving me the freedom to do typical kid shit. Maybe that’s why there wasn’t any appeal to it; there wasn’t any danger.
“Well, I have no experience with sneaking boys into my room.”
“No? You were a good girl, huh?”
“Not by choice,” she says. “My mother was a light sleeper and absolutely would have caught me. Plus, I was the tall, gangly girl in school. Boys weren’t interested.”
“Lou, I believe you believe that. But trust me, they were plenty interested. They were probably just more intimidated.”
“Wrong.” She rolls her eyes playfully.
“Oh, I’m right,” I say, laughing. “There is no way in hell any smelly Arkansas boy in his Levi’s jeans and Roper boots wasn’t drooling over you every day.”
“What do you know about Ropers?”
“Not a fucking thing. This is the coastal Pacific Northwest; boys around here wore Vans and Birkenstocks.”
“Did you wear your Birkenstocks with socks?”
“Fuck yes, I did,” I say. “And I’ll hear no arguments from the youth of today as they walk around in holey plastic shoes with little fucking charms on them.”
“Fair point,” she says, her mouth curved wide. Damn, she’s got an amazing smile. It’s no wonder it earns her a living.
“You know, when you smile at me, I feel like a hero,” I say, before I can feel embarrassed about it. Her cheeks warm and her eyes take on a sheen.
“You are a hero, Grady.” I lie to myself and think she isn’t talking about my profession. She raises on her toes, pressing a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “I’m going to shower before dinner.”
“Okay, it should be ready around six. Dad tends to get hangry past that time.”
“I don’t believe Gray gets angry, at all.”
“That’s only because he’s on his best behavior in front of you.”
“Hmm.” She purses her lips, skeptically. “Can I bring anything? I think I have everything I need to whip up a poppyseed, lemon-curd loaf for dessert.”
“Oh, you just happen to have that laying around, do you?” I tease, not knowing what lemon curd even is.
“Is that weird?”
“No, Lou,” I tell her, pulling her closer with a hand at the back of her neck. “Nothing about you is weird. Bake your concoction. My mother and daughter will fall in love with you for it.”
She blinks wildly, and I kiss her, loving the way she doesn’t hesitate to kiss me back. Her slender fingers tickle my hip,sending blood places it should currently be ignoring. In this way, I’m like a teenager, also. The way tiny flutters erupt in my abdomen. The rush of adrenaline she sends racing through me with the slightest attention.
Tomorrow night can’t come soon enough. The squeak of the door grabs my attention, and I catch Paige peeking around. When my eyes meet hers, she quickly ducks back and closes the door behind her.
“Shit, was that Paige?” Lou asks.
“It was.” I nod. “I’ll talk to her.”
