June walks out with the cake, a wide grin on her face as she sets it down in front of us.
“Are you two ready?”
We both nod. Mark grabs the knife and hands it to me. “Would you like to do the honors?”
“I would love to.”
I slice the cake, wiggling the knife a bit to allow me a peek inside the cake. I nudge Mark as groans of impatience fill the kitchen. They fade quickly when Mark’s watery eyes meet mine.
My heart swells, and the urge to grab him and kiss him tingles at my fingertips and lips.
The idea scares me, because after our daughter is here, which part of me will win . . . my head or my heart?
CHAPTER TEN
Mark
I’m not sure what I expected when it came to Syd and I living together, but I sure as heck didn’t think it would be like living in a television show. You know the one; two friends who find themselves in an intimate situation and can’t stop looking at each other and don’t ever want to take their hands off each other. In a way, it is like that, but in another way it’s not. For one, Syd doesn’t wear anything but long sleeves and pajama pants to bed. So, it’s not exactly what I imagined. The weird side of me finds it even sexier. And don’t get me started on the fact that we have matching pajama pants. When we both walked out with red and black striped pants the other morning, we about died of laughter.
Her door opens, creaking just slightly as I stand in the kitchen, buttering my toast. I’m glad I went with a modest-sized home and not one I’d have to question whether she was here. As I told her, I like having her close. It feels right. I just hope that one day she feels the same.
“Good morning,” I greet her with a smile, pretending to ignore how gorgeous she is in the mornings.
“Morning,” she replies groggily.
“Hey, I saw those new graphics for your brother’s new book on his Instagram. Did you make those? I remember you mentioning last year that you were going to school for graphic design.”
Her face lights up. “I am and did. They were so fun to make. They were such a hit that a couple of his friends from his writers’ group emailed to see if I could make them some. I can’t wait. Do you want to see some of them later?”
“Yes,” I say quickly. “Have you ever thought of making that into a career? You’d be fantastic at it.”
“I have.” She nods. “But I’m not sure I know enough about the business side to make it successful.”
“I could help you.”
“You would do that?”
“Yep. Just let me know when.” I force a smile.
“Great, but in the meantime, can you start wearing a shirt?”
I chuckle.
“Disgusted?”
“Something like that?”
“Sure, okay, I’ll put it on if you tell me why.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Act like you don’t know why I want you to put clothes on. Just because we are friends doesn’t mean I don’t think you are attractive.” She lets out a sarcastic laugh. “If anything, I find you even more desirable than ever before. The mood just won’t go away.” She takes out a bottle of coconut water and pours it into a glass. I can’t stop watching her as she lifts the glass to her lips.
Straight coconut water is nasty, but damn, I sure wish I could be that glass, and from what she just said, she does too.
More than before? What does she mean by that?
