Page 62 of Carver’s Craving

Well, shit.

Not entirely unpredictable. His kiss was exactly the same as well. Because the essence of Styx hadn’t changed in the last five days. And, although my world had tilted on its axis once I realized he was back in my life, I hadn’t changed either. Physically, at least. Emotionally, I was different. Rawer because Styx was back, and I was faced with the past. More stable, because I’d seen a therapist and was making progress. Sure, I’d only had one session—but that was a start.

I met Styx’s gaze. Slowly, I nodded.

He narrowed his eyes. “You already figured it out.”

Again, I nodded.

“How?”

“When you told me your name was Steven. I mean—” I swallowed. “The jolt of recognition on the street was the first thing. I knew you, but I also knew you, without understanding why. If that makes sense.”

He pursed his lips. “Sort of. When you called my name, I thought you were a fan. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind for dealing with that. When I realized you were the one calling my name, I had a sense of déjà vu. I mean, we know each other, of course. But the feeling was more visceral.”

“Yeah. Same.”

“Look, stop kneeling. I think we need to finish dinner and then have a serious conversation.”

My stomach dropped.

He smacked my biceps. “Not like that. Sheesh. I mean, unless you want it to be like that.”

Since I wasn’t one-hundred percent certain what that was, I simply nodded and returned to my food.

The meal was mostly consumed, so eating the last few admittedly cold bites wasn’t too hard. Well, besides the tightness in my chest and the roiling in my gut.

“Are you tired?” Styx rose and grabbed our empty plates. “You asked me to run the dogs out, right?”

Poppin scrambled off the couch and came to stand by Styx.

I eyed her.

She stuck her chin out in defiance. Clearly she’d discovered another human to wrap around her little paw.

“How about I do the dishes while you take them out?” I really was tired—but now also energized. In my heart, I knew I was about to have one of the most important conversations of my life. Because my future hinged on what happened next.

Styx eyed me.

I waved him off.

He walked to the front hall, grabbed the coats, and brought them back. Soon Walter and Poppin were ready to go.

I attached Poppin’s leash and handed it to Styx while he cradled Walter. A moment later, the three of them were gone. I hustled back to the kitchen. Styx tended to clean as he cooked, so I didn’t have many dishes to put in the dishwasher. Leftovers went in the fridge, and I made myself a sandwich for tomorrow.

As I finished wiping the counter, Styx hustled into the house with the dogs. “Okay, it’s freezing out, and I swear it’ll snow soon.” He unclipped Poppin, removed everyone’s coat—including his own—and then carried Walter to the couch.

I brought the spoons with the peanut butter and meds to the dogs. Keeping careful track of which was which, I plopped onto the couch between the two of them and held the things out.

Styx, who’d removed his boots, dropped onto the recliner.

I met his gaze. “Your ears are red.”

“It’s damn cold out. Are you working outside tomorrow?”

I nodded. “That’s the plan. Roofing.”

“I thought you did scaffold.” He squinted.