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ADDISON
Hours later, I’m standing in front of Drake’s place. When his front door swings open, I’m greeted with two adorable dimples and a look of excitement.
“I just ordered pizza. You hungry?” he asks, shifting his body so I can head into the house.
This time, I do a better job of not reacting to the mammoth dog lying on the ground.
“That depends on what kind you ordered,” I tease. At this point, he could probably hand feed me a slice with anchovies and black olives, and I’d still gladly accept.
“Oh, don’t tell me you’re a pizza snob. Let me guess,” he says, following close behind as I head into the living room. “Pepperoni, light sauce, just a little bit of cheese, then you blot it with a paper towel before taking teeny, tiny bites.”
I spin around, a mock frown on my face, and cock my head in surprise.“I’m going to let that slide, only because that’s exactly how Olivia eats her pizza.”
He throws his head back and groans, rubbing his rib cage with his hand. “And here I was thinking she was perfect.”
I narrow my eyes on him, taking that comment in and trying to digest it. “Okay, we’ll be coming back to that later,” I say, struggling to raise my bag-loaded arms. “But first, can I put these somewhere?”
“Oh shit, sorry.” He grabs the large suitcase from my hand and motions toward a short hallway opposite the kitchen.
There are two bedrooms side by side and a bathroom across the hall.The first bedroom is obviously Drake’s. The door is open, the bed unmade, and there’s a big chair overflowing with clothes in the back corner.
He leads me to the second bedroom and flips on the light, a wave of violet smacking me in the face. There’s a purple bedspread, purple curtains, even a purple rug on the already plush tan carpet. Almost every item is a different shade of the color. The furniture is white, with a whimsical, swirly design more fitting for a child than an adult. Still, the bed is huge, probably a queen, and seeing it makes me realize how exhausted I actually am.
“Hope you like purple,” he says, arms splayed out to his sides and a proud grin taking over his features. “This is Willow’s room.”
I laugh, understanding dawning as I drop my remaining two bags onto the bed. “She stays here? I mean, enough to need her own bedroom?”
He nods, hesitating only slightly before explaining. “Willow first started staying with me when Emily had to spend nights at the hospital. Or when she was really sick from the chemo. Chase would stay with her, and I’d watch Willow. Now, it’s whenever Emily could use some extra rest, or just because. The kid’s been bugging me for an upgrade, something more ‘sophisticated,’ as she says.” He pauses, growing somber and parking his hands on his hips. “I’m not sure how much longer she’ll need this place as an escape, though, so we’ll see.”
I look at him thoughtfully, wondering how deep his connection to Emily goes. “Well, I’m sure she’ll always enjoy your company. I mean, who wouldn’t, right?” I knock my elbow into his arm with a wink, placing that sweet smile back on his face.
He walks up to the bed and hunches over at the waist, bouncing his hands twice on top. “Now, I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that this bed is damn comfortable. I spent almost a grand on this bad boy, and I assure you that you’ll have the best sleep of your life.”
“What’s the bad news?”
“The bad news,” he draws out slowly, crossing his arms in front of his chest and eyeing me with a serious expression, “is that in addition to this being Willow’s room, it’s also Kevin’s. Sleeping with him helps her feel safe, so at eight p.m.—he’s very punctual; it’s actually kind of incredible—he will get his lazy ass up from that rug in the living room and plant himself right on this bed.”
I look down to the bed and back up to Drake, eyebrows raised.“You think we’ll both fit?” I ask, mostly joking, but kind of not. “Thatthing—”
“Kevin,” he corrects, finger in the air.
“Kevin is a giant. What if he crushes me? What if he farts? I’ve heard dogs have some really volatile farts.”
“Eh, you only need to worry about his farts if he eats one thing in particular.” He waves his hand in the air, adding, “You’ll be fine.”
Maybe it could be nice having a bedmate again. Even if he is a little hairier than my preferred type.
“It is his house,” I say.
“And his bed.”
I shrug my shoulders. “I guess it’s settled, then. But I expect him to be a perfect gentleman and keep his paws to himself.”
“I’m insulted you would even suggest that my sweet pup would be anything but gentlemanly to the new lady of the house.”
A ringing doorbell stops me from my retort.
Drake raises his eyebrows at me and says, “Pizza” before leaving the room.
