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I nodded as I sprinkled some chopped vegetables into the egg mixture. “I have one sister. Harlowe. She’s married to a biker in the Silver Saints MC, and they have a couple of kids. My parents are alive, but they aren’t really a part of our lives. How about you?”
“No siblings. I was a surprise to my parents after years of trying, so they were a little older when they had me. They’re retired and living in Florida.”
“We’ll have to take a trip out to see them,” I told her with a smile. “I’d like to meet the people who brought me such an amazing woman.”
Cora smiled brightly, and we chatted a little more about our lives while I finished cooking.
“Can, um...can I ask you something else?”
“I’m an open book to you, gingersnap,” I replied automatically. But then I realized that wasn’t exactly true. Breakfast was done, so I moved over to stand between her legs, my hands resting on her thighs. “As much as I can be. You understand that, right? There will always be things I can’t share with you, but only when it comes to my job.” She nodded, and I waited for a cloud of doubt to enter her eyes, but instead, I saw nothing but sunshine. I kissed her lips quickly, then lifted her down from the counter and walked over to grab our plates and silverware. “Although,” I added when a thought occurred to me. “I’ll be able to tell you more once we’re married.”
7
Cora
Ishook my head, assuming I’d heard him wrong. “I’m sorry, what?”
“There will always be classified stuff that I can’t share with you, but once you’re my spouse, I’ll be able to be more open with you about some things.” He flashed me a sexy smirk and winked as he set everything for our meal on the small round table. “And I won’t even have to kill you afterward.”
“Ha-ha, you’re so funny.” I moved to his side and bumped him with my shoulder. “But seriously, you’re in the Navy. I totally get that there will be stuff you’re not able to tell me. That wasn’t the part I needed you to explain.”
He pulled out the chair in front of me and waited until I was seated to ask, “So it was the mention of marriage that took you by surprise?”
My eyes widened at his blasé tone. “Um, yeah. Of course it was.”
“I meant it when I said my only regret was not making you mine sooner.” He nudged one of the plates with an omelet that took up almost every inch of the flat surface. “So you can be damn sure I’m not going to dick around after you gave yourself to me.”
I almost choked on the bite of egg I’d just put in my mouth. After I swallowed it down and took a gulp of orange juice, I wheezed, “Having sex last night was fast, but talking about marriage this morning as though it’s a foregone conclusion is ultrasonic.”
“Oh, how wrong you are, gingersnap.” He grinned at me over the rim of his coffee mug. “We’ve known each other for more than a year already. That’s the opposite of fast. In fact, I’d call it downright snail-like.”
I arched my brow and pointed my fork at him. “And I’d call what you just said an exaggeration since we never had more than a short conversation until yesterday.”
“Don’t try to tell me that something wasn’t building between us during my visits to the bank.” He reached across the table to grip my left hand with his, brushing his thumb over the pulse point in my wrist. “Because we both know you’d be lying. It might’ve taken me way too long to pull my head out of my ass, but you’ve still been mine since day one.”
I kind of wished I could deflate Huntley’s ego a little since he was so darn confident, but I couldn’t deny what he said. And his certainty made him even more attractive, which was saying a lot. I’d thought he was the hottest guy I’d ever seen when we met, and my opinion hadn’t changed since then. To avoid responding, I shoved another bite of omelet into my mouth, making him chuckle as he flashed me a knowing look that made it clear I wasn’t fooling him at all.
When I started to get up to clear the table after we were done eating, he pressed his hand against my shoulder to keep me in my seat. “Relax, gingersnap. I’ve got it.”
“Nuh-uh.” I tilted my head back to look up at him. “You cooked, which means I clean. That’s the rule.”
“It’s a rule, huh?” He bent forward to brush his lips against mine. “Then I guess I can’t argue too much.”
“Exactly.” I grabbed my glass and followed him into the kitchen, laughing softly when he started rinsing the plates he was carrying and opened the dishwasher.
He glanced over at me and asked, “What?”
“I kind of assumed that not arguing meant you were going to go along with the rule.” I bumped my shoulder against his arm. “But you’re still cleaning up so I must’ve been wrong.”
He grinned as he stacked the plates in the bottom rack of the dishwasher. “Old habits die hard, I guess.”
I handed him a glass after rinsing it in the sink and smiled. “Lucky for you, I’m really enjoying the two of us doing everyday stuff together like washing the dishes. So I won’t give you too much crap for bending the cleanup rule.”
After everything was in the dishwasher and we washed our hands, Huntley caged me in with my back against the sink. With his hands gripping the edge of the counter, he lowered his head to capture my mouth in a deep kiss. I twined my arms around his neck as our tongues tangled. Breathless and more than a little turned on, I whimpered in protest when his phone chirped and he pulled away. “Sorry, gingersnap. That’s the tone I have set for the rear admiral, so I can’t ignore it.”
I was disappointed for our kiss to end, but I understood his job meant he couldn’t ignore his phone. He’d made a commitment to the Navy, which I respected. Gesturing toward the phone, I said, “No apology needed. Take the call. I should probably check my phone anyway.”
“Thanks.” He brushed his lips against mine again before striding over to the table to grab his phone.
