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“Sure.” She waited for him to walk into her bathroom and shut the door before she relaxed and sighed, staring at the ceiling. What am I doing?
He was back before she could muster the energy to second-guess herself. Gideon pulled down the comforter and waited for her to climb beneath it before he followed suit. She tensed, waiting for the inevitable awkwardness, but he just slipped in behind her and guided her so he could spoon her. He kissed the back of her neck. “Sleep.”
Lucy thought it impossible, but the heat of him and the feel of safety being tucked against his big body lulled her circling thoughts to a standstill. Between one breath and the next, she slipped into a deep sleep.
Gideon woke to the smell of bacon. For one disorientating moment he didn’t know where he was, but then the events of the night came rushing back to him. Lucy. Her apartment. Sleeping here. He sat up and scrubbed a hand over his face. I told her I missed her and then I stayed the night. For all his intentions of respecting her intentions, Gideon was doing a piss-poor job of following through.
Worse, he’d been so focused on himself, he hadn’t stopped to ask her how she was doing after seeing Jeff again—a week ago. Fuck me. He stopped in the bathroom to brush his teeth as best he could with a finger and pulled on his pants.
He found Lucy in the kitchen, opening a series of take-out containers. She looked fresh and happy, her hair back in a low-key ponytail, and wore black leggings and a blue sweater that matched her eyes. She smiled when she saw him. “Morning.”
“Morning.” He took in the spread. “What’s all this?”
“I think we can both agree that cooking isn’t one of my strengths, so I popped out and grabbed something edible.” She grabbed two mugs from one of her cabinets. “Coffee, however, I am capable of throwing together.”
“Survival skill.”
“Exactly.” She passed him a full cup and her expression turned serious. “Can we have today?”
Gideon took a careful drink of the scalding liquid and contemplated her. For all that she appeared relaxed on the surface, there was an underlying tension there. “And after today?”
“I figure we’re due a conversation, but we have plans today and I don’t want to ruin them by talking this to death. I’m happy and I want to hold on to that.”
Meaning that this talk wouldn’t make her feel happy—or him, for that matter. Gideon already knew what was coming. He’d muddied the waters by showing up last night, and taken it a step further by staying and holding her while they’d slept. They hadn’t talked about lessons after that first time they’d had sex, which was supposed to be the whole purpose of this exercise. She’d also been on exactly one date.
He had to fix that.
He would rather chew off his own arm than set her up on any more dates, but that was what he’d given his word he’d do. Lucy trusted him and he couldn’t betray that trust. Not again.
Gideon forced an easy smile onto his face. “Sure, we can have today.” He didn’t want to have that talk any more than she appeared to want it, so he wasn’t going to worry about a few hours spent without overthinking things. “I thought you had lunch with your sister?”
“She got called in to cover a class and had to cancel.” Lucy gave him a small smile. “I know we had planned for this afternoon, but I’m free all day if you are.”
“I’m free.” Gideon had been looking forward to this date all damn week, so he hadn’t put anything else on his schedule.
Because that was exactly what this was, even if Lucy didn’t realize it. A date.
Maybe she does realize it and that’s why she’s asking to shelve the conversation we obviously need to have until tonight.
She gave him a sunny smile. “Good. In that case, eat up while I jump in the shower.” She pushed the food toward him, grabbed her mug and strolled out of the kitchen.
He spent half a second considering following her and making the shower one to remember, but if Gideon read the signs correctly, Lucy needed time. It had been that way with them from the start of this—she’d take a step forward and need time to acclimate. He could respect that. He would respect that. If he pushed too hard, too fast, she’d bolt, and this time he’d never hear from her again. It wasn’t a risk he was willing to take, especially now when it felt like they were close to something that could actually be real.
If she’d take that leap of faith with him.
He ate quickly and cleaned up the containers. By that time, the shower had turned off, so Gideon grabbed the bag he’d brought in the night before and hauled it into her room.
