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“Okay, one,” I say, standing back to my full height. “This is not awkward. This is the best I’ve felt in years. This feels right. And two, I’m not ready to go. Hell, I never want to leave. Being here with you and Olivia on a Sunday morning, eating breakfast and watching cartoons? Heaven.”
Her face turns pink, and her eyes start to water. I knew she was always concerned about Olivia when it came to dating, worried that she wouldn’t find anyone that would want to take on that responsibility. But I didn’t realize it was weighingthisheavily on her. I should’ve known.
“And lastly, you definitely can’t do this shit yourself,” I tease to lighten the mood. “You thought the front porch light wasn’t working when really, it just needed a new light bulb.”
“Unfair!” she says, laughing. “I had just moved in, and I thought it wasn’t wired right!”
“Why you jumped to that conclusion instead of the light bulb being burned out, I will never know.” Her giggles die as I pull her into my chest and kiss the top of her head. “Just let me help you, Georgia. Everything else we can figure out later.”
She looks back at me and nods.
“I’ll be right back, Olivia!” I shout toward the kitchen. “Just getting stuff to fix your sink.”
“Thank you!” Her little voice drifts to my ears, and the sweetness makes my heart squeeze.
“Hurry back.” Georgia lifts up on her tiptoes and gives me a peck on the lips. Her eyes go wide like she can’t believe she did it. I don’t let her dwell on it too long, though. I grab her face and pull her back, tasting the sweet coffee on her lips.
“In a jiffy.” I wink and then slip out the front door.
FIVE
GEORGIA
While Gray walked back to his truck and then went on a supply run, I hung out with Liv on the couch. We watched her favorite cartoons while she slipped in and out of sleep. Every time my mom and dad watch her, she comes back exhausted. Not that I mind. It’s good for her to have these moments with them, and I don’t mind if her sleep schedule is messed up for a day.
But it’s given me a lot of time to think about what’s going on in my head and my heart. I think I never let my mind stray toward Gray because I never thought it could actually be a possibility. But now that it is, I can’tstopthinking about it. He’s over-the-top amazing with Liv, always has been. And he’s never not shown up for me when I needed him. He never complains about it either, always ready to help with a smile on his face.
And now, as he walks around the house, fixing the drywall and tightening whatever needs tightening in her bathroom sink, I realize how well he fits in here. He keeps finding little odds and ends to do, like changing the batteries in the smoke detectors and spraying some WD-40 on the back door, which has been screeching for months now. Every time I look up, he’s got a new tool in his hand.
Damn, does he look fine doing it, too. He’s got just a T-shirt on. Must be one he grabbed from his truck because he wasn’t wearing it last night, and it looks a little small, clinging to all the right places. Between his five-o’clock shadow and unkempt hair, I’m really struggling to stay in control.
Working on the farm his entire life has honed his body into strong, sinewy muscle that makes my thighs clench. His sleeves roll up slightly, too tight on his round biceps, and show off that farmer’s tan. He reaches up, and it’s like his abs are playing the world’s sexiest game of hide-and-seek with my eyes. I can’t help but follow that little path of hair that leads into his jeans, where that very impressive length is hiding.
“I think I want to go outside and play.” Liv’s sleepy voice brings me back from my thoughts.
“Okay, baby. How about you go work up an appetite, and I’ll make us all some lunch?”
She nods, her dark brown curls bouncing as she climbs off the couch and runs outside. I follow her, smiling when she laughs at something Gray told her as she squeezes past him. He’s working on the hinges of the screen door, doing what, I don’t know.
“Hey,” I say, leaning my hip against the counter. “Are you just trying to find things to do so you don’t have to leave?”
He lets the screen door close quietly and turns to face me. His arms are crossed, and his cheeks have a tinge of pink to them. I choose to believe it’s from working hard and not because he’s a little embarrassed by my question. Because that would just be too fucking cute.
“Maybe.” He shrugs. “I like being here.”
“We like you here.”
“Yeah?” Gray smiles and closes the distance between us. He doesn’t touch me, just leans his own hip against the counter and looks down at me. “Think you’d like me to stay?”
“For lunch?”
His laugh does all sorts of things to my body. He closes a little more of the gap, leaning into my space as he cages me in with his arms.
“Or longer,” he says.
“Dinner, then?” I barely get the words out I’m so tongue-tied from the heat of his body next to mine.
“I heard what your mom said this morning,” he says, his lips leaving a scorching mark on my cheek. “And I think she’s right.”
