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“Lorenzo’s coming to rescue me apparently,” I inform Gladys, which makes her laugh.
“That boy is a keeper; I’m telling you now. He works so hard, it’s about time he settled down and had someone to share his life with,” she tells me.
We finish our sandwiches and tea right before there’s a knock on the door. Gladys opens it but we both know it’s Lorenzo.
“Hey Mrs. McMillian,” his smooth voice says as I watch him from the hallway. He leans in and delivers a kiss to her cheek.
“Hey love,” she greets him. His eyes connect with mine then they scan down my body until they come back to my face. My body warms under his gaze as he steps towards me and lowers his voice.
“Hello, my wife,” he says, which causes a shiver to race through me as he kisses my cheek as well. He turns back to Gladys and says, “Thanks for taking care of Sophia today. I might take her off your hands now, if that’s okay?”
“Yes, you lovebirds go about your day. Sophia, please you’re welcome any time.”
“Thanks for today, Gladys. I appreciate your help,” I tell her, as I step forward and wrap my arms around the petite older woman. She returns the hug and then we leave. Lorenzo grabs my hand and leads me to the front door as he unlocks it. As we step inside, he closes it and then pushes me gently against the back of the closed door.
“Is it crazy I missed you so much I couldn’t focus on work?” he says, as his warm breath fans my face.
“Not crazy. I missed you too,” I admit, because I did. I feel like my whole day revolved around him which reminds me what I was doing before I went to Gladys’. “I’ve got something to show you,” I tell him, as his eyes flicker back and forth between mine.My eyes drop to his lips, wanting to feel them on me again but scared to make the first move. He notices my small glance and his lips widen into a grin.
“You can kiss me whenever you want to, little bird,” he whispers, and I push all thoughts out of my head and instead go with my heart. I close the distance between us and it’s all the motivation he needs before he has my body flush against his and pushed against the door. We waste no time, our lips greedy for the other, needing more. A deep moan travels up his throat as I pull him closer still. He threads a hand through my hair, angling my head giving his tongue the access it craves. We’re so entranced when we pull away from the other, we are both gasping for air. “I will die a happy man getting to kiss these lips forever,” he tells me, and I’m sure my skin burns a bright red.
“Let me show you your surprise before I get distracted again,” I say, as I push off the wall and lead him to the back door. He follows me out and I show him the section we were working on. He’s silent for a long time and I’m not sure whether that’s a good sign or a bad sign so I stand there quietly, pursing my lips to the side, waiting. A few minutes of silence and I’m certain I’ve done the wrong thing until he threads our fingers together.
“My grandparents would have loved you,” his soft voice says, as his eyes linger on the small rose bushes we planted. “Thank you,” he adds, as he raises my hand and kisses the back of it.
“Is it okay I did this?”
“It’s more than okay,” he says. He leans forward and kisses me on the tip of my nose. “I’m guessing Gladys must have filled you in on my grandmother’s rose bushes?”
“Yeah, I was admiring hers and then she said your grandparents used to tend to their garden together. I thought it's such a pretty space we could work on it together?”
“I’d like that. A lot. Thank you. I’d forgotten how beautiful these gardens used to be. Thank you for reminding me,” he tells me, as he wraps his arms around me in a warm embrace. I squeeze my arms around his waist, breathing in his scent and let the feeling of happiness wash over me.
When we break apart, we head back inside, and I take a seat at the kitchen table while Lorenzo pours us both a drink.
“I was thinking I could take the day off tomorrow and we could hang out and go grocery shopping,” he suggests.
“You aren't needed at work?” I ask, not wanting to keep him from work since I’d already kept him from finishing his full hours today.
“I’m the boss Soph. I can come and go as I please. One day isn’t gonna do any harm,” he explains.
“Okay then,” I say.
“Yeah?” he asks, surprised.
“Yeah. It sounds good.”
“How about you have a shower from all your gardening, and I’ll get an early dinner on because I missed lunch?” he says.
“That would be great. Thanks.” I head to the bathroom and shower before wrapping myself in a towel and walking out to head to my room to change. Lorenzo stands at the stove and his wide eyes look up when I walk past. His eyes linger as they trail from my bare legs to my face. My heart rate picks up as I shuffle into the hallway and head to my room and pull a pair of pyjama shorts and a top on. I throw my hair up into a messy bun and walk back out into the kitchen carrying my towel. Lorenzo isn’t there but then he exits the bathroom with a white towel wrapped around his waist. The muscular tanned skin of his chest and stomach catches my attention and he chuckles as he walks past me on his way to his own room. The same tattoo of the lone wolf still covers one side of his chest from all those years ago. I step into the bathroom and drop my towel in the laundry basket.Drawing a few deep breaths in to calm my racing heart. By the time I exit, Lorenzo is there with his towel that he throws into the basket. He’s wearing a pair of red baggy basketball shorts, his chest still bare. It does nothing to calm my heartbeat.
“Dinner should be about ready,” he tells me, and all I can do is nod, my tongue feeling heavy in my mouth. His eyes light up as he watches me, his lip pulling up at one side. I take a seat at the table. He serves me a plate of spaghetti bolognese with garlic bread before taking a seat himself.
“This looks so good. Thank you.”
“It’s no problem. I like to cook so if you tell me what meals you like, I can cook them.”
“I don’t know the slightest thing about cooking so I’m happy for you to take over that responsibility,” I admit, twirling my fork into the pasta.
