I found myself in front of her, inhaling all that was Elle. I wrapped my arms around her and looked down. “Morning.”
She grinned up at me, beaming. “Morning.”
“So about last night…,” I began.
She rolled her eyes. “Yes…”
“When can that happen again?”
“Now?”
I groaned. “I wish. Need to be at work in an hour.”
She rose up on tiptoes to press a kiss to my mouth. “Well, then back up, bud. I need to finish breakfast.”
I looked behind her to see bacon already sitting on a plate lined with paper towels, and it looked like she might be set up for—
“French toast good with you?”
My stomach spoke for me, growling loud enough for the neighbors next door to hear. “Hell yeah.”
“I made some coffee too,” she nodded to the counter.
I moved over, grabbing a mug from the cabinet above from rote memory. I placed it down and immediately knocked over another coffee mug that had appeared on my counter with spoons in it.
“Sorry!” Elle said, turning to pick up the scattered spoons.
“What in the hell was that?” I grumbled, not completely awake without the caffeine yet.
“I wanted to pay you back for everything you’ve done for me. After we had the hot chocolate at the woods the other day and you mentioned it was what you had at the library, I asked Emma for the recipe.” She gestured toward a jar now sitting on my previously sparsely adorned counter. “I put it here for you along with some spoons to mix it in.”
Towels out of place, spoons where none had been before—this woman had been in my house for five days and was changing up my routines.
I was here for it.
Or I would be when I could wrap my brain around it. Which would require some coffee.
I pulled Elle against me. “Thanks for thinking of me, Elle. Means a lot.”
She looked up at me, beaming once again.
Yeah, I could absolutely get used to this. She had enchanted me down to my very core.
19
Daydreams
Elle
I stepped out of the shower, drying off and thinking about the day that stretched ahead of me. After breakfast Nate had shared he was heading to work, so I’d said I was going to take a shower and would likely be in later. Honestly, it was nice to have a moment or two to myself just to breathe.
Stepping into the guest bedroom, I rubbed the towel over my hair as I headed toward my phone. Ivy had said my place should be ready for me to head back in today. Was it ridiculous that I was sad about that?
Probably.
No, definitely.
Whatever. Nate needed to have his place back. I mean, he’d been kind and all to let me stay here, but I didn’t want to overstay my welcome.
