If this was one of her predilections, I would have to make sure we hired someone to come in and change the sheets every day. Then she could eat whatever she wanted in bed to her heart’s content. And then I would eat her.
I moved my leg, and another crumb scraped against my thigh. How did they even get under the covers? “Do you want me to stop at the bakery and get you more cupcakes?” I asked as Loretta’s eyes closed.
At least until I spoke, and then her eyes popped open, and she looked at me as if I was crazy. “Are you trying to make me fat?”
I kissed her on the forehead, letting my lips linger against her skin. “I’m making you happy.”
If chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting and Fourth of July sprinkles were a quick way to win her heart, I’d buy out the entire town of the delectable treats. I’d have a box shipped to wherever we were weekly.
I expected more of a fight from her. In fact, I braced for it. When did I ever say anything to Loretta that she didn’t immediately argue with me?
But when she opened her mouth to get saucy, she instead smiled up at me as if we’d just woken up and she enjoyed seeing me first thing in the morning, even though we’d been lying in bed for over an hour. “I’m happy. Really, I am.”
That earned her two boxes of chocolate cupcakes. I could have Anessa swap out the different sprinkles, unless she was fond of the stars, and then they’d be a year-round edition.
“Good,” I said to her admission of happiness. Inside I wanted to high-five myself because of course I made her happy. No one else in the entire world had the ability to make Loretta James happy except me. We were fated.
But I didn’t do any of those things, even as my brain did the football touchdown dance. Because I was playing it cool.
“Although, a cupcake sounds nice,” she said her eyes now wide open and staring at me expectantly.
I laughed and placed another kiss on her forehead. I couldn’t get enough of my skin against hers. Her silky-smooth touch could feed me for a lifetime. “I hate to leave this crumb-filled bed, but for you I will.”
I slipped from the covers and brushed the pieces of cake from my knee, watching them fall to the floor as I pondered where the hell they came from. Was she eating cupcakes last night?
The bed jiggled to my side as Loretta threw back the covers, exposing her naked body to the room. In that particular second thoughts of going to the bakery vanished.
“I’ll go with you,” she said stretching her back and turning away from me, which interrupted the view.
“Are you sure?” I asked, getting dressed in the same clothes I’d worn the day before. I’d never gone so many hours in a row without wearing a suit, but it the jeans were growing more comfortable.
She tilted her head and watched me as I laced up my sneakers with my shirt unbuttoned. Her head tilted to the side as if she was trying to see inside my brain, but what Loretta didn’t understand was all she had to do was ask and I’d tell her every thought.
Mostly.
“Yeah, I’m sure. What if you’re a mirage and if I look away you’ll disappear?” she asked, and I didn’t miss the vulnerability in her words. Underneath her strong exterior Loretta worried.
It was the first time since I’d met the eccentric woman that she opened up to me about a fear regarding us. Shown vulnerability. I couldn’t waste the opportunity by laughing off her concerns. If she was allowing me in, I planned to accept everything she offered and push for more.
I crawled on the bed until I sat beside her. “Never,” I said, giving her a quick kiss to her lips in need of our connection again. “But get dressed and we’ll go together.”
If Loretta wanted to spend more time with me, I certainly would not say no. I’d have her living with me in New York by the end of the month at the rate we were going. Did that make me possessive? Probably, but I wouldn’t apologize for it when it meant having her beside me forever.
She moved fast, throwing on another dress from her closet. With her door open, it gave me a quick peek into the wardrobe choices. It was mostly sundresses in various designs—stripes, flowers, and a few polka dots. Definitely not the type of woman I normally brought home—especially since I brought none of them home—but my mother would love Loretta’s quirky sense of fashion.
She tossed her hair up into a bun thing, but I paid more attention to the lines of her neck and considered the places I’d kiss her later.
I was still deep in my thoughts as I ushered her into my vehicle in the apartment parking lot and drove past her old Toyota. I wanted to buy so many things for the woman—not just cupcakes from the bakery but anything her heart desired, including a better car.
But I didn’t consider myself a moron. I would start small with chocolate and slowly build my way until I replaced her old beater of a vehicle. There’d be jewelry, clothing, vacations, and anything else she mentioned.
No way were cupcakes enough.
“This car is way too fancy,” she said patting the dashboard as I made the turn on to Pelican Bay’s Main Street. We drove past the old wooden pelican that greeted people to town. The same bird graced the spot when I was growing up. Someone had just given him a paint job, but otherwise he was still doing his job as town protector.
“This car? Too fancy?” It was almost six years old and the only reason I hadn’t upgraded yet was because I left it at the makeshift airport in Pelican Bay to use when I saw my mother. My trips to my hometown were occasional at best. There weren’t many Ubers or taxis in Pelican Bay and it was good to have a car to get around, but at almost a decade old, the thing was ancient.
“Yeah, this car. I’m pretty sure my ass is on fire.” Loretta lifted herself off the seat a few inches putting space between her butt and the leather.
