He got all the games out and carried them to the table, which she wasn’t sitting at. Before she could point that out, he was back and scooping her up off the couch.
“Caleb,” she squealed.
“Just going to the table.”
He set her down in one of the chairs and made sure the blanket was tucked around her again.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she told him.
“No, I didn’t. But I want to make sure you stay warm. Let me add another log, and then we can pick a game.”
With effort, she pulled her hand free of the blanket and caught his arm. “It’s really comfortable in here. I promise I am fine.”
He looked like he wanted to fight her on it, but relented. “Pick a game then.”
Caleb was a puzzle that she didn’t know how to figure out. She wanted to so badly, but she chose a deck of cards and tucked that thought away.
“Any game in mind?” Caleb asked.
They debated which game to play and then the rules. There was quite a bit of back and forth on the rules.
Caleb got a notepad and a pen, and they wrote down their version of the rules. After all that, they got one hand in before deciding they were hungry.
“I’ll make us something.”
She pulled the blanket off of herself and stood up.
“No, stay warm,” he told her.
“I’m going to suffer heat exhaustion. I promise you I’m fine. I need to move so much.”
“Fine, but if you get cold, say something.”
She nodded. “I didn’t pack for two people when I brought things up here. Honestly, I was in a hurry and barely packed for myself.”
Caleb stayed quiet while making them some sandwiches.
“You saw what happened at The Diner. It was a complete disaster.”
He passed her a sandwich. “It wasn’t all your fault.”
“The end of it was,” she muttered.
“You stayed at that date longer than I would have. I can’t believe his mother showed up.” He shook his head.
“I was too shocked to move. She started cutting his steak. How can you act all male chauvinist and then your mother is cutting up your food like you’re a toddler?”
“Excuse me?” Caleb choked on a sip of his drink. “She did what?” he coughed out.
“Yep. That’s when I tried to leave, and well, you saw the rest.”
“A series of unfortunate events for sure, but not all your fault. I heard some of that, and I’m telling you, I wouldn’t have stayed that long. Imagine bringing your mother on your first date.” He shook his head.
“It felt like an interview to be a wife, or that he’d already decided. It was so weird. But that’s just me and my luck. Clumsy all the time.” She shrugged. “Hell, I’ve known you slightly more than a day, and you’ve already caught me from falling twice. Always had the worst luck with everything. Too forgetful and clumsy.” She wasn’t trying to belittle herself; it was just how things were.
He walked over to her, resting his palms on her arms. “Any chance to have a beautiful woman in my arms is good luck, in my opinion.”
She melted. She’d read that expression, but never actually felt it. Her knees were weak, and her body flushed while her heart simply turned to goo.
