I wasn’t about to walk naked across the hall to the guest room Alec had mentioned before, so I grabbed a t-shirt that was hanging over a nearby chair and pulled it on. It wasn’t something I’d feel comfortable wearing in front of anyone, but it covered all the essentials. Still, I peeked out into the hallway to see if Evanne was out and about yet.
It looked like I was in the clear, so I tiptoed to the guest room and slipped inside. I fumbled for the light switch, blinking when I flipped it, and light flooded the room. It was clearly a guest room, but when I opened the closet, I found it full of women’s clothes of various styles and sizes. It took a little rummaging around before I found something that I liked that fit me, but once I did, I headed to the attached bathroom and took a quick shower. After that, it was time to get started on breakfast.
Alec’s kitchen had all the resources for a nice big meal. Whole grain toast, eggs, bacon, avocado, hash browns, coffee, and orange juice. I hoped he wouldn’t mind if I used his food. Or that I’d stayed to make myself at home instead of waking him to get his driver to get me out of there.
I tried to put those negative thoughts out of my mind as I cooked. He’d been the one who’d asked me to stay, and I’d been the one who’d made excuses. He surely wouldn’t want me dropped off hours before class began, would he?
The bacon and coffee smelled good enough to relax me, and I forced the “should I or shouldn’t I” questions from my brain.
At least until Evanne came sprinting into the kitchen.
“Ms. Browne! You had a sleepover!”
Shit. I hadn’t expected Evanne to come down first and alone.
“Good morning, Evanne. How do you like your eggs?” I asked, stalling. I wondered if I should say I decided to drop by this morning and that I didn’t stay the night, but I wasn’t sure she’d buy it. Besides, I wasn’t a good liar. Especially to kids.
“Sunnyside up,” Evanne said. She was still beaming.
“Did you, um, brush your teeth?” I asked. I knew how to deal with kids, but my relationship with Alec made this particular kid different. Well, not a relationship, because we weren’t in one of those.
“Not yet,” Evanne said, “but I just wanted to smell the bacon.” She took a big, exaggerated whiff. “Mmm!”
“You better brush those teeth quickly,” I said, “or your OJ will taste funny when breakfast’s ready.”
She saluted me and dashed off, leaving me laughing. What a cutie.
I was starting on Evanne’s eggs when Alec wandered into the kitchen. He’d put on a pair of flannel pants and a t-shirt, both of which looked rumpled enough for him to have slept in. Which, of course, turned my thoughts to what hehadbeen wearing when I’d left him in bed. Or, rather, his lack of clothing.
“Oh,” he said, a confused expression on his face. “Uh. Hello.”
“Good morning,” I said, smiling. “I hope it’s okay that I made breakfast?”
He looked at the stove like he was in a daze. Then he nodded. “Aye. I mean, yes, it’s okay.”
Dammit. He was being weird. I shouldn’t have stayed. I should have called for a ride and left before he’d woken up like I’d done before
Except…he’daskedme to stay the night. He must have wanted me here. Maybe not making his breakfast, but he shouldn’t be acting like finding me there was some big shock.
Unless it’d just been the sex talking. I’d heard of declarations of love, marriage proposals, that sort of thing, slipping out during pillow talk, but he hadn’t seemed like the sort of person who relinquished enough control to not be absolutely certain of every word that came out of his mouth.
He scratched the back of his head. “Listen, Lumen…”
Before he could finish his thought, Evanne rushed into the room, hair brushed, teeth brushed, and dressed in jeans and a purple t-shirt.
“Done in record time!” she announced. Her hair was a little staticky, and I was pretty sure her shirt was on backward, but her speed was still impressive.
Alec gave Evanne a high five, his smile genuine. “Your shirt needs fixed,mo chride. But good effort.” Evanne groaned and pulled her arms inside the shirt to turn it around. He looked back over to me, his voice softer as he said, “I’ll have my eggs scrambled, please.”
“You got it,” I replied, hoping this meant things were back to easy between us.
He avoided my eyes, made an excuse about needing to get dressed and then disappeared.
Or not.
Breakfast would have been quiet if it hadn’t been for Evanne. Occasionally, Alec interrupted her for one reason or another, at least half of which were to remind her not to dawdle. He glanced at me after those reminders, like he was silently assuring me he’d get me to school before the other teachers arrived. I was grateful for his concern, but I was more worried about what he was thinking at the moment. He wasn’t easy to read.
I offered to help with dishes once we were done, but Alec said he’d take care of it later. Better for us to get moving. Soon, we were on the road, back in Alec’s fancy car. Like at the breakfast table, Evanne did most of the talking. Alec only said one thing to me the whole ride, and it was near the end.
