So yeah, maybe we barely know each other, but I know what I feel.
“I can’t possibly… be falling for you? Sweetheart, I’ve spent the better part of a year thinking about you daily.”
“That can’t possibly be true.”
“Ask Ruby. Or Slater. They’ll both confirm they had to talk me out of driving over to Salem just to see you. Do you know howmany times I thought about calling the shop just to hear your voice? I knew the moment I saw you I wanted to get to know you, I knew you were someone special. I was too chicken shit to make a move, though.”
“So, why now?”
“Because through some stroke of fate, you’rehere.In my town, in myhome,in my clothes. I wasn’t lying, if you’d told me no earlier, I would have been ecstatic I got to kiss you. I would have left you alone, amazed you trusted me enough to sleep over here. But I’m lucky you gave me the gift of the hottest experience of my life, and I don’t take it for granted. I hope my luck stretches just a bit more, and I can be lucky enough to have you sleeping next to me tonight.”
I want to confess exactly how gone I am for her. I want to admit to breaking my own damn vehicle in order to have a single interaction with her, but Mikey’s eyes are wide with slight panic, and I don’t know if it would push her over the edge.
“If I were to say I want to sleep in the guest room and forget this ever happened?”
“I would respect your decision. Your needs outweigh mine.” I hope she doesn't want to. I would be devastated, but I’d rather stay awake sad all night than ever make her do something she doesn’t want to do.
Mikey glances back at my closed bedroom door, but my eyes never leave her. I swear I can see the wheels turning in her head. Finally, she puffs out a long breath. “And if I didn’t want to go back to the guest room?”
“I’d be the happiest man alive.”
“I want… I want to sleep next to you.”
Fuck yes.
While I finished cleaningup the kitchen last night, we decided to ask each other two more questions before we finally crashed around eleven o’clock. I would have stayed up all night with her if I didn’t have to be up early.
I learned how she takes her coffee—hot with sugar and cream. She asked me about the latest book I’ve read, and it led to us discovering we have the same favorite author, which led to us talking about our must-read authors.
We have very similar tastes when it comes to reading, and now I have a whole list of books to add to my TBR.
All I could picture is us reading a book about BDSM or one with a kinky sex scene and her begging me to recreate it. I’d try anything with Mikey as long as she’s happy and giving me a chance.
My last question of the night was “What’s a dream you’ve never told anyone?” and though she was hesitant to answer, she eventually did. She told me she wants to own her own shop, specializing in vintage restoration. Her eyes lit up talking about restoring her truck, and I wanted to bottle her joy. I want to hear her talk about what makes her happy—besomeone who makes her happy—for the rest of her life.
When my alarm goes off at three-thirty, I quickly shut it off so it doesn’t wake the sleepy dream girl next to me. Mikey’s curled on her side facing me, with one hand on my chest. My hand is on her side, feeling the gentle rise and fall of her inhalations.
I barely resist the urge to give her a forehead kiss, but I don’t want to wake her.
I gently roll myself out of bed, shuffling quietly across the floor before locking myself in the bathroom. I brush my teeth and run a comb through my hair before securing it in a bun at the back of my head.
Padding out of the bathroom and through the bedroom, I shut the door as soundlessly as I can before making my way to the kitchen. I start the coffee maker then pull out the croissant dough I prepped the day before yesterday and start rolling it out, adding chocolate and rolling them into perfectly shaped pillows.
When the coffee’s done brewing, I fill a cup and add in my preferred sugar cookie creamer before I get back to rolling. An hour in, my front door clicks, and Ruby appears, still in her pajamas with her hair in a haphazard, lopsided bun on the top of her head.
“Morning, Rubes.”
“It’s morning, all right,” she grumbles as she pours herself a cup of coffee. I chuckle at her attitude, but I don’t blame her for not wanting to be awake. She’s never been an early riser. I thrive in the early mornings. Being awake when the rest of the world is still asleep fills me with calm. I love seeing the sun peek over the horizon, waking up the rest of the world.
“You know you don’t have to be here, right? I can handle this on my own.”
“I told you I’d come help. I figured you’d be up late, anyway. Also, happy birthday, big brother.” Ruby lifts her cup in cheers.
My cheeks heat at her insinuation. Ruby and I don’t discuss our sex lives. I know she’s not some pure, virginal angel, but I don’t want to hear about her escapades, just like I don’t want to tell her about mine. “Thank you. It’s been the best one so far.”
“I’m going to pretend you just held hands and went to sleep. I’m glad she’s here, though. What do you want me to start on?”
“You can work on the danishes. The cream cheese mixture needs to be?—”
