Thrice.
A grape pops out of my mouth and shoots across the room to land on the piano, where it thuds against the keys. A horrible and not at all tuned sound strikes the air with the finality of my near-death experience.
Breathing heavily, I slump against Arlo, who holds me up, his heat wrapping around me like a soft blanket that I want to snuggle into.
“You hungry?” I question, my throat scratchy and broken.
Behind me, Arlo’s laughter vibrates against my skin, his breath warming my neck. “I can’t believe that just happened.”
“Oh, I can.” I rub my throat, hoping that Saffron packed something to drink other than the bubbly I saw in there.
“You are more accident prone than a toddler.” He tugs me tighter against his chest, making me all too aware of the man at my back, the man who just saved me from my untimely death.
“I’m far too aware of that fact.” A glutton for punishment, I lean into his warmth, soaking up the sunshine rays of Arlo. “I hurt myself more than Lark when she was a baby.”
His hands slide down my body to grip my hips, my breath shuddering as I struggle to gain control of how I’m feeling. Those hands tighten, drawing me close and sending spirals of excitement to whirl through me.
“I should keep an eye on you.” His chin brushes the hair off my neck, allowing the ghost of his breath to flutter over the sensitive skin of my neck.
A pulse of desire threads through my veins. I wave my hands around me, unsure what to do or where to place them until they flop at my sides like a dead fish. “An adult babysitter.”
“Adult sitter,” he teases.
I swallow past the lump in my throat. “We should eat.” Knowing I’ll miss his touch, his warmth, I step out of his arms and throw a sly smile over my shoulder.
“No more grapes for you.”
“Deal.” I don’t even try to argue as I throw the sheet over the cool floor and sink to the ground.
“I expect you to chew your food twenty times before you swallow.” He joins me, pulling out a small box of grape juice, and he eyes it with horror.
I snatch it out of his hands and push the straw in. “I don’t think I can choke on this.”
“You are the first person I ever met who choked on a grape.” Arlo hands me a sandwich as he leans against a broken pew.
“Here we are.” Peeling open the plastic containing my food, I roll back to the moment I inhaled that grape. “I didn’t mean?—”
“That you wanted to marry me in this chapel?” He laughs at my look of horror. “I know.”
“But…” I look around once more at the magic of this building. I’ve never been one for religion, but I won’t deny the beauty of this chapel or the energy it holds. Knowing Arlo’s family built it gives it that slice of otherworldliness that I just can’t describe. “You should restore it.”
He grunts, but he looks at each rafter and each leaf with a glint in his eyes that wasn’t there before.
I hide my smile behind my ham and cheese, thankful for this moment.
Near-death experience and all.
CHAPTER 14
Unknown:I wish you had told me you left. I’m on my way.
The ominous textglares at me. I know it should worry me, but this number is mostly new and only a handful of people have it. Not only that, but I’ve seen some weird stories about people with reused numbers, and the texts they’ve received are insane. I think there just might be a whole website dedicated to those. I snap a screenshot, intending to upload it later.
I mean, the owner of the unknown number could just want to extend my car warranty, which would be incredible because it’s currently sitting in the shop with Arlo while he learns all his parts that make him tick.
At least one of us will learn his parts.
I know I should delete the text, but I can’t help it, so I give it a swift reply.
