“Yeah. I zoned out, I guess.”
He went through the motions of showering and dressing. When he came back out of the bathroom, he smelled coffee and food.
“I ordered breakfast,” Alex said.
Grant zeroed in on her seated at the small table by the window. “That’s thoughtful of you.”
He kissed the top of her head. She smelled different, like the hotel soap instead of what she normally used. She wore leggings that resembled a patterned sweater and a long black top.
“What time do you want to go over?” she asked as she scooped up eggs.
“After we eat is fine by me. There wasn’t any other place you wanted to visit, right?”
She shook her head and swallowed. “No, we covered it all.”
Grant nodded and tried to eat to bide his time. He was ready for the last bit of gift-giving before they left for the day. He watched Alex, trying not to stare too hard. She’d applied a bit of makeup, as far as he could tell. Something to change her eyes. She hadn’t put on her signature red lipstick yet, and even as a guy he could understand it was because she was eating. Over the last six months, his thoughts had shifted. In total honesty, it had changed and then reverted back. He’d gone in a complete circle. He briefly thought he didn’t want a relationship, but that brought him nothing but unhappiness and doubt. Alex made him see what he really wanted.
“Why are you staring at me instead of eating?”
He blinked. “I didn’t realize I was.”
“For the past five minutes instead of eating,” she said.
He grinned at her. “You’re beautiful. I can’t help staring.”
“You’re corny as hell.” She finished her eggs, and he ate faster to catch up with her.
He stood from the table while she was in the bathroom. He saw her through the open door brushing her teeth. He felt that surge of love for her that had almost become second nature. It didn’t freak him out as it did in the beginning.
“Alex, we’re doing gifts now, aren’t we?”
She put her toothbrush away and answered him. “Before we leave, yeah.”
“You can go first,” he said with a grin. He leaned against the doorframe as she put on her lipstick.
“Why, you want to see what I got you?”
“Of course.”
She laughed and patted his chest on her way past him. “Okay, let me get them from the closet.”
Grant sat at the table while she dug for the large box and the smaller gift bag. He turned the chair to face her and she handed the items over.
“I hope you like them.”
He heard the nervousness in her voice. He went for the smaller one first, pulling out a box with a picture of a silver gadget. “It’s a disc lock.”
“It’s saw-proof and has a built-in alarm in case anyone tries to remove it.”
“Wow, Alex. These are the best on the market.” He rotated the box in his hand to look at the specs on the side before setting it down and pulling her toward him. She leaned down to kiss him.
“Next,” she said when she pulled back.
He opened the large wrapped box, but it was plain brown and he had no clue what it was. He pried open the flap and pulled out a sleek black helmet.
“It has bluetooth and a few other things, like a high safety rating.” She kissed the top of his head. “So that nothing happens to your precious skull.”
Grant put his hands on her hips and gently moved her back while he stood up. He wrapped her in his arms and held on tight. “They’re both perfect. Did you know I was looking for that type of lock?”
