A flash of green through the squint of her eyes, like they haven’t gotten the memo she’s awake. I stand, enjoying far too much the way she stretches in the sun.
“Coffee?”
“Yes.” It comes out like a growl.
I arch an eyebrow. “Not a morning person.”
“God, no,” she says, flopping onto a stool and burying her head in her arms atop the counter. She’s positioned away from the glass. Good.
Her golden locks frame her head like a halo, the smell of plums and roses wafting through the air.
“And you?” she asks, sheepishly raising her head. Her eyes descend to the neat stack of blankets and pillows, face glowing with guilt.
“Better than you.”
She laughs. “Are you always this funny, Mav?”
The sarcastic question catches me so off guard the corners of my mouth turn up before I can stop them.
“A smile?” she asks with a wicked grin. “Am I finally getting through to you?”
I furrow my brow and tighten my face.
“I’ll take that as a no.”
She’s starting to understand me. How I communicate. It lodges a weird warm spot behind my ribs.
But then, her cell phone buzzes again. She opens her screen, face falling.
“Crowe again?”
She sighs heavily, nodding. “Too early for this.”
I want to state the obvious. That she should put the phone away. Go a day without charging it. But it’s not my place.
Instead, I push the mug of coffee toward her.
She pockets the phone, fingers trembling. Like she has to keep the instrument of psychological torture close, sharp. Her shoulders stay tense even after the phone disappears.
“Cream? Sugar?”
“Nope. Princess is fine,” she says without missing a beat.
I freeze.
She winks.
I frown. “Black, then.”
“Actually, two tablespoons of creamer, no sugar. Keto style because my manager says I’m fat.”
I lean back on my heels, words coming before I can stop myself. “Not fat.”
“Not fat?” She looks down, pinching her waist through the yellow and black flannel shirt she wears. Mine. Don’t know when she snagged it. But it’s got me thinking thoughts I shouldn’t.
“Curvy,” I correct.
I return to my spot behind the kitchen counter, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
