Iris laughs. “No! I’ll be right back, but I have to admit, after that it’s bedtime. I’m beat.”
I roll onto my back and watch with hungry eyes as Iris saunters to the bathroom. She looks just as amazing coming as going, and the sight of her bare ass swaying gives me all kinds of new ideas.
I settle back into the pillows, briefly wondering which side of the bed Iris wants to sleep on, when a shriek from the bathroom sends me running to her side.
“What’s wrong?”
She’s standing in front of the mirror, furiously brushing the other braid out of her hair—and tangling the hell out of it in the process. “You didn’t tell me I looked like an idiot!”
I blink and stare at her. “What are you talking about?”
Iris holds up the half-braid. “This! You never told me one of the braids had come out. I was over here thinking I looked cute, and instead I was hot mess central.”
Holding back laughter, I take the brush from her hand and wrap my arms around her, hugging her close. “Iris, you always look cute. I thought the messy hair look was hot. I was totally digging it, honestly.”
“Really? You’re not just saying that?”
I start finger-combing the knots out of her hair. “If you hadn’t already said you were tired, I’d say give me five minutes and I’ll show you exactly how hot it was. Now hold still. Your brushing made it worse.”
Once her hair is back to normal, we lie down and snuggle underneath her mountain of covers. For the first time in a long time, I fall asleep with a beautiful woman in my arms, and all seems right with the world.
Chapter 10
Iris
Sleeping in Micah’s arms is some of the best rest I’ve had in years. I don’t know how I can be anything but completely relaxed with those tattooed muscles enveloping me.
To my heartbroken dismay, however, when I wake up to the sun streaming through my windows, he’s gone.
I try not to take it personal. Maybe he had to go relieve his sitter. I grab my phone, and sure enough it’s well past nine. That must be it. He had to take care of his daughter. He couldn’t leave Hailey on her own next door, and I know he had a time limit on Becky. I just wish he’d woken me up to say goodbye.
As I get up and throw on some fresh pajamas, I notice the aroma of bacon drifting up the stairs. I know for a fact that I didn’t have any bacon in my fridge, so I make my way downstairs to find out who could possibly have broken in to cook me breakfast.
I encounter Hailey in the living room first, and she abandons her toys to come racing to my side, almost bowling me over with a knee-high bear hug.
“Miss Iris! You’re awake!”
“I sure am.” I stroke her braided hair. “What brings you over here?”
She giggles. “Daddy bringed me here. He’s making you brefkiss.” She puts a finger to her lips and makes a shushing noise. “It’s a surprise.”
Hailey needs to work on her secrecy.
“Hailey, honey, is that Iris? Bring her to the kitchen. Breakfast is almost ready.” Micah’s voice calls out from the kitchen, and I take Hailey’s hand to head in there and see what’s cooking—besides bacon, that is. I’m greeted with the sight of paper-thin crepes covered with mixed berries and dollops of fresh whipped cream. I’m also greeted with Micah in grey sweatpants and a wifebeater. My jaw drops, and I hope I’m not drooling.
“Wow.”
Micah grins and wipes his hands on a kitchen towel, which is surprising given that I don’t have any. I also don’t have any ingredients for crepes, and it’s not until I see the cloth grocery bags on the counter that I realize he brought the stuff over from his house while I slept in.
“You like it? I wasn’t sure if you liked crepes, but I figured you’d want something to eat. When I saw that you still only have bagels for breakfast, I had to remedy that.”
I pluck a raspberry out of a bowl and pop it in my mouth. My intention was to eat it then give a witty retort, but the explosion of juicy flavor makes me forget what I was going to say. “Mm! This is amazing. So fresh!”
Micah plants a kiss on my lips as he hands me a plate. “Here. Go sit down with Hailey and get started. I’ll be done in a minute.”
Hailey takes her smaller plate in both hands and skips to the living room. As I follow her past my empty dining area, I make a mental note to find a decent dining table and set of chairs. I feel silly eating in the living room every meal, especially now that I have company on occasion. Not that I’ve discussed it with Micah yet, but I suddenly envision him over for more meals, and for the first time since I moved in, I want a homier feel. I want him to feel comfortable coming over more often, although judging from him taking over my kitchen, he already feels at home here.
I’ve no sooner sat down and gotten the first bite on my fork that the doorbell app on my phone goes off. Crap. Who the hell is coming to the door at nine on a Sunday?
