She’d come right from work again, just like he’d asked her to do.
“I thought we could order dinner and then put a puzzle together while we talked. I know you love solving things. It’s second nature to you. Could be there was a tiny part of me that hoped you’d open up if you were in your lane.”
She laughed. “Okay. When you explain it that way, I find it very sweet and endearing. Thoughtful too. And... I’ve never put a puzzle together with another man.”
His arms went into the air. “Winning.”
“Now you’re being silly.”
“Hey, that’s a point for me. Did you want to order dinner? We can go out. I’m fine with that, but thought we could come back here and do this.”
And it was his hope she’d keep coming back to help him finish it. As big as it was, there was no way they were going to complete it in one night.
“Dinner in is fine,” she said.
She slipped her shoes off and sat on his couch. He went next to her and picked her foot up to put in his hand and knead the muscles.
Touching any part of her body was a bonus.
“Does that feel good?”
“My closed eyes and the tiny moan didn’t give it away?”
“Oh, it did. But I don’t want to assume anything. Have a bad day?”
He pressed his thumb into her arch, her foot twitching as if he’d found a tender spot. Or a ticklish one. She didn’t pull away though, so he continued.
“It was a good day,” she said. “A normal one.”
“So no more complaints than you’re used to?”
“There are always unhappy people,” she said. “And I should tell you that Grace knows I went away with you. And she told Hunter. So I had to deal with that.”
That didn’t sound good. “Is it a problem?”
“No. Sorry if it came off that way.” He switched feet and went to work on the other. “I let my parents know last night where I was also.”
He didn’t know the last time he had informed anyone in his family of his actions. Least of all dates.
His grandmother was privy to most but certainly not all.
“Is that something you always do?”
“No. But I told you it’s unlike me to leave the island and not notify them. This would have made its way back to them so it was better hearing it from me.”
“And what did they say? Are you grounded?”
“Very cute,” she said, pulling her foot out of his grip. “They want to meet you Sunday for Easter dinner if you’re willing.”
He smiled. “I’ll be there.”
“You’re okay with it? I told them about why I went to the wedding with you.”
That might be more information than he wanted shared. “You said we had a contract for you to hold my hand while my family members were dickheads?”
“No,” she said, nudging him with her foot. He grabbed it again to rub. “I explained that we’d been dating and your family was a little... harsher than most. I joked about you needing a buddy to be there and how you asked me and I agreed. I wasclear we spoke no lies to anyone. At least I didn’t. That doesn’t sit well with me as you know.”
“I didn’t lie to anyone. We might have led people on, but there was a sliver of truth in all our words and actions. Agreed?”
