A far cry from my place.
And Lia’s for that matter.
Sitting on her knees, she turns toward me and says, “I need to talk to you about something.”
“Uh, okay,” I answer as I turn toward her as well.
“Well, more like apologize.”
“You apologized enough about the baking class,” I say. “And I had fun, oddly.”
“It’s not about the baking class. It’s about . . .” She winces and then adds, “The kiss.”
“Oh, uh, what about the kiss?” I ask her.
“I know it was awkward.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, knowing damn well it felt a touch awkward.
“I was nervous and clammed up when I kissed you. I’m honestly surprised you’re even here after that kiss. When I got your text, I gasped. I was waiting on a late-night Friday phone call telling me you can’t meet up to hike.”
“Birdy—”
“I’m a better kisser than that,” she says in a panic. “Much better. I’m just, God, I’m so nervous around you.”
“Why?” I ask. “I don’t think I’m very intimidating.”
“You’re not. That’s the problem. If you were some alpha asshole, then yeah, I probably wouldn’t feel so jittery around you, but you’re a nice guy, a sweet one, and you’re the kind of guy who’s hard to find, especially in Los Angeles. I keep telling myself I’m going to blow it, and I truly thought I did with that kiss.”
“You need to stop overthinking things,” I say, even though she’s completely right. I thought the same thing about the kiss. Guess I wasn’t alone on this. That’s comforting. Maybe it was the tight-lipped thing after all.
“I’m sorry. I’m just so caught up in my previous relationship that it’s difficult to shake those thoughts in my head. But I’ll do better.”
“Take your time,” I say as I drape my arm over the back of her couch. “I don’t plan on going anywhere, and as it stands, we’re still going on that hike on Saturday.”
“Good, because I went shopping today and got the perfect outfit for it.”
“Oh yeah?” I ask with a laugh. “Wasn’t sure there was a perfect hike slash birdwatching outfit out there.”
“If you look hard enough. You can find it.”
“Tell me more about this outfit.”
“Oh no, no sneak peeks. It will be a surprise.”
“Well, if it’s not a shirt with a bird on it, I will be incredibly disappointed.”
All she does is smile, and it’s really cute. She’s really cute. And funny. And sweet. Pretty much everything I would probably look for in a match. It’s why I need to try harder to make this work.
“So did you go wedding planning with Lia today?”
“Yup, checked out some flowers.”
She draws closer. I can tell she wants to be more intimate, so I shift my body to face her more, and then I draw a circle with my finger over her bare shoulder. There seems to be relief in her eyes, so I continue.
“What did you end up choosing?”
“Now, Birdy,” I admonish. “What kind of Pickle of Honor would I be if I gave out the secrets of the wedding?”
