I’d bought the orchid this morning, after I left her sleeping in my childhood bed.
“Yes. You said you need something alive near you when you write, but not a human.”
She ducked her head, hiding a smile, and wandered deeper into the loft.
I went to the kitchen and started coffee. Watched her from across the counter.
She was doing a slow, silent prowl. Learning. She touched everything. It was kind of annoying—especially when her fingertips trailed over the stainless steel of the fridge.
She came quietly and sat at the counter. I placed the mug in front of her—black, one sugar, steaming. She blinked, then wrapped her hands around it.
“You’re a neat freak. It makes sense why you’re always cleaning up my place when you think I don’t notice,” she laughed.
I just shrugged, leaning against the counter, watching her watch me. She was in my world now. She could learn all my secrets. I had nothing to hide from her.
When she didn’t speak, I gave her space. I put on music—the playlist I’d built for her. D’Angelo’s voice poured out of the speakers hidden in the ceiling. I saw her shoulders drop an inch.
I held out my hand. “Come here.”
She stared at my palm for a beat, then her gaze lifted to mine. She came without a word. I pulled her around the counter, into the open space between the kitchen and the living room, and drew her against me. We swayed. No talking. Her cheek waswarm against my chest. I could feel her breathing sync with mine. This was the moment I’d yearned for. Not the sex, not the confession—this. This quiet belonging. Her in the center of my world, not trying to escape it.
When the song ended, I pulled away and stared down at her.
“You okay now?”
She grinned. “I’m fine. This is different.”
“Being with you… outside of my place. Somewhere I don’t control. You could be anyone here. This whole other person I don’t know.” Her eyes came back to me, searching.
“But I’m not.”
“But you could be. Can I look in your drawers? Bathroom cabinets?”
I stared at her. “Why?”
“Because,” she said, her voice soft but serious, “that’s where people keep the real stuff.”
I thought she was kidding, but the excited look she had in her eyes told me she wasn’t.
I shook my head. “Go ahead, Sky. But I want my things back exactly how they were when you finish.”
I wasn’t even done talking before she skipped off down the hallway.
I cooked for her while she searched. She came back disappointed.
“You’re lame.”
“Because you didn’t find bodies?”
“I didn’t find anything at all.”
“Exactly.”
“You probably threw all your other women’s stuff away before I came,” she half-joked.
“If you say so.”
I made seared scallops, lemon risotto and garlic butter asparagus. I watched her eyes close on the first bite. A hum of pleasure vibrated in her throat. That sound was worth more than any Michelin star.
