“No worries there. I like to cook.”
My eyes narrowed. “Of course you do.”
He laughed and took a step forward. “Are you done?”
“No.” I kicked my foot out to stop him from moving toward me. “I think making my bed is stupid, so I never do it.”
“I haven’t made my bed in ten years.”
That one surprised me, but I felt a tiny bit better. “That’s what I like to hear.”
He stood still, as if waiting for a signal from me to come closer. But I wasn’t finished. This was a big one. “I have a mom who I love but who sometimes makes bad decisions. Hopefully, this time, she’s found her happiness, but she might be sleeping on my couch in a month or two. Or asking to borrow money. I never really know. And I usually help her. I really want to work at setting healthy boundaries, but it might take me a while to figure that out.”
Duke nodded. “That’s good. I figure we can help each other out there because I also need to set some parental boundaries.”
“I can do that,” I added. “And I want you to try to see my mom’s good qualities too. Because she has them. Lots of them.”
His eyes grew soft. “You came from her. I already love her best quality.”
My eyes welled even as I threw him an exasperated look. “Stop with the adorable lines. I need to get through my list before I kiss you, or else none of this makes sense.”
He laughed and motioned for me to proceed.
For this last one, I took a ragged breath. My hands were trembling until I folded them across my stomach.
“For the longest time, I have only been able to trust myself. I had a lot of people in and out of my life, and it’s been difficult for me to trust people. I’m trying to be better, but it might be hard for me sometimes. You might have to be patient with me.”
He nodded. “Done. Now are you finished?”
“Nope!” I held out my hands and took a step back, once again warding off the advance he no doubt had on his mind. “Now I need to hear a list of your flaws. From what I can see, you’re pretty much perfect, so you’d better let me have it.”
He bit his top lip as his gaze was steady on mine, the look of a man with his mind whirling, probably trying to think of some stupid flaw to tell me. I’d know if he was lying, and I told him so.
The smile that crept across his face started a chain reaction in me. A smile of my own began to form, matching his until it threatened to grow even wider. I tried to contain it. I still hadn’t heard his flaws, after all. He began walking ever so slowly toward me again, the tiniest dimple forming in his cheek. I swallowed and held out my hand—a finger, to be exact—warning him away.
“Hey! No! Stop walking. You can’t charm me now with dimples and smiles. Flaws, mister. And they’d better be good.”
He stopped, his hands in his pockets. “I leave my socks all over the house.”
I lifted my chin. “That’s definitely annoying.”
“I leave my shoes in the middle of the floor. I trip over them all the time, but I still do it.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You don’t leave them by the door?”
“Nope. And my towel goes straight to the bathroom floor, crumpled and wet, until the next day.”
I gasped, my hand covering my mouth as he moved closer. I was nearly crawling out of my skin. But then I remembered something, eyes narrowing dangerously. “Wait a sec. Ryan and Mike always accused you of being a neat freak. Are you just telling me what I want to hear now?”
He stopped, nodding his head in shame. “I do like having the dishes done. And the countertops wiped down. And I’m a master loader of the dishwasher.”
I shook my head. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. You were so close.”
“I’m usually late wherever I go. At least five minutes. Sometimes ten.”
“Now we’re talking.”
He closed the distance between us, gathering me slowly into his arms. “When I do laundry, I put everything in one load. On cold. Whites, colors…” He leaned in closer to my ear, whispering, “Reds.”
