It would take that and more to put up with my older brother. He was claiming that having someone at his house wasn’t really working out for him, but maybe someone to take care of him was exactly what he needed.
Cole
“Is it technically the weekend?” Lauren asked as she laid on my sofa later with her hand on her belly. “I ate way too much of what I wanted at dinner tonight.”
I smiled as I took a seat at the end of the sofa.
She hadn’t really eaten that much, but Lauren mentally kicked herself every time she ate more than a salad and some yogurt.
She was getting better at switching up her diet and adding more protein, but old habits die hard.
If she could see her body through my eyes, she’d never complain about eating a few more calories than normal ever again.
I had to admit that Millie was an amazing cook. Everyone had pitched in to help, but she’d supervised the entire dinner.
“Friday night,” I told her, amused. “It’s the weekend. The pot roast was good protein, and mashed potatoes are a vegetable.”
She snorted. “And exactly how are we justifying the chocolate cream pie?”
“We’re not,” I answered. “Sometimes you just have to eat something just because it tastes good, and that pie was worth it. We’ll ride tomorrow and get some fun outdoor exercise.”
I’d just finished settling Daisy into my barn.
Lauren and I hadn’t really discussed our weekend plans.
She’d brought an overnight bag without a single question about where she was sleeping.
I knew exactly where she was sleeping.
There was no fucking way she wasn’t going to end up in my bed.
Yeah, she’d made it clear that she was ready to explore the sensual side of this relationship.
Fuck knew I wanted the same things.
But there was always a chance that she’d change her mind and decide she wanted us to get to know each other better first.
If she wasn’t quite ready for sex, she was still going to sleep with me.
There was no way in hell we were going to end up on separate floors of this house tonight.
She belonged withme.
Lauren suddenly sat up and cuddled against my body, like she’d sensed that I wanted her closer.
I wrapped my arm around her, smirking because I knew that was probably a ridiculous thought.
“What are the plans for this weekend?” she asked as she laid her head on my shoulder.
“Doing whatever we feel like doing,” I informed her. “I was thinking about driving into town in the morning to get a cinnamon roll and a coffee at The Mug And Jug if they’re still open in the mornings. I haven’t done that since I was a teenager.”
Our father had certainly never brought his sons into town for anything good, but I had a few fond memories of Asher hauling me into Crystal Fork in the mornings for one of those cinnamon rolls and a coffee.
After Asher had graduated from high school, he’d gotten himself a job as an entry-level welder in Billings, so he’d started to make his own money.
I’d gotten a job stocking shelves at the grocery store to save for our future, but I wasn’t able to make nearly as much money as Asher back then.
We’d enjoyed hanging out in town after we’d both started earning a little money of our own.
