“Over here please,” Hazard interrupted.
“That’s not where it goes.”
“But, Kieran, I promised them.”
I was a fucking schmuck because the soft plea in his voice had me rotating and carrying the damned stool to where he pointed. The second I set it down, he nodded happily and raced into the kitchen out of sight.
“Don’t touch my coffeemaker,” I barked.
Seconds later, he returned, both plants clutched to his chest.Getting dirt all over my shirt and the floor.
“This is ridiculous.” I seethed.
He ignored me and went about arranging the two plants on the stool as if they were priceless statues in some fancy museum.
He fussed and clucked his tongue, arranging them this way and that. Fawning over their leaves, which had perked up in the last few days, and praising them for enduring the “harsh” living conditions I’d subjected them to.
“You’re pissing me off,” I declared, folding my arms over my chest.
His nose wrinkled, and he waved me away. “Take your toxic vibes away from these chlorophyll cuties. Can’t you see they’re starting to thrive?”
The audacity. “This is my house.”
Haz looked up, mismatched eyes nearly marooning my heart. “Would you like us to leave?”
“I’m making coffee,” I replied, leaving him to his antics and stomping into the kitchen.
“Better make a double.”
The entire time I worked, my ears strained to hear every soft, kind word he said to those green goblins. Frankly, I thought it was absurd that he talked to them like they understood. It was a waste of that sweet voice. Especially when he could be in here using it on me.
Instead, I gothave you ever refuseda jobandwould you like us to leave.
I kept my back turned when he stepped into the kitchen, concentrating on pouring myself a mug of freshly made brew.
His arms slid around my waist from behind, his cheek pressed against my bare back. My throat closed, and my grip on the carafe tightened, but I didn’t say anything. Instead, I finished pouring and then took that first heavenly sip.
Oddly, it wasn’t as blissful as usual, which made me take another sip, wondering if I’d used bad beans or something. No. The coffee was perfect, just the way I liked it.
So then why was that first sip not hitting like it always did?
Because you found something better.
I wasn’t entertaining that thought because it wasn’t true.
The arms around me tightened, his cheek rubbing against me like a cat. “Thank you for letting me use the stool until I can get them a plant stand.”
A measly apology.
Haz lifted his face and kissed the center of my back. The simple peck echoed down the length of my spine.
“I’ll make you some French toast,” I said.
“Can I help?”
“No.”
“Can I watch?”
