“Think you can extend your trip a few days?” he asks, as if reading my mind.
“I wish,” I reply, and he has no idea how much I mean it.
Chapter 9
DOMINIC
Once the pizza rolls are done and the cupcakes are topped with Lindsay’s homemade frosting, we work together to cut up the fruit and arrange it on silicone straws. There are grapes, strawberries, pineapples, watermelon, and cantaloupe. It’s quite the bright, cheerful-looking snack.
My gaze drifts to Lindsay’s profile between each assembled skewer, studying the slope of her nose and the shapes I can make out among the freckles on her cheeks. She’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met. It’s not just her body either––though that alone could inspire countless poems––it’s the way her mind works. I wasn’t lying when I told her I could listen to her talk about food for the rest of time.
Though, the more accurate statement would be that I could listen to her talk about anything for the rest of time. Anything that she cared about. The way her passion and knowledge about a certain subject transforms her features is captivating. Her body language is usually guarded and skeptical, with her eyes expressionless and her brows almost always pinched together, as if waiting for inevitable disappointment. But that melts away the moment she starts chattering like a hummingbird onspeed. Her hands are open and constantly moving to express her opinions. Her eyes are bright. She doesn’t stand still like a statue. Depending on the words coming out of her mouth, she might be shuffling her feet, tapping excitedly, or doing a little dance in place.
This is what was missing when I first saw her on Halloween night. She seemed bone-tired, but that’s not the girl I kissed those many years ago. She was in there somewhere, though. I knew it. My lioness is fierce, always ready to extend her claws and go to war with the world to protect her people. I want to be the place where she can take a deep breath and unclench her fists.
Maybe there’s no one else who can help her find that place. Maybe I was put back into her life for a reason. No, I’m certain I was.
I reckon I was brought back from the dead to show her the absurd beauty of being alive.
We cover the food in layers of plastic wrap and aluminum foil, and carefully stack the trays between our bodies in the truck. Camilla is thrilled to see us, especially after the snowstorm. The roads were clear on our way over, thankfully, but if the snow had continued into the morning, that likely wouldn’t have been the case. We stay to help her set up the food along a foldable table in the living room, where the party is taking place. There are balloons and streamers along the walls and covering the ceiling.
Morty, Camilla’s husband and the town’s only jaguar shifter, is hard at work filling more balloons with helium at the kitchen counter. He gives me a friendly wave when I pass by. Rocío and Hugo are nowhere to be found.
Camilla is showering Lindsay with compliments about the presentation and how she plans to sneak a cupcake beforepeople start arriving, and I watch proudly from the sidelines, following Lindsay’s instructions on where to put things.
She doesn’t seem to enjoy the job she has, and she’s already so good at this. It’s not my place to tell her to quit her shitty job and be a caterer instead, but I want to. Especially if it meant she’d be here full-time doing something she likes to do.
While the two women continue chatting about witchcraft and some coven news, I head over to Morty and start tying ribbons on the ends of balloons that he’s just closed and knotted. He’s a man of few words, which I don’t mind. This is a mindless task that allows me to observe Lindsay from a distance, andfuck me,one blowjob and I’m obsessed with this woman.
If I don’t rein it in, I’m going to fuck this whole thing up before it even gets going. We haven’t even had sex yet, and I’m picturing his and hers monogrammed hand towels in our bathroom. I shake my head, trying to knock the mushy shit loose, and Morty gives me a look like,You good?
I laugh, easing the tension from my stance and trying to be all nonchalant. Then, “Nope,” falls out of my mouth, and I have no clue what to do next. There’s really nowhere to go from here, so I hand him a stray ribbon and march away. “Linds, you ready to go?” Get me out of here before I ask Hugo to be our ring bearer.
More than one car is parking on the street in front of the house, and with guests arriving, my eager exit doesn’t seem so strange.
Lindsay says goodbye to Camilla and promises to text her after she does her witch homework. I drive her back to Pebblebrook so she can take a “reset shower,” whatever that is, and change clothes, and we agree to meet at the bar in a few hours. I wasn’t planning on working today, but since I know she’s coming in, I drive straight back to the bar and tackle the stack of bills in my office.
The silky caress of her voice meets my ears around three in the afternoon as she greets Vyla and Natalie. My body urges me to shoot to my feet and run toward her.
Close the distance. Do it. Do it.
But I remain in my seat. I just saw her a few hours ago. There’s no reason to behave like it’s been months.
I’m going to keep doing my job. I won’t go out there until these bills are paid.
My knee bounces as I focus on clicking the “Submit Payment” button on my screen. It takes me much longer than it should to clear the stack. You’d think this was my first day ever using a computer with the way I slam one key at a time, but I’m relieved when the task is finally off my plate.
I’m leaning back in my chair, chomping on some breath mints and scanning the transactions tab of my QuickBooks account when Lindsay strolls in.
“Hi. You wanted to go over those menu additions I mentioned?” She’s practically shouting each word.
“Uh, sure,” I reply. Didn’t we already do that?
She leans back against the door after closing it and locking the handle, and a mischievous grin appears. I don’t understand what’s happening until she’s in my lap, and her lips are pressed against mine.
“Ah,” I finally say with a laugh. It was a ruse to ravage me.
Her nose scrunches at first, and she tilts her head, like,Really, dude?But it’s quickly replaced with warmth and amusement and a boop of my nose.
