“And you don’t really know me. So is it too fast?”
He shook his head. “Let’s get to know each other. We’ll spend time together and learn what each other likes.”
“I hate cauliflower.”
He couldn’t stop the laughter from spilling from his lips. She joined him, and laughter filled the room.
His soul felt lighter, like she was healing him. Being with Willa was like two interlocking pieces fitting perfectly together. Maybe it was too early to feel this way, but he knew without a doubt that Willa was his, and he was hers.
After another round of lovemaking, they ate sandwiches and relaxed on the couch for a while.
“I have to clean the place before the week starts.”
“I can do that tomorrow.”
“No way am I having you clean on your own. We can take care of it in no time together.”
She nodded, delight filling her eyes. “Okay. I’ll start in the kitchen.”
“I’ll clean the bathroom.”
Willa movedto the kitchen and started washing dishes. Cy was too nice. When he’d said he would clean the bathroom, she wasn’t sure what she expected, but he actually cleaned, and she didn’t have to go back and tidy up after him.
She should have expected him to be competent in the task because his house had been clean when she’d shown up.
He was responsible, and she liked not having to worry about him throwing a tantrum because he had to help out. Maybe she wasn’t seeing the real him, but she thought she was. There weren’t any signs that he was lying to her.
She didn’t have to go into work, so she took a nap in the middle of the afternoon while he read something he wanted to catch up on.
When she woke, she had a wild thought. It might be too much to ask. She shouldn’t ask. She should plan on returning to the room she rented at some point.
Her stomach tightened. She didn’t want to leave. But they hadn’t been together long, and she didn’t need to put this kind of pressure on him. He hadn’t asked her to move in, and it would be rude to tell him that she was moving in.
A small part of her worried that if she moved in, he would change. That was how Robert had gotten her. He’d turned into a totally different person once she was hooked.
“Hey,” Cy's voice made her jump. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought you heard me come in.”
“I was lost in thought, I guess.”
“What were you thinking so hard about?”
“Nothing. Well…” She worried that saying anything would set him off.
He raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything. Was he playing at something, or was he giving her space?
“Sorry. I just, it’s just I don’t know how to do this.”
“Do what?”
She waved her hands over her head. “Everything. I don’t want to screw this up, and I’m overthinking. Like I have the room I rent, and I don’t know if I should go back there to sleep this week, but I don’t want to leave you. I work nights, so I won’t be here in the evenings after you get off work, and I won’t see you.”
“Hey, don’t overthink. How about we grab some dinner and talk at the table? You can go through the pros and cons of keeping the room.”
She blew out a harsh breath and nodded. “Okay. I started panicking there.”
“I get it. Come on, I’ll get something going, and then we can talk while we eat.”
She nodded before getting up. When she stepped into the kitchen, he already had a pan on the stove and was cookingchicken. The vegetables were cut and ready to go into another pan.
