Hearing my nickname from his very attractive lips has me thinking things I don’t need to be thinking about right now. That means it’s definitely time for me to leave. I bound down his front steps with a little wave over my shoulder before jumping into my car and hauling ass out of his driveway.
That man is dangerousin too many ways for me.
“Knock, knock!” I say as I open the front door of my parents’ house.
“Annie!” My dad jumps up from his recliner to give me a hug.
I sink into it, feeling balanced for the first time since the blind date gone awry.
“You know, I thought we’d be seeing more of you when you moved back here, but it feels like we’ve barely seen you since you moved. Although, I heard you were dressed up last night for dinner. Special date already, Annie?” He pulls back with a smirk, and my heart sinks.
The gossip in this town is unreal.
“That was nothing, Dad. We probably need to get you a hobby or something. Your gossiping is getting a little extreme.” I smirk.
“I agree!” Mom yells from the kitchen, prompting me to laugh.
“Didn’t realize you two would be teaming up on me today, but that’s fine.” We both walk into the kitchen to sit at the bar top while Mom cooks.
“Oh, hush,” my mom scolds my dad.
“That’s not what you were saying to me earlier,” my dad replies with a smirk.
“Oh God, no! My ears! I will literally leave and never come back if you keep that up.” I fake a gag.
“You know, it’s perfectly natural to have a healthy sex life at any age. We’re not ashamed of it.” My mom shrugs as she continues to stir the spaghetti sauce.
“Save me.” I tilt my head to the ceiling. “Pull me down to hell, I don’t care, just save me from hearing this conversation,” I mutter.
“And I’m the dramatic one.” Dad rolls his eyes.
“Can we just make it a rule that we don’t talk about any of our sex lives over dinner? Or ever—I feel the need to clarify now,” I beg.
“You’re no fun, Annie.”
“If not talking to my parents about their sex life or mine is no fun, then I will gladly take that title,” I groan.
“So, what’s new?” My mom gladly changes the subject.
“Nothing really, just working.” I don’t want to give my dad an ounce of ammunition, so sticking to work is a safe subject.
“Are you liking it? I know Ledger was running around like a chicken with his head cut off there for a while. He needed the help.” My mom tsks.
“Yeah, his email was a mess.” I chuckle. “It’s good, though. Pretty straightforward and easy, so that’s a huge change. I did have to create a presentation for him, though, so that was challenging, but I liked the creative side of things more than I thought I would.”
Thinking about that more, I realize I’ve always been a numbers person. I’ve never had a creative bone in my body. But creating that presentation today was really fun. Ienjoyedthe work. I don’t think there’s ever been a time where I enjoyed my job.
Huh, that’s eye-opening.
“I’m glad things are working out, honey. And Ledger is such a sweetheart. I’m glad it’s helping both of you.” My mom pats my hand as she starts plating up dinner.
The rest of dinner is our usual affair: dad gossiping about everything he’s heard in the last week, me filling them in on all things Larkin and family. It’s a level of comfort I didn’t know I would love so much. And I had no idea how much I was really missing it.
I sit back after dinner, watching my dad do the dishes as he dances with my mom in the kitchen, and I realize how much I’m starting to like it here. My heart also clenches at the display of love spinning around together in the kitchen.Could I have that?
Chapter 15
Ledger
