“Wait… how?”
“I asked Teddy if he could send someone over before we got here so they could bring in a few basic groceries. Soy milk, sugar, and your sweetener were top of the list.” Her head tilted, brows pinching. “What?” I asked.
“That was a lot of forethought.”
She wasn’t saying it outright, but I was reading between the lines: she was impressed.
It was no secret that Lula was a very ambitious woman. She liked her plans, her lists, her five-step thinking. And she was intrigued by men who had those same qualities.
“What can I say, I like keeping you comfortable,” I said. “Peek in the freezer.”
She did just that as I started the coffee.
“You didn’t,” she gasped, grabbing the box of her caramel blondie ice cream bars she’d mentioned.
“And I got myself the chocolate fudge brownie ones so I’m not tempted to steal any of yours.”
“Coming home from the club to dessert sounds perfect.”
“I’ve always been more of a mac & cheese or grilled cheese guy when I’ve been drinking, but I see your vision.”
“Both of those meals require cooking. You can cook?”
“It might be a stretch to call stirring gooey cheese into boiled pasta ‘cooking,’ but I can do that, yes.”
“Icancook but don’t do it much.”
“Do you like it?” I asked, passing her a mug of coffee.
“I, um, yes. If I don’t have to worry about the time it takes.”
“Is something wrong with the coffee?” I asked as she kept turning the mug in her hand.
“This cup is from Tiffany.”
“Guess so.”
“No, it is. I have these saved. I didn’t pull the trigger because they’re not dishwasher safe. And that just felt like a lot of work.”
“Well, that was good information to have before I ruined these by putting them in the dishwasher,” I said, adding sugar to my mug.
“Anything with gold on it like this can’t go in a dishwasher,” she explained, standing beside me to make her own coffee.
It was so normal.
Comfortable.
Nice.
Something I could get used to.
If all worked out the way I was hoping, maybe I could. Get used to it. Us. Together. Domestic. Happy.
At that moment, sipping coffee and watching the seagulls land in the backyard, I had no idea how close I was to losing it all.
To almost losing her.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
