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“Breakfast in bed,” he murmured against me. “Not a bad way to start the day.”

A giggle escaped me. “You’re terrible.”

He grinned, looking so cute I could hardly stand it. I had to kiss him again. When we came up for air, he brushed my hair out of my eyes. “How about I give you a proper breakfast now?”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” He smiled. “I’m not the best cook, but I can handle breakfast.”

I smiled tentatively. “Okay. What about—um…”

“Dakota considers you a friend. She won’t mind you being here.”

“No, not that. Last night… I shouldn’t have freaked out about the rain or told you all that stuff about the accident. I feel kind of stupid.”

He held my gaze, looking serious. “I’m glad you told me, Joey. I’d never thought about your point of view. It helps.”

I shook my head. “No, you don’t need to hear my stupid excuses. I shouldn’t be trying to⁠—”

He pressed a hard kiss to my mouth, silencing me. “You’re not making excuses. I asked you to tell me. And as for your anxiety over the rain, well, that’s understandable. You’ve got nothing to feel bad about.”

He rolled out of the bed. “Now, come on. Let’s go make breakfast. I’m starved.”

I dug under the covers to find my discarded shorts, then slipped out of the bed and retrieved my T-shirt from last night. Kit tugged on a pair of sweats, not bothering with a shirt.

When we entered the kitchen, Dakota was already by the glass patio door. She was gazing outside, probably watching their dog play. She glanced over with a small smile.

“Your first overnight, huh? That’s a big deal.”

“Shut it,” Kit grumbled, though he didn’t sound too bothered.

“Kit just let me stay because I didn’t want to drive in the rain,” I said. “It wasn’t planned or anything.”

“This time,” Kit said with a shrug.

This time? Meaning there would be a next time? This all seemed just a little too good to be true. How had we transitioned from casual fuck buddies, with a good dose of resentment between us, to…whatever this was?

Had Kit’s feelings for me changed, or was I just reading way too much into his basic kindness?

Kit opened the refrigerator and pulled out the eggs. “I’m going to make breakfast, Kota. You want something?”

“You’re cooking? This must be serious,” Dakota said.

“Ha-ha.” Kit rolled his eyes. “She’s hilarious, isn’t she?”

“Yeah.” I nibbled my bottom lip. “Can I help somehow?”

“Sure,” he said easily. “Pancake mix is in the pantry. Grab it for me?”

We fell into the rhythm of cooking, each of us taking on a task. Dakota cracked eggs into a bowl and stirred them with milk, prepping the scrambled eggs. I mixed up the pancake batter. Kit handled the cooking.

Dakota let Pogo in when he cried at the door, and then he did his best to get under my feet.

“He really likes you,” Dakota commented. “Usually he sticks close to me.”

“She’s right,” Kit tossed over his shoulder. “Pogo is Auntie Dakota’s best boy.”

“Maybe it’s because you bought his food from me,” I joked. “He’s just going straight to the source.”