Page 90 of Draft Pick
I turn the knob of the countertop griddle and cover it with cubed butter. “On and buttered up.”
“Whatcha doin’ in here?”
“Shit,” I curse. “Gotta go, Grams. Pretty doctor is in the building.”
“Don’t forget the—” she starts, but I hang up, quickly turning to face Juniper.
She embodies sleepiness and has never looked cuter. Her hair is a bit of a tangled mess, pillow marks along the side of one cheek, and one of my old T-shirts from college ball hanging mid-thigh along her frame.
I want all mornings to be like this with her.
“Crew?” Juniper asks, arms crossed at her chest with a curious smile on her face. “Something smells burnt.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. I spin quickly, sadly discovering I’ve managed to burn the butter. No pancakes even on the damn griddle—just butter. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” I scoff, turning off the heat and attempting to scrape off the butter with a spatula.
I turn back to face Juniper, ready to apologize for the mess, waking her, and not having breakfast ready. Either one of those things will suffice as an apology. But much to my surprise, she’s less than a foot away from me, not a trace of disappointment in her stare.
“Did you make me breakfast?” Her cheeks rise, and it’s not often I get to see Juniper without her glasses, but this morning, she looks captivatingly innocent. And young.
I say innocent lightly because if two nights ago is any indicator of her maturity level, she’s the farthest thing from pure.
“Itriedto make you breakfast. Keyword: tried,” I tell her, wiping the pancake powder off my shirt. “I swear I paid attention when you taught Addie, but right now, I can’t remember a single step other than butter for the life of me.”
Juniper’s hands meet my biceps as she steps closer, putting us a breath away. “Butter is the most important ingredient. At least you remembered that.” I feel like an idiot, watching as she takes in the destruction that is my kitchen, that same playful smirk never going away. “This is really sweet, Crew. You even took out the Halloween sprinkles.”
I shrug. “Figured Addie would be proud.”
“You know…” she stammers, hands reaching under my shirt to rub against my chest. Juniper’s touch calms me, just like touching me grounds her. “I could get used to this.”
“A messy kitchen and inedible breakfast? To each their own, I guess,” I tease.
She kisses my lips softly before pulling away. “Not what I meant, and you know it. I meant slow mornings with you. And Addie. Even chaotic ones, too. Hell, the rowdier the better.”
A smile curves at my lips. “That sounds like a pretty great life, if you ask me. But someone would need to be designated cook. Burning butter was my last straw.”
Juniper giggles. “You literally own an entire restaurant and somehow can’t cook a pancake.”
“Nope. And that pipe dream had nothing to do with me being the chef,” I share. “I just wanted a place where everyone I loved could come together. Eat good food. Have good drinks. And be together. I’ve accomplished that.”
“You have,” she agrees kindly, and I tuck a strand of loose hair behind her ear. Juniper leans into my touch, an affection I catch her doing often and appreciate.
Makes me think she feels safe with me.
“What are we, Crew?” she whispers, and for the first time in my life, nothing about her question scares me.
“Well, what do you want us to be?”
Her eyes fall closed softly, long dark lashes against her skin, bringing attention to her freckles. “Permanent. So much of my life has been founded on a rotation of change. Med school and the years of ups and downs it brought. My family. Leaving behind the only home I’ve known and moving to Atlanta. Starting over at a new job. Owning a business. I just really crave permanence. Grounded roots.”
“Then that’s what we are, baby. I can give you permanent. I can give you a lot more than that if you’ll let me.”
“So, you’re saying you want to be with me? I may need you to spell it out so I don’t overthink everything when I’m alone.” Being surrounded by women most of my life has taught me how much they appreciate kind forwardness. No pussyfooting allowed.
I kiss her nose. “I want you to be my girlfriend. Eventually, I want you to be more than just my girlfriend. And then after that, I want you to be of the same level of importance to my daughter that you are to me.That’swhat I want. That work for you, Doc?”
Juniper’s face lights up, and I’m confident my words pleased her. “Yeah, that works for me. We can take it a day at a time.”
I almost kiss her again, but pause, remembering something really fucking important. “And no more dating. You want a free meal? Come to me, and I’ll feed you. Maybe not cook, but I’ll order you all the things. Or I’ll have Troy bring them to you wherever you are. We clear?”
