Page 16 of Under the Weatherman
He set his glass on the nightstand and ran his finger along the neckline of my robe. “I really like this moment.”
I closed my eyes, literally and metaphorically. Forcing myself to appreciate the here and now, I curled into him and somehow drifted off to sleep with his arms around me.
Chapter Six
Evan
“Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.”
Julius Caesar
I stretched my limbs with a satisfying groan, slowly becoming aware of a fluffy duvet, a cloud-soft pillow—neither of which were mine—and a warm weight pressing on my shin. I cracked my eyelids to discover the cat using me as a bed. Its purring grew louder as I attempted to shift myself into a more comfortable position without dislodging it, and when I rolled over, I found Elizabeth watching me sleepily. She looked deliciously decadent.
“Hi.” My morning boner brushed against her thigh.
“Rise and shine.” She snorted, and it brought a smile to my lips, as I recalled a summer when we were forced to attend vacation bible school.
Give God your glory, glory.
It had been years since I’d gone to church. I wondered if she still did.
“Good morning, beautiful.” I ran a finger through her hair.
After last night, I wanted to pursue whatever this was with her, build on this emotional bond, but the timing couldn’t be worse. She was the last person I wanted to start a casual relationship with, but until my life was sorted, I couldn’t make empty promises. Maybe she didn’t want promises. She’d wanted to live in the moment.
Meanwhile precious time slipped away.
As if she was reading my mind, she asked, “When do you need to go?”
“Not right now.” My flight wasn’t until two. “Do you need to be anywhere?”
“Not right now,” she echoed. She traced a path on my chest, playing gently with the hair. “Soon, though.”
My phone buzzed on the nightstand, and I groaned. I considered leaving it, but Shelby had told me she’d be in contact, so I rolled over to check it.
A text said,If you haven’t left town, please come by. I’ll be here until noon.
The clock read 10:30. I sat up abruptly. “Shit.”
The cat flew off the bed, and Lizzy—Elizabeth—peered over my arm. “Problem?”
I focused on my phone, scrolling, reading, frowning. Shelby had emailed, too. I had some time, but I didn’t want to make her wait. “Not a problem. But I’m going to have to leave earlier than expected.”
“Oh?”
I met her eyes. “You can come with me if you want.” It was a terrible idea, but I wasn’t ready to sever this connection. “We could grab a bite to eat.” Even as I said it, I knew we were on borrowed time.
Elizabeth looked like she was considering it. But then her shoulders slumped. “I can’t.” Her eyes pleaded. “I have to start getting ready for work.”
“On a Saturday?” I still wasn’t sure exactly what she did, even after she’d told me. Something with linguistics or animals? “Is your job stressful?”
“Hardly. Today I’ll be inn-sitting. I can do some copy editing at the same time.” She shrugged. “I juggle a lot of different jobs, trying to scrape by.”
I grimaced in sympathy. “Nothing like chasing the all-mighty dollar when all you want to do is lie in bed with a beautiful woman.”
She caught my fingers in hers. “Time’s a bastard thief,” she said. “And it’s currently stealing away with my moment.”
“You should be a writer,” I said, and she laughed. “What?”
