Page 52 of Reckless (Adventures in Love 3)
I laugh and let her go, then wipe under my eyes as I start the engine of my car. “You know that man of yours would jump off a cliff if you asked him to.”
“I know,” she says softly, and I glance over at her. “But I never want him to think I’d expect him to do that.”
Shaking my head, I wonder what world she is living in. “For Tanner you raise the sun and set the moon in the sky each night. There is nothing you could ask him to do that would be too much, and I know it’s the same for you.”
“That’s love, right?” she asks quietly. “Putting someone else’s wants and needs above your own and hoping they love you enough to do the same in return?”
“I’ve never experienced that kind of love outside of Mom and Dad before, but I think that’s how it’s supposed to be,” I tell her, wondering what it must feel like to love and be loved so completely.
With a plastic container in my hand, I head up the steps at Maverick’s house, ignoring the anxiousness in the pit of my stomach. I know that emotion has nothing to do with Maverick but is left over from a previous relationship. One where I showed up at a guy’s house hoping to surprise him, only to find that he had another woman over. Which was a shock to me since we were supposed to be exclusive. He just didn’t tell me that only I was supposed to be exclusive with him, while he could date anyone he wanted.
After knocking on the door, I stand back and wait, hoping he’s home and not out on his property somewhere. I didn’t tell him I was coming, since I didn’t plan on seeing him until later this evening, when he told me he’d come to my place. Then I went to the grocery store after I dropped Cybil off at the house and passed the premade cookie dough and decided to grab a pack. Honestly I don’t even know that he eats cookies; I’ve never seen the man consume sugar, so I might be eating a dozen chocolate chip cookies on my own. Not that I will be upset about it.
“Hey, baby.” He opens the door with a smile that states clearly he’s happy to see me. “I was just getting ready to head up the mountain to check the markers the surveyor placed today.” He greets me with a kiss, then looks down at my hands. “What’s this?”
“Just something I made you.” I pass the container over to him as I step into the house, then watch him open the lid.
“You made me cookies?” His eyes meet mine, and the look he gives me makes my cheeks warm. It’s stupid, I know. I mean, the guy has seen every single inch of me, and I’ve never once blushed, but seeing his reaction to me giving him cookies does?
“I baked them; I didn’t make them, really,” I say as he takes one out and takes a bite. Biting my lip, I watch him chew, then shift on my feet as he swallows.
“Best thing I’ve tasted in my life besides you,” he tells me, his voice deep, and then he wraps his free hand around my waist and tugs me into him so that he can cover my mouth with his. He tastes like him and chocolate, which might be my new favorite thing. “You wanna go for a ride with me?” he asks when he pulls back, and I nod my head.
“Give me five; I just need to grab a different shirt.” He kisses me swiftly once more, then turns, heads for the kitchen, and drops the container there. “Be right back.”
“I’ll be here,” I say, and he leaves me at the island before he heads for his room, and I take my purse off my shoulder, setting it on top of the bar. Noticing the blueprints for his new house sitting out and opened on the counter, I smile as I look them over; then my heart does an odd little thump. Where the bathroom for the master is located, a tub has been drawn into the image with black Sharpie. Holy shit.
“Ready?”
I jump at that question and turn to face him.
“Yep.” I run my suddenly sweaty hands down the front of my jeans.
“You’ll have to stay on the four-wheeler when we get up there,” he tells me, looking down at my feet, and I glance down at my bootees, which are not really acceptable for walking anywhere but on the concrete where I wore them today or from my car to his front door.
“That’s okay. I don’t mind.”
“All right,” he says as he opens the container of cookies, takes out another, and shoves the whole thing into his mouth. As he chews, he takes my hand and leads me to the front door; then he tells me to wait while he gets the four-wheeler out of the shed. As I stand on his front porch and wait for him, all I can do is think about the bathtub that will now be in his house, a place he’s building for the people he cares about.
