Page 42 of Reckless (Adventures in Love 3)
Hearing a knock, I toss the stuff in my hands toward my bed, and Pebbles, who is lying curled up on one of my pillows, gives me a dirty look. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your sleep,” I tell him, and his tail wags. I head for the door, and he hops down to follow me, so I pick him up, not wanting him to run out of the house. My old apartment in Oregon had a small, fenced backyard, so even if he did get out, he couldn’t go far and never seemed much inclined to go outside anyway. Here it’s a different story. I don’t know if it’s the scent of the wildlife in the forest beyond the front door or what, but he’s venturing a little farther every day and staying outside longer as well.
“Hey,” I greet, opening the door, and Maverick’s gaze roams over my face and hair.
“I didn’t know you wore glasses.”
“I keep my contacts in most of the time, but my eyes were starting to bug me.” I shrug, stepping aside to let him in, and shut the door. “I think it’s because I was on the computer for a while and I’m not used to that,” I babble, not sure what to make of the look he’s giving me.
“I didn’t think you could be cuter. I was wrong.” He slides his hand around my waist, making contact with skin, and I shiver from his touch and the coldness of his palm against my bare waist. “I like them.”
“Thanks,” I say quietly as he leans in to touch his lips to mine, then takes Pebbles from me because he’s making a fuss.
“What were you working on?” he asks, taking off his jacket and kicking off his boots when we get into my place.
“Cybil was over, and we were going over the layout of the store, the paint colors, and wallpaper stuff.” I walk to the microwave and pull out the bag of popcorn, then get a bowl to dump it in. “And you’ll never believe what happened today.” I glance over my shoulder at him.
“What happened?”
“Liam, my boss, suggested that we open up the wall between the store and the coffee shop, and since his family owns the building, he was able to call them and get approval to do it.”
“Really?”
“That’s what I said, because that kind of thing just doesn’t happen, but he’s serious. Now we just have to talk to a lawyer and get everything down in writing. If it does happen, it will be awesome for us, especially with us just starting out. The coffee shop might not be busy all day, but it is steady, and so while people wait for their drink, they can browse the store and hopefully buy something.”
“That would be good,” he says as I carry my bowl with me to the couch, where he’s sitting with Pebbles.
“Do you want something to drink?” I ask, realizing how rude it is I didn’t offer before.
“I’ll take a soda,” he says, so I hand him the popcorn, then go to the fridge and grab one for him, then go back to the couch and take a seat. “Tanner called me this evening and asked me to meet him over at the store tomorrow to help him get the wall down.”
I grin. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited about construction in my life.” I lean into him. “One of these days I really am going to bake you some store-bought cookie dough.”
“I’m looking forward to that.” He gives me a soft look.
“So what movie did you bring?” I ask before digging into the popcorn.
“You’ll see.” He moves to the DVD player and then grabs the remote, and after a minute the movie comes on. As we watch a group of kids find out they have unknowingly gotten superpowers from the crash site of a UFO, I eat my popcorn, then put the bowl aside. I get up and turn out the lights, then grab my blanket from my bed, and when I get back to the couch, he pulls me down to lie with him, tucked against his side, down the length of his body.
As the movie plays, my eyes drift closed. All I can think is that this thing between him and me is comfortable; I don’t feel stressed or anxious when I’m with him. I’m not worried that I’m not dressed right or that I didn’t put in enough effort. It feels good. Spending time with him feels good. I just hope it continues to feel that way.
Chapter 13
MAVERICK
I take one last swing at the wall, then hand Tanner the sledgehammer and wipe my face on the underside of my shirt to get rid of the dust and sweat.
“I thought I saw your truck drive by the house last night,” Tanner says, taking a swing at the wall, which is only partially down.
