Page 51 of Searching for Bristol
After his impassioned declaration that he didn’t care if she gained weight, there was no way Bristol was saying no. Hell, who was she kidding? She’d never say no to her favorite ice cream regardless. “Yes,” she said simply.
“Awesome. Come on, I’ll get you settled on the couch then bring you a bowl.”
“I can help with the dishes,” she protested.
“Nope. You made dinner, I’ll do the dishes.”
“Using the slow cooker isn’t making dinner,” she said wryly.
“Fine. Then I’ll do the dishes because you can’t reach the cabinets where everything goes when they’re done, and you’ll stick the bowls and plates in weird nooks and crannies that you can reach and I won’t be able to find later.”
Bristol burst out laughing. He wasn’t wrong. The last time she’d unpacked the dishwasher, she’d put things away all willy-nilly. “It was either that or get up on a chair, which I didn’t think you’d appreciate with my leg and all,” she told him after a moment.
He shuddered. Actuallyshudderedat the idea. His concern for her was like a warm blanket around her shoulders after being out in the cold all day. “I’ll see about getting a stool for the kitchen. One with a handle or something so you don’t have to go crawling around on the counters and chairs to reach the cabinets.”
“It’s okay,” she told him. “I’m used to it.”
“Not happening,” he said firmly as he scooted his chair back. “You need anything from the table to work on your jewelry?”
“No, I think I’m good for now.”
Rocky nodded, then helped her up from her chair and wrapped his arm around her. She didn’t really need that support to walk anymore, not with the crutches Doc Snow had given her, but she wasn’t going to complain about having him smushed up against her side. He smelled awesome after his shower and if she turned her head, his beard would brush against her cheek. She loved that for some reason.
He got her settled on the couch and headed back to the kitchen. She watched as he carried their plates to the sink, rinsed them, placed them in the dishwasher, got down two bowls that she never would’ve been able to reach, scooped out huge helpings of ice cream, and came toward her with a smile.
“Thought you had like a hundred more earring sets to make,” he said as he handed her the bowl.
“I do,” she said with a shrug.
“Then why weren’t you making them instead of watchingme?” he asked.
“Because your ass is much more exciting than beads,” she blurted.
He laughed. “Right. For the record, I feel the same about yours.”
They grinned at each other.
“Eat that,” he ordered, nodding at her bowl. “Before it melts. You want to watch something?”
“Do you?” she countered.
“There’s a game on that I wouldn’t mind seeing. But if you’d rather watch something else, that’s cool too.”
“The game’s fine. I need to concentrate on these earrings. I didn’t get nearly as many done today as I should’ve, since I was chatting with Lilly.”
The look Rocky gave her was so full of…expectation and anticipation, it was all she could do not to put her ice cream aside and scoot over next to him and climb onto his lap. But she controlled herself. She was enjoying how things were going between them. She didn’t feel any pressure, as far as their physical relationship went, and the longer they waited, and the more they got to know each other, the more the flames between them would grow.
When they did come together—and she was fairly sure that was going to happen sooner rather than later—they’d both get burned…in a good way. She hoped.
“Killin’ me, Punky,” Rocky mumbled as he turned on the TV.
She wasn’t surprised he was on the same wavelength when it came to their attraction. But he wouldn’t do a damn thing about it until he was one hundred percent sure she was onboard. It was one more thing she liked about him.
Her lips twitched, and when she glanced over at Rocky, she saw that he was looking back…and smiling too.
She put a large spoonful of ice cream in her mouth and did her best to think about what she wanted to make next for the Pickleport Festival.
Mike might’ve actually done her a huge favor, she mused. She wasn’t happy she’d gotten hurt, but she couldn’t deny that being found by her own mountain man wasn’t the worst thing that had ever happened to her.
