“Hey, Dad.”
“Why is your car still at that tattoo dump?”
“Dad, it’s not a dump. It’s a very nice shop, actually.”
“Young lady, don’t test me.”
“I’m just saying. And if you want to know the truth, I rode home with Hemi last night. I mean, we are staying at the same house, you know.”
He grunts. There’s nothing he can say. He just doesn’t like not being in control of every little detail.
I smile.
Welcome to my adulthood, Dad!
“How’re things coming? Any progress?”
I mentally cross my fingers, toes, arms, legs and eyes, hoping it might take ten years for them to find out anything useful. Of course, that’s selfish on my part. I want to stay with Hemi as long as I can. As long as he’ll have me.
Thinking of being selfish makes me think of last night, which makes me flush, which makes me squirm, which makes me want to get off the phone with my father.
“We’re making head way. Nothing for you to worry about.”
“Just be careful.”
“We always are. I should be telling you to be careful.”
“I’m not in any danger, Dad.”
“I’m not so sure of that,” he mutters.
I ignore that little dig. “Well, keep me posted.”
“What are you doing today?”
I bite my lip as I think about breakfast. I’ve never felt so much pressure about a meal, never felt like it was more important. “I don’t know yet. I may end up at Sarah’s later. But then I’ll be at the shop tonight.”
“I hope this career pays off. You sure are having to put in a lot of hours.”
“It will, Dad. It will.”
If I make minimum wage for the rest of my life, it would still be worth it to have this time with Hemi.
“Be smart. Call me later.”
“I will. I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
When I poke my head around the door to Hemi’s room, I see that the bed is empty. I walk on in, grabbing some shorts and a t-shirt from my bag as I pass. Hemi’s not in the bathroom, which makes me think he’s already downstairs.
I debate whether or not to take a shower and get ready and just tell him, in a super casual way, that I’ve got plans with Sarah and then just leave. I don’t want to make this uncomfortable for either of us. I know he said he wanted me to stay, but still… I remember that conversation. I know how he feels about breakfast.
Still naked, I’m standing at the foot of the bed, staring at it, lost in thought when Hemi wraps his arms around me from behind. I yelp and jump like I’ve been shot.
“Just so you know, nudity in this house is considered to be an open invitation. So, at this point, you’ve got two choices. You can get dressed, preferably in something ridiculously skimpy or nearly transparent, and come downstairs to eat or you can get back in bed and prepare to be ravaged.” I smile and start to answer, but he cuts me off. “I should warn you, however, that either way, before lunch you will be naked and back in bed, being ravaged. At least once. So feel free to postpone it if you need food.”
I’m inordinately pleased to see him in this kind of mood, speaking not only of breakfast but of spending the day with me. At least up to lunch. “How can you think about food when we ate all that pizza last night?”
“I plan to work it all off. With you. I consider it an investment. In my stamina.” His grin is wicked and more stunning than anything I’ve ever seen.
“Well, in that case, I suppose I need to eat a little something so I can keep up. I mean, far be it for me to fall behind to an old man like yourself.”
One dark brown brow shoots up and he moves over to me, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me in snug against his body. “I’d be happy to show you just how…spry I am,” he says, sliding his palm down to my lower back and pressing me into him.
“Oh, I’ll probably never forget how…spry you are,” I admit, already feeling warm and moist and breathless.
Although there is still heat in his eyes, something else sweeps across his face. Something that makes my stomach feel jittery and my chest feel tight.
With hope.
“Then my mission is accomplished. I don’t want you to forget. Ever.”
I don’t know what to say. I don’t want to say too much, or say anything that might cause him to back off, so I simply smile, keeping all my hopeful, chaotic thoughts to myself.
With a slap to my bare butt, Hemi steps back, shaking off whatever mood overcame him for those few seconds, and heads for the door. “You’ve got five minutes or I’m coming back up here.”
I salute him as he backs out the door. He winks at me as he turns the corner. My heart flops around in my chest like a fish and, with shaking fingers, I pull on my clothes.
When I enter the kitchen, it’s to be greeted with the most amusing sight I’ve ever seen. Hemi’s standing at the huge island with his back to me, piling two plates high with every kind of breakfast food imaginable.
“How many people are you feeding?” I ask as I come up behind him.
“I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I just fixed everything I had.”
“You didn’t tell me you could cook,” I say, moving around to the other side of the counter.
“I can’t, but I can microwave like a son of a bitch,” he declares with a grin.
Now that I’m in front of him, I can see that he’s wearing a bright red apron that loops around his bare neck and says I’VE GOT YOUR SAUSAGE across the front. I can’t help but smile.
“So what all did you microwave us?”
“Bacon, country ham, Texas toast sandwiches, hash browns, and mini quiches. Oh and I toasted, too. That’s another fool proof appliance.”
“Wow, you went all out,” I tease.
“I did, mainly because bagels are nasty cold and waffles are soggy microwaved.”
“Soggy waffles. Gross.”
“Exactly. So they got toasted.” Hemi dusts off his hands and throws another package into the trash before he carries the plates around to my side of the island, setting one in front of me and taking the next seat as his own. “Besides, you’re worth it. I’d clean out my freezer for you, baby,” he says with a grin.
“You say the sweetest things,” I reply with a flutter of my eyelashes.
“I’ve got more where that came from. Just wait until I tell you all about my meats. I have a very healthy supply of meat.”