“Not you apparently. But I like this meat extravaganza. It’s tasty.” I finished off my slice, keeping it out of Pookie’s reach because she wasn’t great at staying away from food that drifted too close to her face. “Derek called today. I’m doing a final walkthrough tomorrow. He said everything at the house should be done by five.”
“Awesome. Don’t get me wrong. I like having you around, but the bathroom is getting smaller by the day.”
“I agree. And I’m ready to be back in my own place.” I popped the last bite of crust in my mouth. “Do you think I should invite my parents to stay at my house until their place is repaired?”
Bits of pepperoni and cheese flew out of Haley’s mouth as she laughed. “That’s funny.”
“I wasn’t trying to be funny. I feel a bit guilty because now I have a house and they don’t. They offered me a place to live when my house was damaged.”
She picked up another slice. “Think about it before you ask. It would be nice, and I’m sure they would accept, after making you offer two or three times. But, honestly, would you be okay with that?”
I really wanted to go home to my own space and settle back into life as it was before the lightning strike. But guilt. “I think the guilt of not offering would eat me alive.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“I know. I know.”
Pookie seemed to know I needed soothing and climbed up onto my shoulder. Either that or she knew I was about to grab another slice of pizza.
Haley sighed. That was her typical way of getting my attention before fussing at me.
“What?” Eyebrows raised, I gave her my questioning look with a bit of added drama.
She set her pizza down. “Are you ever going to tell me how your second date went?”
“Oh. I wasn’t trying to keep things from you. You were asleep when I got home, and you’ve worked late every night this week.”
“All right already. Just tell me.”
I finished my slice, driving my best friend mad with impatience. “We had a nice time. I didn’t mention anything about moving back home. I mean, I only have my suitcase and the cat, but I was not about to talk about moving to a guy with a truck. We are definitely not at that point in the relationship.”
“Relationship? That sounds serious.”
“Did you just hear me? I didn’t even tell him about moving. We’ve only gone out twice.”
“He didn’t wait very long to call again. I think that means something.”
“It probably means his mom was bugging him about me.” I said that, but I didn’t really believe it because my mom hadn’t called. My guess was that he hadn’t mentioned the date to his mom.
While we finished off the pizza, I gave Haley all the details about the date.
“Ignoring the fact that he ordered plain cheesecake, would you go out with him again?”
“Yes.”
“Have you heard from him since dessert?”
“I have. It seems we’ve moved to the phase of exchanging texts for no reason.”
“Oooh, so quickly. You haven’t even known him a week. Well, I guess tomorrow will be a week.”
“We don’t count tomorrow.” I hadn’t filled Haley in on the rules.
“You may not count it, but I assure you, he hasn’t forgotten. So now for the big question. You’ll date this guy even though he has a dog?” Haley grabbed a few kitty treats and dropped them one at a time when Pookie sat up to beg. “Isn’t this cute?”
The little cat caught each treat between her paws.
“When did you teach her to do that? That’s awesome.”
“Don’t ignore my question.” Haley signed ‘all done,’ and Pookie scurried back toward me. “As long as I’ve known you, you swore you wouldn’t date a guy with a dog.”
“You taught my cat sign language?”
Haley shrugged. “You think his dog is that smart?”
“He hasn’t said anything about a dog.”
She shook her head. “You are playing in dangerous territory. What if you fall head over heels and then meet his mangy dog? What then?”
“I think he would have mentioned if he had a dog.” I hadn’t asked about his dog because I didn’t want to hear the answer.
Haley’s question was a bit unsettling.
“And I’m far from falling in love.”
She yawned and picked up the pizza box. “You say that now.”
“Don’t worry. If everything falls apart because of a dog, I’ll remember that you told me so.”
“Good.” She waved as she walked down the hall. “’Night.”
Chapter 7
Maybe I was a bit superstitious, but I didn’t take the afternoon off. The last time I’d done that to check on repairs my day hadn’t ended well. Not that meeting Adam was a bad thing. I just wished I’d been wearing more—shoot, anything—when we met for the first time.
I planned my day so that I could leave the office a little bit early, but by mid-morning I was almost too distracted to think. A text from Adam only compounded that.
Happy Friday. Big plans for the weekend?
Moving back into my house! Thankfully, it doesn’t involve a moving truck. I only have to drag furniture out of the guest rooms back into the master suite.
Need a strong guy to help?
Sure. Know any? I made sure to follow my text with a laughing emoji. I’d love your help.
Love was probably too strong a word, but not having to drag my king-size mattresses across the house alone was worth the overstep. My twenty-year-old self would never have joked like that or used that word one week into a relationship. But my almost-thirty-year-old self had a better appreciation for humor—even if I was the only one who thought it was funny—and I wasn’t afraid to speak my mind. I still had a filter, so not everything spewed out of my mouth thankfully.
I’m free tonight and tomorrow. Then I’m back on duty.
I’ll text you as soon as I know the house is ready.
Great. I’ll bring dinner. He was really scoring points.
You’re the best.
He replied as I was about to put down my phone. Wow! You skipped over really nice.
I sent a wink as a reply then tried to get some work done. But since my brain only wanted to think about a certain fireman, productivity was a lost cause.
Racing out of the office a half hour early, I prayed traffic wouldn’t be horrible.
Pulling into my own driveway was a treat. The work trucks were gone, so either the guys were finished or they’d left early to start the weekend. I truly hoped it wasn’t the latter.
Derek’s truck rumbled up to the curb right on time, and excitement bubbled in my chest. Almost two months out of my house felt like forever.
The keys dangling off his belt loop jingled as he walked to the door. “I can’t wait for you to see it. Everything turned out great.”
“No more pink bathroom?”
“No more pink.” He followed me into the master suite. “What do you think?”
Last time I’d been here, the floors were bare concrete and the bedroom hadn’t been painted. Now, the room looked like a page out of a magazine.
“This is amazing. I love it.” I hurried into the bathroom, which now had the correct color on the walls. “This all turned out so wonderful. You did a great job.”
“Thank you.” He checked his phone. Derek did that a lot.
“So this is it? I can move back in?”
“Anytime you want. We’re finished.” He handed me the bill.
I paid the man, knowing how I’d be spending my evening. I couldn’t wait to move back in.
Once Derek left, I called Haley. “It’s done! The floors are in. The roof is fixed. The walls are painted. It’s all mine.”
“Until your parents move in.”
“You couldn’t even let me have my moment?”
Haley laughed. “Sorry.”
“You don’t sound the least bit sorry. I’m headed
to the apartment to grab my stuff and Pookie. Then Adam is meeting me at the house.”
“Is he bringing his dog?” Laughing, Haley ended the call.
If Adam did own a dog, I was never going to hear the end of it.
I texted Adam before leaving for the apartment: It’s finished. I’m running to the apartment to get Pookie and my suitcase, but I’ll be back here soon.
Where is here? 6:30 okay?
I sent off my address. 6:30 is great.
If I was going to do what I needed to do and be back in time to meet Adam, I needed to hurry. I stopped at the store and bought flowers and chocolates as a thank you for Haley.
Pookie greeted me at the door when I made it to the apartment.
“Are you ready to go home, fuzzy? You get to see Adam again tonight. Please be nice.”
She meowed, which hopefully meant she was assuring me of good behavior.
After getting everything packed and loaded, I made it back to the house with fifteen minutes to spare. So when Adam arrived right on time, I appeared calm and collected.
He held up the bag with the logo from a local barbeque joint emblazoned on the side. “Where should I put this?”
“Kitchen is this way. Thanks for bringing food.”
“My pleasure.” He set the bag on the counter. “Your house is nice.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate your help.” As I put food on plates, I nodded toward the fridge. “I picked up Cokes. Want one?”
“Sounds great.” He moved the plates to the table. “You said lightning hit the house, right?” He waited until I sat down before taking his seat.
His manners almost made me want to curtsey.
“Yes. It hit the garage which is next to my bedroom. Copper pipe in the foundation burst. It put a hole in the roof and in the front of the house. I was out of the house for almost two months while that was all fixed. But thankfully, the place didn’t catch fire.”
“It’s a good thing because a different station responds to calls for this neighborhood. I wouldn’t have been here to save you like I was a week ago.” He winked.
“Are you forgetting the rules?”
“I thought women liked it when men remembered anniversaries and special days.”
“We do.” I reached out and grabbed his hand. “It makes us feel special. Unless that special day was the worst one of our life.”
“But I saved you.”
His flagrant disregard for rule one earned him a kiss, and I temporarily forgot about the food.
Adam brushed a thumb along my cheek. “I’m glad we met on that blind date.”
“Me too. And I’m glad I didn’t leave.” I turned back to the table just in time to see Pookie drag the meat off Adam’s plate. “Kitty, you were supposed to behave.”
My cat was out to ruin my evening.
“If she eats all that, it’ll make her sick.” I didn’t even want to think about cleaning up after her.
Adam reached down to take the stolen food away and was rewarded with razor-sharp claws. He yanked his hand back, but not before Pookie sliced open his finger. His jaw clenched. “I’ll just let you handle it.”
I scooped up Pookie and tossed her in the guest room. “How could you?”
She flicked her tail and climbed up onto the bed. Closing her into the room wasn’t much of a punishment. I hurried back to the kitchen. “Oh, Adam, I’m so sorry. Let me get something to put on that.”
While he assured me it wasn’t a big deal, I grabbed bandages and antibiotic cream. “Here, let me see that.”
Rough and calloused, his hand was much bigger than mine. And it was warm. Not he-has-a-fever warm but the I-bet-they’d-feel-good-against-my-skin kind of warm. I hadn’t invested so much thought on his hands since one was brushing against my thigh a week ago. If I let my thoughts wander there, my whole body would flush pink.
After smoothing the bandage so that the edges stayed down, I dropped a quick kiss on his finger. “I can probably find someone else to help me move if that hurts.”
“Do you always buy Band-Aids with cats on them?”
“They’re cute, aren’t they?”
“Just what I’ve always wanted: a cute Band-Aid.” He wasn’t laughing, so hopefully he didn’t mind too much. “Don’t call anyone else. I’ll live, but only if I eat.”
I served him more food on a clean plate. “I am sorry about that. She usually doesn’t do that.”
“Lucky me.”
Forty-five minutes later, I tossed dishes in the sink and set the leftover food in the fridge. “There isn’t a whole lot. Mainly, a bed and a dresser. And a bookshelf.”
His eyebrow arched. “And?”
I really wanted to be able to say that was it, but I remembered my hope chest. There was no way I was calling it that in front of him because I didn’t want to sound desperate. “My cedar chest, but that’s on wheels so I can move that whenever.”
“I’ve always wondered what women keep in those. My mom has one, but she always calls it her hope chest.”
“We keep our hopes in them. Duh.”
“Of course.” He chuckled then stepped closer and brushed a finger along my hand. “Now I really want a peek inside.”
I really liked this guy, and if I could get my cat to stop drawing blood, the relationship had a real chance of blossoming into more. “We’ll see.” I hoped my answer sounded coy and not dismissive.
But if he expected anything salacious to be hiding in that chest, he’d be disappointed. In my chest were blankets and a quilt my grandmother had passed down to me.
He clapped his hands once as if he was kicking off a game. “Show me what to move.”
I led him down the hall to the guest room. When I pushed the door open, Pookie dashed out, probably feeling victorious about her escape. “She hates being trapped.” I pointed at the furniture shoved against the wall. “The stuff on this side goes into the master bedroom. Which is . . .” I walked to the opposite end of the house. “In here.”
“This looks great.”
“Oh! There’s a rug in the garage. I need to put that out first.” I kept talking as I walked. “I should’ve been more together before calling you. I apologize for being scattered.”
He caught my hand. “Don’t apologize.”
How was this guy still single? Was the visible layer of charming and nice covering something else entirely? If so, he had me fooled. All those thoughts sent my brain on a tangent. “How old are you?”
Grinning, his eyes narrowed. “I’ll act like that question didn’t come out of nowhere. I’m thirty-one.”
“Okay. And I’ll try to stop apologizing, but it’s habit.” I lived with the belief that I was somehow letting down the world one little bit at a time.
He pushed open the garage door. “Did you tell your mom I was coming over?”
“No. But it’ll come up, I’m sure.” I shifted out of the way as Adam dragged the rug into the bedroom.
“Why are you so sure of that? I haven’t said anything to my mom either. Last she knew, I thought you were nice.”
Moving the rug into place, I laughed. “Because when they come over to see this place, they’ll ask why I didn’t call them to help put the furniture back. And I will ignore the question, but Mom won’t give up asking about it until I tell her the truth. That’s why.”
“That makes perfect sense. I can see why our moms get along.” He disappeared down the hall and came back carrying the bed frame. “Any other random questions you want to ask me?”
With an invitation like that, I wasn’t about to stand there quietly. “Have you ever been married?”
“Nope.” He lay down on the floor and bolted pieces together. “Let me grab the headboard.”
I followed him down the hall. “Serious girlfriends?”
“I guess that depends on your definition of serious.”
“Were you ever engaged?”
“Came close once, but she broke it off before I asked. Thankfully, she broke it off
before I bought a ring.”
“What happened?”
“She wasn’t crazy about my work schedule.” He attached the headboard to the frame. “What about you?”
“I don’t mind your work schedule. I mean, you’re a firefighter. It’s part of the fireman package.”
He stepped toward me, and teasingly, I backed up until I was against the wall. His grin widened and he stepped closer.
“Fireman package?”
I could feel my cheeks on fire. “I just meant fireman package as in they go together. It’s not like I—that’s all I meant.” Flustered, I was sure my face was flaming red.
Then he leaned in closer, and the tease in his tone was evident. “Makes perfect sense. I’m glad you don’t mind my schedule, but I was asking if you had ever been engaged or married.”
I inched closer. “I’ve never been married or engaged. I once dated a guy for six months. We had dinner with my parents one night—you know, so he could meet them. Mom asked if he wanted kids, and I never heard from the guy again.”
“Ugh. Guys like that give the rest of us a bad name.”
In a quick move, I stepped around him. “I called him a few of those bad names. I admit it.”
Adam picked up one end of the box spring. I picked up the other, and together we maneuvered it down into the bedroom.
I wasn’t done with asking random questions. “Do you hate Pookie?”
“I think maybe she hates me.” He moved the mattress into place. “But no, I don’t hate your adorably small, fuzzy, black kitten.”
“Good.” I did my best to hold up the end of the mattress as we moved it down the hall.
With his help, everything was moved in no time flat. Or maybe the conversation made time go faster.
“Have you always wanted to be a fireman?”
“Not always. When I was really little, I wanted to be Batman. I thought he was cooler than Superman or any of the others. Then when I was a bit older, I wanted to be a cowboy.”
It took all my willpower not to ascertain how he filled out his Wranglers. But the fact that I knew he was wearing Wranglers meant I’d already glanced at his denim. “Why’d you give up on that plan? You have the boots and the truck.”
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