I laughed. “Lunch? It's ten in the morning.”
Grey turned his head so that his full lips skimmed my cheek as he spoke. His freshly shaven skin was so soft; I couldn't decide which I liked better, smooth Grey or stubbly Grey. “Yes, but we've been up since five-thirty, so breakfast was at six. Now we're hungry again.”
God, I'm already in so deep. Just hearing him say “we” like that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And neither of us seemed to be able to stop touching each other. But yikes, five-thirty in the morning? Had Maple woken him up? How had I slept through that? Sex with Greyson must have worn me out more than I’d realized. I supposed six powerful orgasms could do that to a girl ... or he just had a magical cock. Pulling myself from that daydream, I realized he was still watching me.
“You didn't have to take care of everything yourself,” I said, faintly embarrassed that he'd been doing all my work for me. “I'm sorry. Do you want to grab a nap? I can take over.”
He shook his head. “I want to do this, Fin. Let me in, okay?”
Caught off guard by the sudden lump in my throat, I nodded my permission instead of speaking aloud. My eyes stung a little. But these weren't the kind of tears I'd become all too used to fighting. They were happy tears. It’s like my life had pulled a one-eighty, in the best possible way. I'd never imagined getting a second chance at a happily ever after – I thought those only came about once. And with Greyson Archer, no less?
A quiet beep made me turn my head. There was a deluxe rice cooker by the sink, opposite the kitchen's stove side, and its light was flashing. I took off the lid, inhaling the jasmine-scented steam that billowed from the fluffy white grains.
“If you're dying to help, the dishes are in the cupboard just to your left,” I heard Grey say.
I found two wide bowls, heaped rice into each one, and placed them on the counter at Grey's elbow. I added a couple cooled spoonfuls to Maple's plate and she promptly mushed her hands into the soft white stuff like modeling clay. As I filled our water glasses, Grey brought the bowls to the table, now piled high with spicy peanut stir-fry. My mouth watered. This was a weird breakfast for me, but it looked and smelled so amazing that I didn't care.
“So,” Grey declared as we sat down, “what's on the agenda? I've taken the whole day off. We can do whatever you want.”
My mind instinctively started calculating how many hours I had left until my shift, whether we needed anything from the store, how I would handle dinner. Then I remembered: I'd quit my job yesterday. And I didn't start my new one until Monday. Grey's fridge and pantry were fully stocked. I didn't even need to cook.
My free time was, in fact, free. I actually could do whatever I wanted.
...What did normal people do on their days off? I was drawing a blank. This whole arrangement would take some getting used to.
“Maple loved playing in the pool yesterday,” I mused, raising a forkful of food to my lips. “Maybe we could do that.”
“Sounds good to me,” Grey said. “That thing has sat empty for so long, it'll be good to see it get some use.” Then his warm smile turned sly. “But make sure you're ready to go out at five tonight. I've got a surprise for you.”
*
“I wish you'd told me we were going to Doma Vaquera,” I said as soon as the waiter had left with our orders. I awkwardly smoothed my faded cotton miniskirt as far down my lap as it would go, then gave up and draped my napkin to cover the rest of me. “I would've dressed nicer. I feel so out of place.”
“Don't worry, babe. This place isn't that fancy...and you look beautiful. Nobody would ever think you didn't belong here.” Grey raised his eyebrows in a way that added: And if anyone implies otherwise, I'll examine their eyes with my fist.
My stomach gave a hot little flip and I couldn't help but smile. Damn his stupid sexy voice, telling me exactly what I wanted to hear. I hadn’t had a man in my life for so long, all his sweet declarations were making me melt.
At five o'clock sharp, Nolan and his new fiancée had knocked on our front door. They had introduced themselves as Maple's new babysitters. Sensing that I was about to protest, Grey had pulled me aside and checked that I was okay. I thought it over and nodded my consent. I knew Nolan well – he’d been one of my husband’s closest friends. And based on the stories I’d heard from Grey about Lacey, she was a sweetheart. And they already had Maple giggling in the other room. So I’d let Grey sweep me into his car and on our way to the swankiest steakhouse in town, with tickets to the theater for later.
Dinner and a movie. Our first official date together was sweet and simple. But I hadn't done anything like this in so long—and it meant so much. I let out a quiet chuckle.
He cocked his head slightly. “What's funny?”