Page 68 of After All This Time

“After breakfast, we’re going to go to Sweet & Salty.”

She bursts out into laughter. “You in a romance bookstore? Ha, I’d pay to see this shit.”

“No payment needed. We’re going to get lunch at Coastal Shores because I’ve been craving a fried chicken sandwich so badly.”

“You got a little drool there,” she says pointing to the corner of her mouth.

I’m looking down at my chest, but I can’t see where she’s talking about.

“Made you look.” She giggles like a baby.

“And how old are we?” I laugh.

“But it made you laugh, didn’t it?”

Yeah, you did.

“It did.” I stare at her, getting lost in her eyes. “Thanks. I needed that.”

“I know you did.”

“Anyways, Sweet & Salty and Coastal Shores are definitely on the list. It’d be good for the both of us to get out and away from the hospital.”

“I don’t want to hear the word ‘hospital’ for the next few hours.”

“You and me both.”

“That looks really good, Noah,” she says as I place a plate full of scrambled eggs and a piece of buttered toast in front of her.

“Did you think it was going to look horrible?”

“No, of course not.”

“You’re so full of shit, Dani.”

She places both of her hands over her mouth, her laughter bouncing off inside them and crackling like flames in an open fire.

My mouth curves up into a devilish smirk. “I hate when you underestimate me.”

“You love it when I underestimate you.”

Okay, maybe I do.

“Oh, shut up.” I walk over to the table with a plate of scrambled eggs without goat cheese crumbles and buttered toast.

“This is good,” she says before she stabs her fork into the eggs and puts them into her mouth.

“I’m glad.”

“You know the only other people who make meals for me are Mom and Bella.”

“What are you trying to say, Dani?”

“It’s nice to have a guy cook for me.”

Once we finish eating breakfast, I wash the dishes and the pan I used to make the eggs.

Dani’s still sitting in her chair.

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