Page 96 of With a Grain of Salt

I have to give it to the old bitter hag. Nora might've had a pinched look on her face when I told her I had a date tonight with Walker, but she didn't open her mouth to provide me with another one of her unwanted opinions.

I know better than to think that she won't eventually go back to her old ways, but I enjoyed the absence of her hate speech earlier today. I didn't even argue when she suggested that Larkin stay the night with them. It gives me a little more time to spend with Walker. Even though he's come to my house for a few hours each evening after I get off from the vet's office, we haven't had any time to reconnect on any level other than chatting and holding hands. My body aches for that man.

Nerves strike me hard when I leave their driveway and head over to his house. I've never been there before, but he was adamant about me coming there rather than him coming to my house as he has all week.

I'm not a fool. I know he wants me to see what he has to offer. He can't possibly know that I've been considering the conversation we had in my kitchen earlier in the week. Once I finally let myself see this man, when I took an honest look at him, I knew how much I cared for him. I knew I had for a while, but the thought of it made me sick to my stomach. Caring for someone meant they could hurt you when they left. It gives him power I can't afford to relinquish, but I realized I cared for him anyway. It didn't matter if he walked away or changed his mind, the pain would still hit. Why not dive in and enjoy him while it lasts?

But then he looked at me last night before he had to go to the bar to work, and I saw how he felt about me in his eyes. It literally took my breath away. Instead of fighting against it and trying to put some distance between the two of us, I leaned in, pressed my mouth to his, and snuggled deeper into his arms on the couch.

For the first time in my entire life, I felt cherished and valued. I didn't feel used. I wasn't waiting for the other shoe to drop. I knew he valued me and would do anything in his power to make me happy. I may be a work in progress, but I'm going to try and not hiss and scratch like a cornered animal when the man offers to help me with things.

I'll start by not arguing tonight when he gives me what I've needed for more than a week.

I don't know if that's going to be a fight because he hasn't pressured me all week. He even gets up to leave before it's time to put Larkin to bed. He hasn't once asked if he can come back over after the bar closes or hinted that he'd like to get under my sheets again.

I've gotten handholds and light kisses while Larkin plays with her toys. I've listened to the rumble of his laughter as silly cartoons play on the television rather than sighs of annoyance that he's seen the same episode of Ms. Rachel every day this last week.

He really is a good one.

He walks out onto his porch when I pull up, and I know he's doing it because he knows me well enough to think that I might get cold feet and back right out of his driveway and go home. I need to let him know that I'm in this with him. Although I know it won't change his pursuit of me, I'm done running.

He smiles as I climb out of the car, and that grin grows so much wider when he watches me grab the overnight bag from my passenger seat.

"I know we didn't discuss me staying the night but you practically asked me to move in, so I figured it would be okay."

"We can go pack your entire apartment right now, Claire," he says, pressing his lips to mine when I step up on his front porch. "But first I have a confession to make."

"Is this going to upset me?" I ask playfully.

"It might."

My shoulders drop.

"But come in first," he says, wrapping his arm around my back and guiding me into his house.

It's nice and roomy, so much larger than my little duplex, but it's clear when I step inside that a bachelor lives here. It's a house, but he's yet to make it a home.

"Your confession," I say, turning to face him before I can start redecorating this place in my head.

"I went to Barrett and asked him to start a trust for you." He holds his hand up to prevent me from talking when I open my mouth. "I wanted to lift the burden you had from something that wasn't your fault."

"So the credit card company?"

"That's the thing. He's such an asshole, he decided that he wasn't going to give you my money. He actually went to bat for you. What he told you about the credit card company is true. When you told me earlier in the week that he wiped all of it, I was a little freaked because it's not what I asked him to do. He got back to me not long ago and told me he wasn't lying."

"And the trust?"

"Do you need it? What's mine is yours, baby."

"I don't want your money," I assure him. "But while we're on the topic of money, I quit."

"Quit?" he asks, genuine fear in his eyes.

"The bar. I don't have to work there any longer, and it would be weird dating my boss."

I curl my lip in disgust, but it only makes him smile.

"I accept your resignation," he says, leaning forward and pressing his lips to mine briefly. "Are you mad about the trust?"

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