Page 77 of The Love Shack

Rolling a shoulder, he said, “I’m damn near thirty, so yeah, I’ve been with a few women. Doesn’t matter, because none of them were you.”

“I wasn’t complaining.” Exactly. Just curious about how she’d measured up. “I guess if you wanted something, from me, I mean. During sex. You’d say so?”

He rubbed a hand over his face, then shoved his fingers into his hair. “You don’t have a lot of experience—”

Immediately, she felt defensive. “That’s what I’m saying.”

Pressing a finger to her lips, then replacing it with his mouth, he gave her a kiss at first meant to quiet her, but he lingered, she pressed closer, he adjusted, drawing her against his chest and turning his head to take her mouth more deeply. It went on and on, until they were both nearly panting again.

“Without experience,” he said, “you can’t know how special this is between us.” His gaze was so close to her own, filled with heat. His hand held her bared shoulder, his fingers long, warm against her skin. “I don’t even know how to describe it, except to say that if you were any more perfect, I’d probably incinerate, and I wouldn’t even mind.”

Dazed by that confession, Berkley set her bottle of water on the table and happily snuggled back into his chest. “Thank you.”

“Don’t second-guess yourself. We’re good together. If you want something, feel free to tell me and I’ll do the same, but you can trust your instincts, too.” He nuzzled against her ear and whispered, “You’re smoking-hot, and don’t forget it.”

Hiding her grin against his throat, she said, “That sounds like an invitation, but I can’t stay much longer. Hero and Cheese are used to me being there in the evening. They’re like little alarm clocks. They know when it’s bedtime.”

His hand returned to her bottom, stroking her skin. “And you have to be up early tomorrow. You work too hard to go without sleep.”

He was more than worth a little tiredness. “You do, too.”

“I start later than you. Most of the Cemetery shoppers don’t seem to get going until nine, and my shop doesn’t get busy until ten or so. Before that, I think they’re visiting the coffee shops.” He gave her a hug. “Not true of animals. I’ve seen them all demanding attention at the same time.”

Accurate. “Dogs wake earlier than cats. So many of the cats are practically nocturnal, but they all have to be fed, water dishes cleaned, messes removed.”

“When did you know you wanted to take care of animals?”

She thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. “My mom knew before I did. I’m sure you remember that I was awkward.”

“Not awkward,” he corrected. “You guarded yourself, a smart move, all things considered.”

“Maybe. I was a little friendlier in school, but outside of school, everyone reverted to their street cred—and I had none. I think, like you said, that’s because my mother and I were so close. I needed to be home to take care of her, but we talked a lot, too. About everything. Even at her sickest, she watched over me, reminding me to be kind but safe, to stay alert but have an open heart. She always encouraged me to share my worries. I’d sit beside her to do my homework and she’d take care of bills, doing what she could online and using a lap desk to write checks when she needed to. She taught me everything that had to be paid and when so I’d be prepared. I’d moved a twin bed into the living room for her, because she was rarely well enough to sit in a chair, and we’d sometimes watch a movie while eating dinner.”

“What did you talk about?”

“School, groceries, everyday stuff, but also plans for the future. I know she was afraid for me.” It had always been hard to talk about her mother’s health, but now, tucked against Lawson, the words flowed. “She was afraid she’d die before I was eighteen, and that I’d have to rely on strangers. We only had each other. There was no other family to turn to.”

“Rough,” Lawson said.

She pressed back to see his face. “We owned that house, inherited from my grandfather before he died, along with a decent savings account. Mom probably could have moved us, but without enough money coming in, she was afraid we wouldn’t be able to keep up, and when she was gone, she wanted me to sell it so I’d have the funds to start over.”

“The house couldn’t have been worth that much.”

“No.” Not where they’d lived. “If we could have moved it somewhere else, a nice suburb or something, I’d have gotten three times what it sold for. Maybe four times more. But Mom’s plan was solid and I never questioned it. In the end, it worked out.”

“So how does that factor into you taking care of animals?”

She winced at the memory. “Every day, Mom would ask me what I might like to do, where I’d like to live. She was hoping to get everything worked out in advance, but I never had any answers, especially after everything that happened with Chad. Then Sabrina Durkinson dropped in on us.”

His arms tightened around her. “I remember.”

She understood his supportive embrace. It was the first time she’d mentioned Chad’s wife by name. Even more so than Chad’s, Sabrina’s name dredged up regrets. “She pounded on our door like she wanted to break it down. At first I wasn’t going to open it. Any loud banging was a bad sign in a place where people got robbed so often. It scared my mother, and Baby, her dog, started loudly yapping. I peeked out a window, and when I saw it was Sabrina, I figured I might as well get it over with.”

Displeasure brought his brows together and flexed his jaw. “It still pisses me off that she came after you instead of Chad.”

“I figured I deserved it,” Berkley said. “So I let her in and then took the shouts and insults, even though they made me feel about an inch tall. Mom tried to speak up, but Sabrina yelled at her to butt out.” That had already put Berkley on the defensive. “Mom’s energy was fading, and the whole scandal had left her weak and upset. I hated that, too, hated that I’d brought so many problems to our home.”

“I didn’t realize the princess’s visit was that bad.”

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