Page 96 of Loathe at First Sight

“Really. I know what it’s like having to go back to a place that feels…hostile. You feel like you just don’t fit in anymore. I get it. It was like that for me coming back here, but when you and I spend time together, it helps. You’re that person for me, so I will be that person for you.”

He pulls me in and gives me a soft kiss. “I can’t believe you and I are here right now. We were both so wrong about each other.”

“I don’t know that we were completely wrong,” I say.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I’m still hard-headed and difficult, and you are still on your way to becoming a literal lumberjack.”

“Oh, here we go.” He laughs.

“I’m just saying can we get rid of some of the flannel?”

He gives a smug, “Nope.”

“Why not? I can’t see all your sexy tattoos when you’re covered up with flannel.”

“Maybe I want you to be the only person who sees all my tattoos.”

My mouth wiggles back and forth as I ponder his comment. “Hm. I kind of like that.”

“Good.” He props his head up on his hand, trying to get more comfortable. “So, have you thought about what you’re going to do since Esther is closing the inn?”

“Nope. I’m hoping that if I ignore it, the problem will just go away.”

“That sounds like a healthy approach,” he says sarcastically.

“I’m just trying to avoid thinking about the idea of having to move back in with my parents. I think the embarrassment of having to do that twice in less than a year may just kill me.”

“You can always stay here if you need to.”

My head snaps to look at him so fast that I practically give myself whiplash. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

“When you put it like that, it seems much more extravagant than it did in my head. I guess I could have asked it in a better way, huh?” He thinks for a moment. “But yeah. You could move in here if you needed to. It would be much easier for me to get you naked all the time if we were under the same roof.”

“Well, that may be true, and I’m flattered, but I think that I need to find somewhere else to stay.” Realizing that may have come out sounding mean, I add, “It’s not that I don’t want to stay here. But I am trying to rebuild my life. I think that some stuff, I just need to do on my own.”

I lean in to kiss him. “But thank you.”

“The offer still stands if you need it.”

“And I will keep that in mind. First, I just need to find a new job.”

He looks at me. “How much do you know about working on cars?”

“Hmm. I know that they take oil. That’s about it. I’d make a terrible mechanic.”

“Yeah,” he agrees. “But you’d be fun to look at. By the way, what’s wrong with your car?”

“I have no idea. I spent way too much money on that car for it to be a piece of crap. At this point, I’m about to give up on it.”

“Just let me know where it is. Tomorrow, I’ll go pick it up and bring it back here.”

“Thank you…again.”

“You’re welcome.” His fingers lightly trail along my skin as he speaks. “If you could do anything in the world with your life, what would it be?”

I think for a minute because I haven’t given that question much thought. “I guess I would just want to be a business owner. That’s what I loved about my life back in LA. Yes, I was a realtor, which I enjoyed, but the part I liked most was running my own business. I got to set my own schedule and do things my own way. I guess I’d like to do that again.”

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