Page 54 of Wood You Knot

“I don’t think I am,” Nellie said, and I could almost hear her shrug over the line. “I have a good inkling about this, and you know my inklings are usually dead-on.”

I didn’t want to admit it, but she was right. Nellie’s inklings had yet to be wrong. She’d ended up being right about Warren, even if it’d taken a few years for that truth to come out.

“When are you planning on coming out?” I asked, pouring the water into the reservoir before I went to grab the coffee from the cabinet. I blinked, spotting the lacy black thong I’d been wearing the night before on the cabinet handle. Nix must have tossed it there. I grabbed it, tossing it to the pile of yesterday’s clothes on my kitchen floor with a blush rising to my cheeks. We hadn’t made it very far into the apartment before taking things further.

“Closer to Halloween,” Nellie informed me, interrupting my pleasant stroll down memory lane. “I tried to get some time off sooner, but Sal’s being a bit of a jerk about things and claims he needs to hire someone else before he can grant me the time off. I told him he has until the last week of October. I’m used to going trick-or-treating with you and Daphne, and I can’t miss it.”

Nellie had joined Daphne and me every Halloween since we became friends, even after Warren and I were together. Warren didn’t “get” Halloween and didn’t want to participate in the dressing up and trick-or-treating. So Nellie happily continued accompanying us, wearing themed costumes and helping carry the extra pillowcase for Daphne’s candy haul, which we’d always end up splitting with her.

“That’s awesome. Daphne will be so excited,” I told her as I put the filter in and hit brew. I heard footsteps in the hallway and turned my head, catching Nix as he disappeared into the bathroom. “He’s up now, so I’ve gotta go…but I’ll give you a call later, okay?” I whispered as the coffee started percolating.

“Fine, you better. I still need a play-by-play of your date,” Nellie said.

Nix came out of the bathroom a few moments later and strolled into the kitchen wearing nothing but his boxers and the sexiest smile on his lips. His jeans and his T-shirt were still on my kitchen floor. “Hey, gorgeous,” he said, pressing a kiss to my temple. “How’d you sleep?”

“Good, what about you?” I asked, feeling a little disappointed when he put his jeans on and pulled his T-shirt on over his head. He looked ready to head out. A wave of self-consciousness hit me, and I tugged the hem of my shirt down.

“Really good,” he replied, his voice heavy with implication as his eyes dropped to my hemline. He stepped toward me, his hands cupping my rear as he tugged me against him. I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck. “Kind of hoped I’d wake up with you still in my arms, though.”

“Sorry about that. Nellie called to make sure I was still alive.”

“Still alive?” He cocked a brow at me in question.

“Back when I lived in Guelph, she’d go on dates with guys she met through online dating sites, and I’d always have her text me after to make sure she was safe. So…I guess she was returning the favour.”

“She’s a good friend,” he said.

“She is.” I nodded with agreement.

Nix brought his lips to mine, kissing me and effectively pushing my insecurities away. Things started to heat up again, and Nix had to pull back, resting his forehead on mine. He drew in a stabilizing breath as his gaze caught mine.

“As much as I really don’t want to, I’ve got to head out soon. I promised my dad I’d help at the lumberyard. Now I’m seriously regretting that promise, but…” he glanced longingly down at my body, as if he really didn’t want to let me go.

“Oh. I understand. Did you want a coffee before you go?” I asked.

“Sure.” Nix gave my rear a little squeeze before he released me. I moved to the cabinet that had the mugs and grabbed two down. I fixed our coffees, and we moved to sit at the island, stealing glances at each other over our cups.

I know we’d talked the night before about taking things slow, but it didn’t really feel like we were going slow, and I didn’t know who to blame for that—or what. Was it just our chemistry, or did the love elixir have anything to do with this desire to be in his company?

I’d asked him to come home with me because I wasn’t sure when I’d have the apartment to myself again. I didn’t regret that decision, but now I felt uncertain on the next step for us.

“I had a lot of fun last night,” I remarked, pausing to think about how to put to words the scrambled thoughts in my head.

Nix smiled, his eyes smouldering. “I did too.”

“I’m not sure when we’ll be able to…do something like this again,” I said, gesturing between the two of us and my quiet, kid-free apartment.

His expression softened with understanding. “I know. It’s probably a challenge for you to get away for dates, and I understand that completely. But I still want to spend more time with you…I still want to date you.”

“I’d like that…I’d like to date you too,” I confessed, smiling shyly. The fact we both couldn’t stop smiling at each other had me smiling even more.

“How long of a lunch break do you usually get?” Nix asked.

“Half an hour. What about you?” I answered.

Nix set his half-full mug down. “I’m the boss, so I can take as long as I want,” he said with a shrug. “I usually take about a half hour too, though. And I go to Candlelight at least once a week,” he added, referring to the bistro beside the hardware store.

“So…”

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