Her cheeks flush pink as she shakes her head. “Don’t. I enjoy it.”
My stomach rumbles loudly, interrupting us.
Another deep chuckle leaves my chest, and I shake my head. “I've never laughed this much before.”
The corner of her mouth tips up. “I'd say I'm sorry, but I think it's a good thing.”
“It’s definitely a good thing.” I wink at her playfully.
Looking down bashfully, she peels herself away from me. I mourn the loss of her body against mine.
She surprises me with a kiss, tender and loving. I love her kisses. I love the feel of her lips on mine. And I groan into it.
She pulls back with a laugh. “Let’s go make some breakfast.”
There’s not much to choose from. Most mornings, I'm at work very early, so all I have is eggs and toast.
We head to the kitchen, where she moves around my house effortlessly. Her wearing my blue shirt is distracting. Needing something to do with my hands, I start on the eggs, trying to focus on stirring them into a scramble. But my mind drifts to how I've never felt like this with any other woman. It’s deeper than attraction. Feeling this connected to another person is scary, but I feel safe enough to open myself up to Chelsea and let my insecurities go. For the first time in a very long time, I bring down my walls and welcome trust back in. I never thought it would happen, but Chelsea is genuinely into me. She sees mewithout judgement, with an understanding that’s both patient and kind. It didn’t happen overnight; the attraction was always there, but she never pushed. She just stayed, waiting until I was ready to trust again. I’m not afraid she’ll break my heart, as she’s shown time and time again, she’s honest and loyal.
“Are you working today?” I ask, wondering how much time we have together.
She nods, but keeps her eyes on cooking. “I want to set up an online booking system.”
I love her determination. “I'm happy to help.”
I'm not very tech-savvy, so it's going to test me, but I’m determined to figure it out if she needs me.
Her head lifts to look at me. “You mean you’ll hire someone?”
She’s teasing me. But I love it. And it’s not like I wouldn’t do that for her if she wanted. “Hey. I can actually help.”
“Don’t you need to work?” she says, as if I need reminding.
“I'm the CEO, whose office happens to be a few floors up from yours.” I wink, offering to blur the line between work and play. Something I never would have thought I’d do. But with her, I’d do anything.
“Does this mean I get to take advantage of you?” Her teeth sink into her bottom lip as she holds back a smile.
Fucking hell, that seductive look she throws me makes me hard. If she didn’t need to eat and I wasn’t cooking, I’d lift her on my counter and have my way with her.
“I wouldn’t turn that down,” I hiss, trying to restrain myself.
She doesn’t say it, but she looks happy with my reply, as she comes beside me, holding onto my arm.
Just a simple touch, but it’s enough to show me how much she cares about me.
I turn the burner off and look down at her.
She screws her nose up. “I’ll make the toast.” Spinning around, she grabs the bread.
“I'll set up the table.” I move to the kitchen drawer, where I keep the placemats.
She throws out a hand and shakes her head, pointing at the counter stools. “You don't need to set the table for me. I'm happy to sit at the island counter.”
As much as her easy-going attitude is appealing, I continue moving through the kitchen, grabbing the placements. “You deserve to sit at the table.”
Her mouth parts slightly, like she’s at a loss for words. I love seeing her stunned by simple gestures that my gram ingrained in me.
I grab silverware and glasses. “Tell me more about the online system, and maybe we can brainstorm some ideas.”