Page 62 of Fire in My Heart

This couldn’t just be physical for him. If it was, I was going to be in for a heartbreak. There was something about getting behind the scenes with this man that was so satisfying. It made everything feel more real. But that didn’t mean he felt the same way.

He’d only said I was different than he expected me to be. It wasn’t exactly a declaration of love. But he’d brushed and dried my hair. That said something. Maybe his love language was acts of service.

“I’ll paint the edges; you can start with the roller.”

I placed my hands on my hips. “You’ve been here for five minutes, and you’re already bossing me around.”

His lips twitched. “Fine, Miss Charlotte. You’re in charge. Where would you like me to start?”

I smirked. “Much better. I hate doing trim. So you can handle the brush.”

Teddy chuckled, then dipped his brush into the paint, getting to work in the corner.

“I’ll order the pizza while you do that.”

“Meat lovers.”

I smiled over at him, enjoying the flex of his biceps as he painted. “Wow. It’s like we were made for each other.”

Teddy leaned down to dip his brush in the paint, and he raised his brows at me.

“What? I love it too.” I got on my phone and pulled up the app for my favorite pizzeria. “Does this place deliver here?”

“They’ll know the cottage. Daphne used to order from there all the time.”

I liked spending time with him, just taking a bath or even doing a chore like painting. Who knew that Teddy Calloway could be fun?

I entered the order and paid for it so we wouldn’t need to give the deliver guy cash at the door.

“Are you going to work anytime soon?” Teddy wiggled his brows at me.

“Hey, food is important.” I moved over to him, and he snagged me around the waist, pulling me against his chest.

“Did you do that on purpose, so that the back of my shirt matches the front?”

He kissed the back of my head. “Maybe.”

“You’re the worst,” I groused, even as I reveled in the feel of his body pressed against mine. I loved that he couldn’t get enough of me and wanted me in his space.

Rick wanted what I could give him, and when I removed myself from the same situation, he couldn’t stand that I’d stood up to him and left. But this man was easing himself into my heart with every kind act.

We painted side by side until the pizza came. Then Teddy pulled on a shirt and jeans to get the door.

I was just getting paper plates when Teddy returned with two pizza boxes. “You didn’t have to pay for it. I would have gotten it.”

“I didn’t have cash. Thought it would be easier.”

“I like to pay when I’m with someone,” Teddy said like it was no big deal and he wasn’t admitting we were together.

I elbowed him as he set the pizzas on the counter. “Aren’t you rusty? It’s been, what, twenty years since your last relationship?”

He gave me look, one that I was positive got suspects to lay out all their secrets. “Hey, it hasn’t been that long, and I’m notthatold.”

I giggled. He made me feel so light and free. I’d always been on edge around Rick, and maybe that was the sign that he wasn’t the right guy for me.

Teddy picked me up so that I was perched on the counter, then stepped between my legs, and we ate the pizza like that, foregoing plates. It was unconventional, but I was close to him, and it was nice.

We stole kisses between bites, and by the time we’d finished eating our first slice, my arms were looped around his neck, and we were full-on making out. I eased back. “We’re not going to get much work done.”

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