Page 134 of Love Me Reckless

He stops as I enter the kitchen. “Gotta go,” he says into the phone and snaps it shut.

“Morning,” I say.

He salutes me with a spoonful of cereal. “Morning.”

“Everything okay?” I glance at the phone.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, just my car.”

“Is there something wrong with it?”

“Needs a new engine, apparently.”

“That sounds tricky.”

He shrugs and spoons another bite of cereal, the milk dripping onto the counter.

My stomach grumbles. I’m a little unsure of myself in this situation. Do I offer to make him breakfast? “Did you sleep well?”

“Not really.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.”

He takes another bite, spilling more milk. Why doesn’t he sit at the table? And do I clean up when he’s done or ask him to?

I find some bread on the counter near the toaster, and jam and butter in the fridge. “Can I make you some toast?”

His eyes brighten for an instant. “Yeah. Thanks.”

The toaster has four slots, so I put in three pieces of bread, then have a look at the coffee maker. “Do you drink coffee?”

“Yeah, I had some already.”

“Oh.” The coffeemaker carafe has a splash of coffee left in the bottom that’s turning to sludge.

“Want me to make more?” he asks, raising his eyebrows.

“That’s okay. I think I’ll wait for later.”

He nods.

After making our toast, I set the plate in front of him. “Yum.” He rubs his belly.

I carry my plate to the table with a glass of orange juice. Sheldon drinks the milk from his cereal bowl then starts in on his toast. “Remind me your name again.”

“Kirilee.”

He snaps his fingers. “That’s right. Never heard that name before.”

I smile.

A knock on the door makes me jump, spilling my juice.

“I’ll get it,” Sheldon says. He hurries down the hall while I grab a paper towel to clean up my mess. From the kitchen, the front entryway is out of sight, but from Sheldon’s tone, it sounds like he knows the visitor.

The door shuts and Sheldon returns. He doesn’t mention the visitor.

I want to ask a hundred questions but they all sound nosy in my head, so I finish my toast while Sheldon slips into the bathroom.

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