Page 103 of Someone to Watch Over Me

“Warning is good, but I think I might be busy Saturday night after all.”

“You are not. Man up. You can handle a bunch of wild widows.”

“Can I, though?”

She reaches for my hand and curls her fingers around mine. “Did you eat?”

“Yes, ma’am. The stir-fry was excellent. Thank you.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. I made enough to have leftovers tomorrow.”

“I’ll look forward to it all day tomorrow.”

“Are you just saying that when you have lust in your heart for steak?”

“I have lust in my heart for you, and if it means eating nothing but veggies for the rest of my life and I get to spend that life with you, then I’m all in with the veg.”

She fans her face. “You’ve earned the T-shirt with that comment.”

Scowling, I tell her, “No T-shirts. I mean it.”

“It’s out of my hands, unfortunately.”

“You don’t look the slightest bit contrite about any of this.”

“I can’t help if your reputation precedes you.”

“Can we go to bed? If I kiss you, maybe you’ll quit being mean to me.”

Her smile lights up her entire gorgeous face. She’s quite pleased with herself, as am I. Herself is my favorite self in the whole world.

I often wondered if I’d ever fall truly in love. I’ve seen my friends go crazy over women, marry them, have babies with them and walk around with a blissed-out look on their faces that baffled me. I’ll be honest… I was sort of thankful to have escaped that fate when one of them would tell me he couldn’t golf because he had to go to a friend’s baby shower, or another would say his wife wasn’t feeling well and he didn’t feel right leaving her for the day.

What?Okay. Whatever, I thought.

Now, though, as I follow her to bed… Now I get it. There’s nothing I’d rather do than hang out with Lexi as much and as often as I can. The hobbies I enjoy, including golf, have nothing on her. I probably owe some of my married friends an apology for teasing them about their commitments to their wives.

Would Lexi get married again? I have no idea, but I’d really like to know. We’ve talked about kids, but would she want to be married first? I’m not sure, and suddenly, I need to know.

21

Tom

When we’re in my bed, on our sides facing each other, hands intertwined, I decide I want to know the answer to that question. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Would you get married again?”

“In general or to you?”

“Why do you have to torment me this way?” I’m endlessly amused by her, and I realize that the emergence of her playful side is something that’s happened slowly since she moved in.

She laughs. “I’m sorry. I was just wondering.”

“I’m not exactly advocating for you to marry someone else.”

My exasperation makes her lips quiver with more laughter looming. “I loved being married to Jim, and if the right guy came along, I’d probably be willing to do it again.”

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