Page 23 of Saving Shepperd

“Let’s feed you, girl. You can’t tell me you’re not hungry when your stomach is growling like that.” He pushed to sit up and get out of bed.

“I’d be fine with an apple or something,” I said as I pulled my shirt over my head. Fuck the bra. I hated those things anyway.

“Let’s check on the meat I have marinating. I’ll throw it on the grill, and we’ll be eating in no time,” he said and tugged me by the hand toward the kitchen.

ChapterSix

Law

After dinner and cleanup, Shepperd ended up spending the night. I held the beautiful woman in my arms the entire time. The next morning, we both agreed we hadn’t slept that well in a very long time. There was something so right about the way she’d felt in my arms, I’d be happy to hold her there forever.

Whoooaaa, dude.Who the hell was this guy, and where was the guy I’d known my whole life? Maybe the magic of the right woman had the power to show a man a version of himself he hadn’t seen before. Or maybe I’d seen that version of myself before but only in short glimpses. Like when I was with Stella or helping my mom with her pet projects around the house.

Tapping into a gentler, kinder version of myself wasn’t half bad. As long as I didn’t lose the other parts of me I worked so hard to nurture too. But maybe that’s what happened when you found the person meant for you. The good parts of your personality flourished, and the hidden parts were seen.

I made two cups of coffee while Shepperd took a shower, and I looked up as she walked into the kitchen. Her long hair was in loose waves down her back, and she had on one of my T-shirts tied in a knot at the bottom hem with the joggers she’d had on after the gym the day before.

“I feel like a million bucks. Your shower is heavenly, and it’s so nice to not rush. At my house, we all share one bathroom, and someone always wants in the moment I step under the water.” She shook her head. “Never fails.”

“Man, that can’t be good. Especially with all those girls. One bathroom? I thought you said you lived in Brentwood?” I pushed one of the cups across the counter to her.

“Mmmm, thank you,” she said and lifted the mug to her lips. “I do live in Brentwood. Not far from here, actually. But not all the homes in the zip code are enormous, you know? My parents have a bathroom in their bedroom, but the rest of us share the other one. Oh, and there is a half-bath for guests.”

I couldn’t miss how her mood had grown somber.

“What is it, baby?” I moved to stand closer to her. It was official: I was addicted to touching this girl.

“Honestly, I dread going home. I got into it pretty bad with my parents yesterday before I ran into you, and I just don’t like being there.”

“Do you want to talk about it? Have you thought about moving out?” The question seemed innocent enough until I saw the look she gave me in response. “What?”

“Of course I’d love to move out, but rent is really high—everywhere. I still have one semester of school to finish and would need to land a job that pays more than what I’m making now. A lot more.”

“You know, I can’t make any promises, but I can poke around the HR departments at my dad’s companies and see if there are any openings. Couldn’t hurt to look, right?” The offer was genuine, but I felt the air in the room cool the minute the words were out of my mouth.

“No, no way,” she said abruptly. “Thank you, though.”

“No strings attached. Honestly. What’s wrong with just looking into it?”

“I just don’t feel right about it. I do appreciate the suggestion, though,” she said more calmly than her original refusal.

“Well, I’ll leave the offer on the table if you want to think about it. I don’t like seeing you unhappy like you just were when talking about going home.”

“I’ll be fine. They get all worked up about my shit periodically, then something else happens and they forget all about me again. I just need to lie low until they focus on something else.”

What the hell was going on with her parents? She made that comment as if it was a normal interaction between parents and their kids and then moved on like I should swallow that crap too. I had a harder time keeping up with those expectations than any of the other sensitive topics the girl had hurled my way.

And then, as if I had been possessed by aliens and lost complete control of my stupid mouth, I asked, “Why don’t you just stay here with me?”

Yes. I really just said that.

And the dumbfounded look on her face verified I’d lost my damn mind. Where would a thought like that even come from? What the hell kind of magic spell did this woman have over me? She was making me do and say—and feel—things way out of my normal character.

“Law. Be serious,” she deadpanned.

And the stupid just kept coming. “I’m one hundred percent serious.” In fact, the more the idea floated around in my mushy gray matter, the more excitement buzzed through my whole body.

“Think about it, Shep. We get along great. So far, we really enjoy being around each other?—”

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