Page 24 of A Little More

“No, thank you. I tend to like to chew my food while I still have teeth to do it, not drink it.”

Nash retrieved their protein shakes that looked like chocolate milk and then started frying a half pack of bacon. He wouldn’t eat all of it. His mom might tell Lexi she’d drink that sour-smelling chocolate milk for breakfast, but she’d sneak a couple pieces later.

He set the bacon to the side and began frying two eggs in the same pan. His mom came into the kitchen and poured two cups of coffee. Nash reached out to take one.

She popped his hand. “Get your own, this is for Lexi.”

Nash grabbed a cup from the shelf, watching his mom with a look of fake injustice. “You always pour me a cup of coffee.”

She lifted a slim shoulder, her thinness highlighted with her hair pulled back in a clip from exercising. “I only have two hands, and we have a guest.” She started to walk out of the kitchen, but paused at the table, set down a mug, snagged a piece of bacon, and continued out the door.

Nash shook the pan and flipped his eggs. A few things in life were predictable. Lexi’s laugh drifted into the room. He plated the eggs, sat down at the table, and opened the paper to the farming section. But he couldn’t focus with Lexi so close.

Technically, Dewey was right about Nash’s game being rusty. He’d not dated since the divorce, which meant his last “first” date was in high school with his ex-wife. Incredible to think it’d been that long. Granted, he’d come a long way from the simple farmer’s son asking the head cheerleader out for prom.

“Do you eat eggs and bacon for breakfast every morning?” Lexi said from behind him, her bare feet silent on the worn linoleum as she moved to the sink and rinsed her cup. “I think I would gain ten pounds doing that.”

He folded the paper carefully, setting it to the side. Lexi didn’t need to worry about her weight. She wasn’t super thin like a model but had the right amount of curves, and those damn pants didn’t do anything to conceal them.

She sighed, her gaze dropped to her coffee cup. “You make me nervous when you look at me like that.” Her lips parted in a small, but dangerous smile, her eyes flicking back up to meet his. It was a punch to the gut. “Being here with you, and your mom, makes this”—she motioned back and forth between them— “feel a lot more permanent than it is. We need to remember that.” She took a sip of coffee.

He couldn’t deny it. In a couple weeks, maybe a month or two, she’d be out of his life.

Back to Atlanta.

But for a short time, those few weeks, they could let loose the pressure building between them. A least a little.

He sat back in the old, vinyl chair, sipping his coffee. Pressing her up against the floral wallpaper of his parent’s outdated kitchen, getting a taste of her lips and feeling those curves under his hands sounded much more in line with what he wanted.

Setting his cup on the table, he glanced at her lips before meeting her cautious stare. “Permanent isn’t on my mind at the moment.”

Lexi slowly shook her head, her gaze turning suspicious like she knew all the out of bounds thoughts running through his mind. No way she could knoweverythinghe’d thought about.

“You need to remember that Julien is coming here. Today. He can sniff out happiness like a bloodhound.”

“And after the store is built?”

“Nash—”

“Did you save me any bacon?” His mom entered the kitchen, eyes trained on the two pieces of bacon he’d left on the plate like a hawk on its prey. “Lexi, darling, you can take a shower first, so you and Nash can start whatever it is you have to do today. No need to wait for me.”

With a bright smile aimed only at his mom, she left from the room.

The second the door down the hallway clicked closed, his mom popped her hand on the back of his head with a resounding smack. “Put your tongue back inside your mouth, boy. I taught you better than to ogle a woman that way.”

She had, and until then, he’d respected Lexi as much as he could. But, seriously, the tight black pants didn’t leave much to the imagination. And when it came to Lexi, Nash had a very detailed imagination.

“And why are you telling her you don’t have anything permanent on your mind? A woman doesn’t want to hear that. God, when was the last time you actually spoke to a woman?” She held up her hand.

He ducked away from the second pop and rubbed his head that still stung. “Please, tell me your opinion on the matter.” His mom’s dating advice would probably include wedding bells with the hope that he’d imitate his parents’ forty-three years of marriage.

“Don’t get smart with me.” The steely look in her faded blue eyes made Nash bite his tongue at a response about being over thirty and an adult. He’d only lose that fight with her. “Nash, darling, you are designed to be married. Lexi is a wonderful woman. I don’t know why you aren’t throwing all that charm at her at once and promising her the moon.”

“Ifher job wasn’t on the line, which it is, I don’t have the moon to give her. I was married. Hated it. In fact, I’m pretty sure you hated me being married just as much. I think I’m only designed for farming and operating this store once it’s built.”

She waved her hand and sat down across from him. “I hated you married Catherine. Catherine was selfish, making you choose between her and your family. Marriage is about compromise, and family is everything.”

“And you think Lexi would move down here? Become a farmer’s wife?”

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