Page 60 of A Little More

Even more astonishing was the fact she’d managed to keep her feelings and the big “L” word out of it. Sharing that startling discovery would only complicate their already sideways relationship.

But she did love him.

She’d figured it out about halfway through putting down the first coat of polyurethane on the kitchen floor. Might have been the smell from the chemicals, but even in the light of day, that sweet, tingling nausea that let her know when to pull back from a relationship coursed through her body.

And when he’d apologized, the raw pain in his face, she’d fallen…hard.

She wasn’t scared of love as a rule, but she’d managed to avoid it until now. Love usually came with a reasonably lengthy commitment. Marriage.

None of it mattered. Nash might have indicated he cared for her last night, showing it in a dozen different ways, but that didn’t mean a forever-and-ever kind of situation.

The sweet song of the bird started again, drawing her gaze to the window and the brightening day. The position of the house let the master bedroom overlook the creek bed. He’d mentioned that it typically stayed dry until heavy rains, like the one they’d had the past few days. She imagined it flowed steadily back at the turn of the century when his great, great grandparents built the house.

The walls in the bedroom were almost bare, spots of wallpaper stuck, revealing a few faded pink or red roses on a yellowed background she suspected were from the forties. A chair rail with painted white panels lined the bottom third of the room.

“I see your little hamster wheel in that pretty head of yours turning.”

Nash hadn’t moved, but he watched her through heavy eyelids.

She snuggled a little closer. Reality could wait another ten minutes. “I’m sorry my hamster wheel woke you up.”

“Hard to sleep with a beautiful woman snuggled up beside me. What were you thinking about?”

“Just taking it in.”

“And what do you see?”

“Trying to imagine what it would have been like to wake up in this room around 1915. If it would feel the same way, with the sunlight and the birds.” She sighed, letting him pull her close, acutely aware that only one of them had on clothes, and his thin tee shirt she’d slipped on before collapsing a couple hours ago didn’t give them much of a barrier.

“It probably would have been rather uncomfortable since they didn’t have central air conditioning or a pillow top mattress.”

She traced a finger along his collarbone and down over smooth muscle. The contrast between their skin color feeling sexier than she’d ever imagined. His bed held the same faint scent of grass and sunshine that was uniquely him.

He kissed her temple, his hand slinking up her thigh. “I’ll eventually have to get up and assess the damage from the storm.” He peeled his tee-shirt off her body, giving her a crooked smile that said everything. “Eventually.”

After round three.

Nash waitedfor Lexi in his truck. He’d drive the big one today, make sure he could get across the standing water. Based on the level of the creek, he’d need it. Bank to bank the water flowed fast. That meant the river on the other side of the highway was above the flood plain by a few feet.

Lexi came out, her hair bouncing over her shoulders. He’d loved every second with her last night. Spent most the night awake, contemplating what the hell to do about it.

Nothing.

For right now, what they had worked. Once the construction of the store ended and they finished the kitchen renovation, he’d figure it out. Figure out how to live without her smile waking him up each morning better than any cup of coffee. Because if he reached for Lexi, he’d have to turn his back on his town. His life. His farm.

She hoisted herself into the truck like a pro, his old high school shirt loose and cute with her tight jeans. “Now, why is your hamster wheel turning so hard?”

He swallowed over the sudden dryness in his mouth. “What?”

“You have that ‘I’m thinking’ look on your face.” She ran a light touch over his shoulder. “You really should start doing yoga with me. It’d help with your stress level.”

He pulled his hat off and scratched his head. “My hamster wheel was thinking about you.”

“Oh? What about me?” She said it light enough but with an edge of insecurity.

He snagged a curl with his finger and twisted it around. “If I lived in Atlanta and wasn’t a client, would you date Charlie or me?”

The sound of the truck’s air conditioner compressor kicked on, filling the silence between them. Her gaze roamed over his face. “I thought we already established that I’d date you. Besides, that’s a stupid question,” she finally said with a touch of attitude. He opened his mouth to explain what he meant, but she laughed. “There’s no way Charlie could go three rounds.”

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