Page 48 of The Bartender's Baby

“See you later,” I said with a kiss.

“I’ll be home around ten. Be ready for me.”

“I will,” I promised, then headed out. Toourhome.

Where I promptly crawled into bed and fell asleep to David Attenborough narrating a relaxing story about the mating of exotic birds.

FOURTEEN

TABBY

Iwoke up to the smell of bacon and panting breaths in my face, slowly coming to until I jolted upright, barely escaping a lick from Lucy.

“Ugh.” I pushed her away. “Your breath is rank.”

“She could probably say the same about you.”

I blinked a few times and pushed my hair out of the way, meeting Nate’s impish grin. He was dressed, his green T-shirt soaked at the collar, smelling of his soap and sweat.

“What time is it?” I asked, as he offered me a plate of bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast with butter.

“Almost nine.”

“In the morning?”

“In the morning,” he affirmed and pushed a glass of orange juice into my hand.

I remembered what we’d done in his office last night at Walt’s, what I’d promised, then how I’d come home, washed my face, brushed my teeth, took off my jeans, and got into bed, intent on watching television until he came home. “I fell asleep.”

He nodded. “Sure did.”

“You didn’t wake me up.”

He shook his head. “Sure didn’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re growing a human, and if you’re tired, you need to sleep.”

“Yeah, but…”

I didn’t feel guilty, but I did feel a little let down. We’d been living together, sleeping in the same bed, for almost a week now, and quite frankly, he‘d promised me sex. Told me he’d be taking care of it for me, yet here I was with bed head and wild hormones, while he stood there looking all deliciously sweaty after making me breakfast.

As if he understood my thoughts, he pinched my Walt’s T-shirt, which I still wore from last night. It didn’t feel real nice with the way it was caked to my chest.

He bit back a laugh. “You’re such a fucking horndog.”

“Me?” I slapped at his shoulder. “You were the one who told me to be ready for you to clean me up.”

“So, hurry up and eat your breakfast so I can clean you up.” He picked up a piece of bacon and held it out to me. Lucy tried to snatch it, but he caught her and set her on the floor, where she trotted to her bed in the corner. After I bit into the bacon, he did too, basically finishing off the strip. I rolled my eyes as I sipped my OJ.

“How was the rest of the night?” I asked, starting in on the eggs with the fork he handed to me along with a napkin. Like a Boy Scout, the man was always prepared.

He helped himself to some of my juice. “Something’s up with the vents. They were blowing cold air.”

I frowned. “What’s that about?”

“No idea. Might be nothing. I’ll have to wait and see if it happens again.” He sounded relaxed even though he tugged at his hair, his nervous tell.

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