Page 16 of Wandering Closer

Across the hall from the primary is the guest room. I open the door and flip on the light so she can see. It has sage green walls, a simple white bed and dresser, and a pink comforter. She looks at it in question before turning to me. “My mom helped decorate this room. The only people who have stayed in it are Jake and my brother, so the pink is staying, just for them. Actually, my mom helped with the living room too. If you see the pink throw in there, that was her.”

“That’s really sweet,” she says wistfully.

We walk back to the hall and I point to the third guest room. “That’s just an empty spare room, and this is the other bath up here.” I open the bathroom and hope she doesn’t ask to see that room. It’s a smaller room, painted a pale blue. I have hopes of turning it into a nursery, but until that happens, I like to keep it closed off.

Lily peeks in the last bathroom. It’s a little plain with white marble counters and oak cabinets. There are white subway tiles in the tub and shower combo, and black slate tiles on the floor. The walls are gray, and the shower curtain is the only real pop of color with a forest green. “Your house is wonderful, Thoren.You did such an incredible job and should be really proud of yourself.”

I lead Lily back downstairs, Shadow weaving between us. “Thank you. It was a labor of love, but I’m thrilled with how everything turned out.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

thoren

Istep into the kitchen, pulling the wine and beer she brought from the fridge. “What can I get you to drink before I start the grill?”

“That wine looks amazing, thanks. Can I help with anything for dinner?”

“Nope, it’s all prepped and ready.” I hand her a glass of wine before slipping the bottle back into the fridge. “Do you mind carrying my beer out to the deck?” I ask, nodding to the bottle as I grab the platters of food from the fridge. “If you want, you can ask me some of your questions while I cook?”

She grabs her bag, my beer, and her wine, holding the back door open for me as we both slip out onto the deck. I have the string lights on, even with the sun still glimmering through the trees. The table is set with plates, silverware, and the vase of flowers.

Lily sets everything down to lean over and smell the flowers. Her jumper rides higher up the backs of her thighs, giving me the slightest glimpse of her ass beneath. I almost fumble the tray before getting it set up on the side of the grill, distracted by that tantalizing bit of skin. When I turn back around, she’s sitting in a chair and pulling out a notebook.

“Those flowers smell amazing. My ex used to send me flowers at work sometimes. I forgot how much I love the smell of them.”

Now I feel like a jackass that I didn’t just tell her I got them for her.This isn’t a date.“You can take those home with you, if you want.”

“And take the joy of seeing and smelling them away from you? Absolutely not,” she says, so matter of fact. It’s sweet that she thinks I have flowers sitting around and doesn’t even bat an eye at it. Like it’s totally normal that a single man buys himself flowers.

“What questions do you have for me?” I ask, lighting the grill.

“I was hoping you could start with just explaining the basics of baseball to me. I know they try to hit the ball and then run the bases, and I know what a home run is, and that there are innings with tops and bottoms. If I’m honest, I don’t really get the tops and bottoms parts. Or how their game cluster things work.”

I chuckle, filing this away to tell Riv tomorrow. He will get an absolute kick out of her summary of the game. I multitask, grilling and explaining the ins and outs of baseball. I explain the rules, the games, the teams in the league, biggest rivals, really everything I can think of. Lily listens intently, writing down notes for things she finds important or relevant, and asks clarifying questions when needed. By the time the salmon, potatoes, and veggies are done, she has three pages of notes written down.

I’m bringing everything over to the table when she stands, grabbing my empty beer bottle. “Can I get you another?”

“I have to feed Shadow, so I can grab another. Can I get you more wine?” Instead of allowing me, she grabs her glass in her other hand and follows me inside. I fill Shadow’s bowls with food and water while Lily gets us more drinks, then we sneak back outside before Shadow notices us leaving.

“Cheers,” Lily says, holding up her wine glass. “To making new friends and not having to eat every meal alone. Thank you for this tonight. All your help, really.”

Thatfriendword wipes the genuine smile from my face, but I plaster a small fake one anyway. Tipping the neck of my bottle to her, I clink it lightly against the glass. “I’ll cheers to that. I’m truly happy to help.”

We both take a sip, our eyes never leaving each other. Lily is the first to dig into her salmon while I watch the way her lips wrap lightly around the fork with her first bite. I grip my bottle tight as a small moan slips from her mouth.

“This might be the best fish I’ve ever had,” she groans out, already scooping up another bite. Her whole body melts as she savors her next bite. “I’m going to need you to make this for me again. Once will not be enough.”

I agree with the sentiment. Watching her fawn over my cooking is something I will want to see again and again. “We can make dinners together a weekly tradition, but you’ll have to be willing to try out some of my other recipes.”

I finally take my first bite, still watching her eat. Her eyes close every time her fork meets her lips, her hum of satisfaction sending blood rushing south.

“We can trade houses every other week. Don’t tempt me with an offer you can’t hold up to. You know I don’t love cooking for one,” she says, her shy smile is soft and mirrored by mine.

Dinner with her every week sounds amazing. I want to know her. What makes her laugh, what makes her smile, what makes her blush; and then I want to be the one to make her do all three. I want to know what she turns to when she’s upset, what she wants out of life, and who her hero is. And this right here is the exact reason Jake and River think I’m going to blow this. I don’t do anything half-assed, when I’m in, I am ALL in. It’s been two weeks and I can already tell she is the complete opposite ofJen. Everything I was missing from her, is wrapped beautifully in Lily.

“Before we jump into the questions about River’s life, tell me something about you.”

She sets down her fork, and takes a sip of her wine, deep in thought. “My favorite color is purple. Specifically, the shades in a lilac bush. My neighbor growing up was obsessed with the smell of lilacs, and every year tried to plant a lilac bush. Most of them died because they aren’t meant for the harsh temperatures. But for the few weeks she kept them alive, their color and their scent was my favorite thing.”

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