Page 43 of Keeping The Virgin

“Karini,” he says, greeting me.

Formal. Distant.

Folks, meet Cage Bryant.

And guess what? I look like a tornado picked me up and spit me out right here in front of him. Great!

But he doesn’t seem to mind that I haven’t put myself together yet, so I stop minding so much myself.

“Good morning.” I nod toward the plate, which has three loaded pieces of toast on it. Nearby there’s a porcelain pot and what I take to be a steaming cup of tea, plus a smaller plate of pineapple and grapes. “Did you cook for me?”

“I had some extra time this morning.”

That means yes, and it’s as if a burner has been turned on in my chest, suffusing me with warmth.

“Avocado toast, three ways,” he says. “One with a poached egg, one with bacon, one with an heirloom tomato.”

I’m confused all over again. Is this the same Cage who acted as if I didn’t exist after he owned my body last night? Is this the one who was supremely uncomfortable when I showed him affection at the art gallery?

Tentatively, I go to take a seat at the marble table and set my phone on my lap, never removing my gaze from him. He stays standing, almost as if he can’t bring himself to give in to this moment entirely.

I realize this just might be his version of an apology. Wow, he sure works in mysterious ways.

“Aren’t you going to stay a while?” I ask. “Eat with me?”

“I’m due at the office.”

I smile a little, unable to resist a bit of teasing. “What were you going to do if I was still asleep when you left? Surely you weren’t just going to leave this masterpiece here to get cold.”

He reaches into his trouser pocket and pulls out his phone.

“You were going to text me?” I ask.

When he bites back a smile, I’m not sure whether he’s teasing me right back. Who knows with this enigmatic man?

Just when I think things have gone back to normal between us—whatever normal is—the clouds return to his blue gaze. He slides the phone back into his pocket.

“In addition to the links I’ll be texting you today,” he says, “I’d like you to think about some things Igor will inevitably ask you during dinner tomorrow night.”

He’s not demanding it. Interesting.

“I’ll keep my eye out for your text.” Then I take a bite of the bacon and avocado toast and... Oh my god, this man knows what I like, and not just with sex. This toast issex.

He continues. “In addition to his asking about how the two of us met—”

“Which you’ll handle,” I say with a full mouth.

“You should be prepared to answer him when he asks you what you want out of life. When I first met him, he was curious about that, and he grilled me about my ambitions and plans for an hour.”

“It’ll be easy to answer. I know exactly what I want.” I grin. “More toast.”

He’s lifting his eyebrow at me, and okay, so I’ve gone too far with the kidding. He’s hiding his stress pretty well, but I don’t want to push him by being too flip.

After I swallow the food, I say, “I’m really not that complicated with my ambitions. First, I want to graduate from college with a 3.8 GPA after my next semester. I also want a steady, stable job as an accountant for a place that—here’s the irony—treats its employees like more than a number. And I want…”

Cage is watching me closely. “Go on.”

A blush takes me over. “I want to find a man who’ll love me and have a family with me.”

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