Page 25 of Divine

“I just left the gym and thought about you,” she said.

“So, you already got a workout in. You don’t need me, huh?” I chuckled.

“I was actually thinking about grabbing some food and coming to see you as a cool down.”

Renatta was a Zumba instructor for the gym near my house. If I went to the gym, I liked to go in the morning or late at night when it wasn’t crowded. I happened to run into her one morning when she was teaching her five AM class. She was as low maintenance as they came. Renatta was recently divorced and just looking for a good time. It was the perfect combination if you asked me.

“I’m on my way out to lunch right now if you want to meet me,” I told her.

As soon as the words left my mouth, I wondered why I said them. I didn’t want a woman I was casually smashing to meet Divine. Something about that didn’t sit right with me. Not that I was cheating on her, but I felt like it was a good idea to keep my two worlds separated.

I didn’t have any business trying to see Divine outside of work hours anyway. There were only a few days before I would be back on duty. I could last that long. What was another three days without her? I guess I was about to find out.

* * *

Any excuse to be around Divine worked for me, so getting paid to do it was just mind blowing. Plus, I got to do one of my favorite things while I was there. Before going inside, I dropped my supplies next to Divine’s back door.

The window was closing on being able to put bulbs in the ground so they would be ready for spring. The lack of color in her back yard didn’t sit right with me, so I planned on rectifying the situation. Using the back door, I let myself inside and went straight to the kitchen.

After placing the container of oatmeal raisin cookies on the kitchen counter and putting the grape juice and cookie dough ice cream in the fridge, I went to find Divine. She looked crazy with a head full of different colored sticks I assumed were used to curl her hair.

“What’s up?”

“Hey, Lee Lee,” she greeted me. A smile brightened her already gorgeous face, causing my heart to skip a beat.

“What’s your favorite flower?” I asked her.

“I used to say roses, but I like peonies better. They’re so pretty. You plan on buying me some flowers or something?”

“Just curious, Divine. I was kind of wondering why you didn’t have any in your yard, though.”

“I’m not a outside kind of girl. I keep it pretty in here but don’t worry about the outside. I might get a gardener to come in or something one day, but I don’t go out there enough to worry about it.”

“With that set up back there, I figured you would be out there all the time.”

“When I moved in, I thought I would too.” She shrugged. “What’s that?”

Looking back at the counter, I answered her question. “I brought you some peppers and tomatoes from my garden.”

“Oh, so you were serious about that?”

“You thought I would lie about growing tomatoes?” I shook my head.

“You would be surprised what people lie about. Thank you so much, Liam,” she squealed with excitement. “I can’t wait to use them.”

“You’re welcome, Cook. I also brought you some cookies, candy, and juice,” I told her.

“You really think I’m in preschool. Don’t you, Lee Lee?” She giggled.

“I’m well aware that you’re a full-grown woman, Divine. The cookies are for your sweet tooth and the juice has antioxidants and stuff that help with cramps.”

“How did you know I was having cramps?” Her brows snapped together in a frown.

“Because you’re about to start your cycle.”

Another frown was accompanied by her stopping in her tracks. The black tights and tank top she wore left little to the imagination and made me want to put my arms around her to see just how soft she was.

“What?”

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