Page 28 of A Small Town Spring

“Yes.”

“You want to head over together?”Kingston asks casually and I relax.God, it’s like I don’t know how to be normal anymore.

“I have to go by my—Ivy’s.To get something for Pete and Jack.”

“You did a painting of their house, too, didn’t you?”

I nod.“It’s a surprise that it’s arriving today, though.”

“I’ll keep my lips sealed.”

“Anyway, it’s done, but the paint is still tacky.I wouldn’t want to risk Daniel’s upholstery.”And I don’t want him to accidentally see the portrait.I’m not sure how he’d react.

“All right.Meet you there, then.”

It’s more distracting than it should be to navigate around a shirtless Kingston in his kitchen, but why shouldn’t he be allowed to be comfortable in his own space?Besides, I’m the one who greeted him in a towel yesterday evening.I suppose it’s all part of cohabitating with someone I happen to find incredibly attractive.

I settle into my usual spot at the bar with my eggs and toast, while Kingston heads to the fridge and pulls out the remnants of last night’s pizza.

He’s usually so fastidious that I’m completely shocked when he pulls a piece out and starts eating it standing up next to the fridge.“What are you doing?”

He stares at me.“Eating breakfast?”

“But you’re Kingston James.I never thought I’d see Kingston James eating cold pizza for breakfast.”

“Cold pizza for breakfast is the best way to eat pizza,” he says, his eyebrows all crooked as if he thinks I’m the weird one.

“Guess I don’t know you as well as I thought I did.”

“Guess you don’t,” he returns easily.“I’m not just a fussy know-it-all with impeccable taste.I’m a fussy know-it-all with impeccable taste who likes cold pizza for breakfast.”

I laugh and bite into my eggs, sending yolk running down my chin.Kingston wrinkles his nose and grabs a napkin from the counter, reaches forward and swipes it across my face.

His thumb catches on my cheek before he drops the napkin into my hand.

“And you are a mess,” he says evenly.

I clean myself up, feeling silly for the way his touch makes my heart kick up.

I definitely have a crush on him.

But we’re living together.

It’s complicated.

And I ought to be focused on my career.That’s the point of all of this, anyway.Moving out.Moving on.

So I forget about what seeing him in nothing but thin pajama pants does to me.I forget about how all I want now that he’s back is to spend time with him.I harden my shell, clean up my dishes, scratch Luna behind the ears.

“See you at the party,” I say.

“See you there.”

Fifteen

Jack and Petehave a huge backyard, with a big green lawn that extends to the ring of trees that demarcates their property, a big flagstone patio that has a table and chairs and a grill the size of my first flat, and even a pool, hidden behind a gate off to the side.When I arrive, toting my gift, the patio is already littered with people.Some of them I know, like Shay and his boyfriend Connor, who happens to be Luna’s vet’s son.I also see Van and Beck, who are playing with Jack and Pete’s dog, Cleo.I recognize some people from the Art Center—Dulcie and Che and a few others.And there’s Ivy, looking as polished as ever in a jade green off-the-shoulder sweater and a cream skirt, talking with an athletic-looking man who’s gesticulating with his hands.I set the painting down in a safe corner, face tilted toward the wall to keep the contents private, and head to Ivy first, since I don’t see our hosts.Kingston doesn’t seem to have arrived yet, either.

“More bike parking is really essential,” the athletic man is saying when I walk up.

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