Page 46 of Capacity
“So are you a dog person or a cat person?” He quizzed.
“Both,” I answered surely.
“Pick one.”
“That’s not fair they’re both so cute and fluffy. I’m not choosing. I love them both.” I snuggled against his hard, smooth body and listened to his laughter cocoon me in richness.
“I like both too but…”
“Then you understand why I’m not choosing,” I countered. Our laughter tangled together in a chorus of happiness and peace. I hadn’t heard that contented sound in so long I forgot what it was like.
“God, Lumi I could look at you all day and night and still never get tired of the way you light up when you laugh. I know it sounds corny but I’d fight the entire world just to see half a smile on your face.” His thumb slid across my bottom lip heightening the urge to smile just for him. To blossom and open my petals toward the light. I couldn’t stay closed up forever and Knight was determined to work his way into my heart.
“It’s not corny,” I said softly. Feathers brushed against my insides as my mind put his words on instant replay.
That man had a way with words.
He had such a way with words that we stayed up for hours falling deep into conversations that excited my brain. We talked until our words turned into snores. It was the first night since I moved to Connecticut that I didn’t kiss Kaiden’s picture and clutch his Hot Wheels to my chest.
I whispered goodnight to him in my mind before I drifted off though.
…
CHAPTER 12
“Could you not snap pictures of me while I’m covered in dirt?” I frowned at Knight from the flowerbed. He wanted to get some shots for his portfolio to show and evidently, watching me prep the soil for winter was the way to go.
He cracked a smile and let the expensive camera drop on the thick black strap it was connected to. “Can I help it if you’re the most beautiful thing in an entire flowerbed full of asters?”
“I’m not. Take pictures of the flowers.” I still couldn’t help smiling.
“I have to showcase human subjects too, Lumi.” I shot him a look that he laughed at right before he picked the camera up and started snapping me again. He was lucky he was irresistible or I would have stormed in the house. I had dirt streaks on my forearms and I’m sure all over my face but Knight insisted that even smeared in soil I was perfect. Even though I playfully waved him off, hearing that made my heart thump harder.
When my phone rang in the pocket of my gardening apron, I pulled off my glove and fished around for it. It was a number I didn’t recognize but I answered anyway, sitting on the porch.
“Hello?”
“Hi…um, is this Ms. Foster? From Lakeview? The nurse…” A familiar voice stumbled and stammered on the other end but I couldn’t place the person.
“Yes, this is Ms. Foster. Who’s calling?” I asked after giving up on trying to guess the mystery caller.
“Um, it’s me, Zach. From Lakeview. You said I could call you if I needed to talk.”
I blinked a few times and said, “Zachary, Hi. I knew I recognized your voice. Is everything okay?”
“I just need to talk and you’re the only person who offered to just talk to me. I mean the only person who wasn’t obligated to offer.”
“I’m all ears, Zachary. What’s up?”
He went quiet on the other end but I still heard him breathing. It was a trembling breath that made my stomach turn into steel knots. Something was bothering him deeply. I felt it in his weighty silence.
“You know where the McDonald’s is on Chain Street?”
“I do. You wanna meet there and talk?” My voice was soft and gentle.
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
“Okay, I’ll be there in ten minutes.” I ended the call and looked at Knight who was peering at me curiously.
