Page 60 of Marrying the Gardener
He hisses a swear. “You smell amazing.”
“You smell like alcohol.”
“I’m sorry, baby.” He kisses beneath my ear. “I’ll clean up good. Promise.”
I glance toward my grandfather, who’s still struggling to catch his breath. My father appears to have—helpfully—gotten him another shot, which is probably not a medically-sound choice.
Sighing, I return my attention to my husband and mumble, “They can’t hear us. Stop with thatbabynonsense.”
“My love,” he whispers.
A buzz traipses through my body, sending an undercurrent of something foreign down into my toes.
Kaleb’s weight sags around me. “The things I want to do toyou.”
“Are they the same things you passed on doing a few nights ago?” I whisper.
He chuckles. “No. Completely different.”
“Do elaborate then.”
His mouth opens against me, but my father’s voice startles us. “Kaleb, I think Dad needs to call it a night. You both get home safe, okay?”
Kaleb grips me as he lifts his head. “Understood, Dad. I’ll check in with you two in the morning. Feel better soon, sir.”
Even after they leave, towing a series of cheap concern from my cousins behind them, Kaleb’s grip doesn’t ease.
“Kaleb?” I ask once my family is firmly out of sight.
Grabbing his pool cue, he ushers me toward the table.
As he fits the stick in my hands and bends me down, arms encasing my body, I gulp. “Kaleb…we can go home now.”
His breath heats my ear. “Grant me my fantasies for a moment.” His chest presses against my back as he slips the cue through my fingers, lining up a shot. At his bidding, the slick wood slides up and down, rallying. He strikes, and the balls clack, one sinking into a corner pocket. Freeing me from the confines of his arms, he drops the butt of his cue to the ground and smiles. “Yup. That’s the stuff.”
I blink.
“That’s what I wanted to do to you,” he elaborates, casually. Yawning, he retrieves my father’s and grandfather’s sticks from where they left them, returning each to the rack on the wall. Then he goes about refreshing the table, pulling the balls together into the triangle.
All the while, my chest constricts.
When he’s finished and his sleepy smile hits me, I can’t breathe. The entire walk out to my car, I’m struggling to make sense of my thoughts.
Kaleb with a pool cue equals hot, period.
I think.
If I had to guess, anyway.
“You’re sure you’re okay?” I ask once I turn my keys and my car engine rumbles to a start, breaking the building silence gripping a fist around my heart.
Eyes closed in the passenger seat, Kaleb hums a low, affirming sound.
“I’m sorry you had to drink so much tonight.”
“Getting drunk with someone builds trust.”
That’s…fair enough, I guess. I swallow and pull out of the parking space. “I hope they make it home safe. They came together. And both of them were drinking.” At the very least, we’re near where my father lives. They’ll be home soon, even if Kaleb and I have a long drive back to Sunset.
