Page 10 of The Marrying Kind
“I’m just going to brush my teeth, then I’ll get out of your way,” I told her as I walked to the bathroom.
She didn’t need to know that I was also going to wash my face and moisturize. My mom made sure I knew that approaching thirty meant starting to take care of your skin.
Once I was done, I headed to the closet, grabbed a couple of blankets, and tossed them on the couch.
Upstairs, I heard the bathroom door close for a bit, and then a swath of light flooded the loft area before cutting out into complete darkness. Ella must have gotten into bed. She was just a few dozen feet from me, no more than twelve stairs away.
It was agonizing to have a beautiful woman in my bed and not be able to join her. I wondered what she normally slept in.
I gave myself a little adjustment at the thought and willed my mind to think about anything but her creamy neck and that little vein that pulsed, the one I wanted to suck and kiss ...
Okay. Easy, tiger.
I took another breath. Though I had to admit, there was something ... nice about having another person here after being alone for so long.
I wondered if she were lying there thinking about me too. Then I wondered why I cared.
Ella would be gone in the morning.
5
MAKING PLANS
Ella
When I awoke in a strange bedroom in the morning, I had a little moment of panic as I processed where the hell I was.
Then I remembered. I went home with a random stranger, Austen Hart. Who the bartender had vouched for. I was either officially crazy, or I was actually living life to the fullest.
That makes it sound too salacious, though. It’s not like Iwent homewith him, even though the thought had crossed my mind briefly. If he’d had the same idea, he didn’t show it. For all I knew, he had a girlfriend, and she was really open-minded when it came to helping strangers in need, though somehow I doubted it.
The smell of coffee and bacon hit my nostrils as I sat up and stretched. It was light outside and obvious that Austen was already awake. My stomach rumbled its suggestion that I investigate further.
By the time I got dressed and made it downstairs, I picked up on the light sound of whistling. Austen was mimicking the softly playing radio, and very well, I might add. He was like a dang lark. I, on the other hand, couldn’t whistle to save my life. It was impressive.
“Morning,” he said, looking my way. “I made breakfast, if you’re hungry.”
“I don’t want to be any trouble. Just hoped to bother you for a cup of coffee before I hit the road.” I raised an eyebrow as I checked out the coffeepot, which looked incredible with the little swirl of steam rising from it.
“Of course,” he said, reaching up for a mug and pouring me some. “I don’t have any cream, but I have sugar.”
I took the cup from his hand and our fingertips brushed. Just like last night when we touched, I felt heat pool in my belly.
I let out a shaky breath. “Or honey?” I asked, remembering what he’d told me last night.
Austen looked down for a beat, the tips of his ears going a little pink. “I drink mine black.”
“Me too.” I smiled. Apparently, our taste buds were very much in sync.
“So, you decided to move on to your next destination on your list?” he asked as he held up two plates in the air as if to ask me if I’d reconsider.
I nodded. “Since you went to the trouble ...”
Austen set the plates down and started piling them high with blueberry pancakes and bacon.
Wow, this looked incredible. None of my ex-boyfriends had ever cooked. Not that there were very many over the years, maybe a handful.
First, there had been Jeff, who was my high school crush. But he moved away because of his mom’s job before things got too serious. Then there was Tucker. I really fell hard for him, but he was all wrong for me. And it turned out I couldn’t compete with the sorority girls he liked to party with when he moved away for college. Or he was a serial cheater. Either way, I wasn’t sticking around. Then I tried dating apps, which were hugely stressful and unproductive. Now I’d been single for two whole years without so much as a first kiss in all that time.
