Page 26 of I Choose You
“Good morning,” I sang. “All rested up. I just made coffee. I hope you don’t mind. Can I pour you a cup?”
His brows knitted together. “I got it,” he said as he leaned into me, reaching over my shoulder to open the cabinet where I found his mugs. “How are you feeling?”
His eyes searched mine before roaming my face, then doing a quick sweep up and down my body. For a moment, I thought I saw something flash across his face, but it was gone in an instant.
“I’m fine, but thank you. And thank you for yesterday. And last night. And giving me your bed. Just thank you, Reid.”
“Yeah. Don’t worry about it.” He was looking at me differently. I could see it on his face. Pity, or maybe concern.Never let them see your weakness, my father had drilled into my head for as long as I could remember.
“Well, I’m going to sit out front and watch the sunrise with my coffee,” I said with as much enthusiasm as I could. I felt off-balance, and I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was causing it. Was it just the stress of last night? Sleeping in an unfamiliar bed? Being around a nice, thoughtful, and compassionate Reid, with his bed-head hair and sleepy eyes?
Reid followed me to the door to unlock it for me before turning around to head back to the living room. As soon as I stepped outside, I realized my mistake. Reid kept his house so cozy I completely misjudged just how chilly autumn mornings were. Reid didn’t have a front porch or anything, just a few steps onto a landing. I sat on the top step, placing my mug on the side of me so I could wrap my arms around myself for warmth.
A heavy weight landed on my shoulders.
“Watch your cup.”
I quickly picked it up and moved it to the step below, next to my feet, as Reid sat down next to me. He had grabbed himself a Wilder Construction sweatshirt and a blanket for me. It was still warm with his body heat from sleeping with it on the couch.
“This blanket is heaven,” I said, curling into it.
“My mom gave it to me when I was a kid.”
“That explains the teddy bear motif.” I smiled. It was a super cute blanket… for a child. It wasn’t something that I would have expected to see out on display in his very neat, very masculine home.
“After she died, I slept with that blanket every night. I would wrap it around myself and shuffle over to my sister Lydia’s room to sneak into bed with her. Lydia would help me make my cocoon even tighter, so tight I could barely move a muscle, and let me sleep in her bed.” He scratched at his light scruff that had grown in since yesterday. His eyes held a faraway look, lost in memories, and a small smile played at his lips. “I think at first, she was doing it because she was sad too, but I may have let it go on a little too long because at some point, I’m pretty sure she went from trying to comfort me totrying to smother me in this thing,” he laughed, tugging on the blanket that was draped around me.
“I’m sorry about your sister potentially trying to murder you, but this is still a great blanket,” I said, trying to lighten the mood a little. I placed my hand on his leg. It was only supposed to be a quick pat, but my brain must have short-circuited within the last twelve hours because I squeezed his thigh instead.
His thick muscle flexed under my fingers, and a rush of heat filled me. I wanted to rub my hand up and down his leg, feel his muscles tense and relax from my touch.
What a wildly inappropriate thought!
I pulled my hand away instead.
“The tree lighting was a lot of fun. This town is so pretty.” If Reid thought the change of topic was odd, he didn’t show it. I beamed a genuine smile at him, and he gave me a small smile back. “Your family is great. Jane is just the cutest little thing I’ve ever seen. Wes was a little… um… intimidating at first glance, and he seems a lot quieter than the rest of the group. And Seb…” I trailed off. Seb was hilarious. That man loved chasing women, that much was clear. He was remarkably handsome, and his tattoos would definitely be a turn-on for many women. He was single, obviously by choice, and he had made his interest known. But he was interested in just about every woman, so I didn’t take it too seriously.
“Stay away from him,” Reid growled. His eyes were dark, his jaw tense and hard.
I had no intention of chasing after Sebastian Devereux or anyone else, for that matter. And if I did, I wanted someone who would make my heart go pitter-pat, and Seb was not that person. Although only one person I’d met here had thateffect on me, and he was too young for me, grumpy ninety percent of the time, and apparently judgmental about who his friends dated.
“Don’t worry. You won’t have to save your friend from my clutches.” My voice was playful and upbeat, disguising the pang in my chest.
“That’s not what I meant.”
Reid got up and walked down the remaining steps, then turned to face me. He tugged the blanket from my hands, taking one side and wrapping it close to my front, tucking it into my side. He took the other side of the blanket and wrapped it all the way around me, securing the corner of it under my collarbone.
“Seb’s only out for a good time. He leaves a string of broken hearts behind him without a second thought. He’s not good enough for you. Not by a long shot.”
I sat there, on Reid’s front stoop, cocooned in his childhood blanket, replaying his words on a loop, well after he went back inside.
Why? Why did it have to be the twenty-four-year-old, mostly grumpy but sometimes sweet guy who made my heart beat too fast, made my insides feel warm and tingly?
I finished my coffee and stood, folding the blanket before heading inside. Reid was seated at the dining table, poring over a set of plans or blueprints that were spread out in front of him.
“Hey, would you mind if I took a quick shower before I head back to the motel?” I asked, setting the blanket on a chair before heading to the sink to rinse out my mug. If I could get one more decent shower in before I had to head back to the motel, I wanted to.
“Abso-fucking-lutely not.”
