Page 84 of Matchmaking the Rival

Chapter Twenty-One

Cade

Iwoke up early thenext morning, got out of bed without waking Meredith, and headed straight down to the living room. Glancing at the fireplace, I made a split-second decision. I wanted to surprise Meredith this morning. I texted Cal, asking him to bring by breakfast stuff and wood. He replied immediately. I was going to chat with my brother about paying Cal extra. Jake had assured me he was compensated handsomely, but I believed in treating people fairly, especially when they went above and beyond. I'd given Jake shit for having someone chauffer him around, but I was starting to see the benefit.

Forty minutes later, breakfast was on the kitchen island. Meredith was still asleep. That gave me enough time to surprise her.

It had been a while since I lit the fire, but YouTube was very informative. I didn’t usually bother with it because it seemed impractical. I mean, I could just turn up the heat if I wanted to get warm. When I first moved into the brownstone, I'd asked about removing it, but it was too much of a hassle, so in the end, I just let it be.

"Oh my God." There was my surprise. The fire was more of a flicker, but when I turned around, Meredith stood in the doorway, mouth open, eyes sleepy and wide at the same time. Her hair was in complete disarray, full of snarls. She was wearing the robe I gave her last night after we showered. "When did this happen? You had wood to start a fire?"

"No. But I have my ways of getting what I need to keep my woman happy," I said, walking up to her.

She yawned, running a hand through her hair, then stopped midway, dropping it. "Oh God. My hair is a mess. I didn't even check my appearance."

"You look gorgeous." I leaned into her, but she stepped back quickly, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Nope. Morning breath. I didn't mean for you to see me like this. I was just lured here by the smell of burning wood. I'll be right back."

Turning around, she darted out of the living room. I didn’t want her worried about her appearance when she was around me. I got hard seeing how she looked right now, after being ravished by me andonly everme. I was going to have her over as many times as it took until she was completely comfortable here.

Damn. I couldn’t even believe my own train of thought.

I took the food Cal brought out of the containers. I never ate at home in the mornings, so I had nothing in the fridge and had asked him to bring breakfast bowls from a nearby restaurant that prided itself on being the city's best choice for brunch and breakfast. It was so popular that they started having a takeout menu too.

Meredith came down fifteen minutes later. The fire was much stronger than before. She looked stunning, yet I still preferred the natural, early morning version of her.

“See, now I look like a human,” she said. Her hair was shiny and falling in a straight line down her back and shoulders. Her face was fresh. “You can kiss me all you want.”

“You’re gorgeous no matter what, babe. Loved the way you looked before.”

“Right. Especially my hair. Looked like a bird’s nest.”

I looked straight in her eyes, touching her cheek. “Fuck yes, I like it. It meant you woke up in my bed, and I'm the first to see you today.”

She licked her lips, blinking slowly. Then her stomach rumbled.

I kissed her forehead before motioning to the kitchen island. “Breakfast is ready.”

“Wow, you had all this?”

“No. Cal brought it, along with the wood.”

She sighed. “Can we eat in front of the fireplace? It's so gorgeous.”

“Anything to make you happy. Sit down, and I'll bring you your breakfast.”

Smiling from ear to ear, she sat on the couch, then swung her legs up next to her. “This place is amazing.”

“I like it,” I said, sitting beside her on the couch and handing her a bowl.

“By the way, Natalie and I exchanged numbers at Jeannie’s house.Aaandshe and I have been talking about taking Jeannie out. Maybe to have a pedicure or something. Do you mind?”

“Fuck no. Of course not.” Mind? How was she even real? I couldn’t wrap my mind around this.

“Okay.” She looked down at the bowl. “Is this from that fancy breakfast place? I saw them on Instagram.”

---