She moved closer and placed her head on my shoulder. “I guess it's my turn.”
“This will be my second time falling in love.” She went straight for it.
The moment she said it, my heart rate increased.
“I can hear your heartbeat,” she chuckled. “I'm glad.”
“Ahem…” I cleared my throat. “What happened during your first?”
“It was kind of a Kate situation,” she explained. “Ever since then, I've protected my heart. Normally, I do not care if anyone knows about my past, but I was bothered that if you knew, you would treat me differently. You almost did too.”
“I'm sorry,” I apologized.
“It's fine. I know you didn't mean it,” I said. “But it made me realize that my past might come up. I just don't want it to be from you. I'm also in love with you, but like you said, I have no idea what I'm doing.”
“So, we both have no idea what the other is doing?” I laughed. “At least that makes me relax.”
“A relationship where one of us doesn't know how love works and the other has protected her heart for too long,” she said. “It really sounds funny.”
“Do you think we can handle it?” I asked.
“We might have to take it slow,” she suggested. “I'm still nervous.”
“To the best of our abilities then,” I said.
“Kisses?”
“Kisses.”
She reached for my face and kissed me softly. The kiss lasted only for a second, but it felt like it had lasted a lifetime. It was the start of our love life.
Chapter thirty
The Snake in Paradise
Olivia
I opened my eyes and found him asleep. Lucas maintained a scowl, even in his sleep. Usually it had me scared, but at a point I had gotten used to it. Besides I knew a trick that would make it go back to normal.
I kissed his forehead and then his cheek. Within a few seconds, his face morphed into a smile. It worked every time. He was still asleep, though. I got out of bed and stretched. Noticing my naked figure in the mirror, I had put on some weight. I had been lacking exercise. Plus, I wasn't watching my diet anymore.
Aunt Sarah wouldn't be pleased. Speaking of which, a week had passed after the confession. She had returned to Chicago in peak medical condition. The neighbor who had watched over her came to Richmond to take her home.
I didn't want to assume anything, but it felt like he had a thing for her. Hopefully, the woman will notice. Before she left, I told her about my progress; she had one piece of advice for me.
“Don't put on too much weight, so stay look attractive,” she advised. “After marriage, you can let yourself go, but this is still the courting phase.”
Looking at myself in the mirror, just my breasts that had gotten bigger and maybe a love handle or two…nothing a good adjustment to my diet and morning workouts wouldn't fix.
I found one of his bathrobes and put it on. I made my way to the kitchen; part of my deal was to cook for him. He insisted that I didn't have to do it, but he tried making me breakfast once and now everything I make tasted inferior.
If I couldn't beat him, the plan was to make his tongue adjust to level of cooking skill. For a simple breakfast, he preferred oats of any variety. So, I made him peanut butter-chocolate chip overnight oats with bananas. Easy to make.
He renovated the house, but he was yet to stock the pantry. During my free time from the hospital, I planned to go shopping.
I sound like I'm his wife already.Just the thought of being his wife excited me.
In the words of Cinderella, “So this is love?” I plated the meal and considered taking it upstairs to feed him in bed.