“I want to date you,” he said. “I definitely want to have sex with you. I also want to give you a place to stay. So we just need some rules.”
She narrowed her eyes slightly, but she nodded. “I’m listening.”
“Because I said I want to have sex with you?” he teased.
“Yes.”
He laughed. Having this gorgeous woman that had him twisted in knots want him so much and be so open about it was a turn-on like nothing he’d experienced before.
“Okay, so Tuesday, Friday, Saturday are date nights. Tuesdays we stay in. Watch a movie or sit on the porch—”
“Can we lie in the hammock together?” Paige interrupted.
He nodded. “Sure.”
“I’m in.”
Well, that had been easy. “You like my hammock?” he asked.
“That—” She pointed at him. “You can’t do that if we’re not sleeping together.”
“Do what?”
“Say things in that sexy, flirty tone of voice.”
“Did I use a sexy, flirty tone of voice?”
Her eyes narrowed again. “You did.”
“Huh.”
“You don’t even know when you’re doing it?”
“I guess not all the time.”
She rolled her eyes. “What happens on the other nights? The non-date nights?”
“Well, Friday is always the crawfish boil at Ellie’s. We’ll go to that together and… other stuff.”
She gave him a watch it look.
His voice must have sounded sexy and flirty then too. He grinned. “Saturday nights are, of course, a traditional date night. I’ll show you the area. We can go up to New Orleans. That kind of stuff.”
She nodded. “But what about the other nights?”
He laughed. He couldn’t help it. Her wanting him this much was nice. “Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday we’re friends, co-workers, roommates.”
“And that’s it?”
“Yep. No meals together. No kissing or touching.”
“No sexy, flirty stuff,” she said.
“I’ll try.”
“You better. If I jump you on a Monday, it will be your own fault.”
He smirked. “You’re going to have to have some self-control, Ms. Asher. You’re the one who doesn’t want a diamond ring.”
She narrowed her eyes again and nodded. “Right.”
“So, when we’re home together, we can’t sit on the couch together. You can’t walk around in only a towel after your shower. You need a robe. And—” He paused. “This is a big one.”
“Okay.”
“No yoga in the living room. And definitely, no wearing that sweatshirt.”
He knew that she knew which sweatshirt. He’d been very open about what that half sweatshirt did to him.
“But there’s not enough room in my bedroom to do yoga,” she said.
“What about front porch yoga?” he asked.
She glanced toward the front of the house as if thinking. “That could work. Or…”
“Or?”
“What about the otter yoga you’d mentioned in Iowa?”
He had mentioned otter yoga. She did cat yoga in her studio in Appleby. The cats hung out in the studio and joined her classes. The animals mostly just laid around, stretching and purring and getting attention from the participants. He’d tried to entice her to Autre with the idea of otter yoga.
He grinned. “Yes. Otter yoga. Definitely otter yoga.”
She smiled. “That might work.”
“The otters won’t be laid back like the cats. They’ll run around and squeak, but they’re pretty cute.”
“It will make it interesting,” she said. “Is there space there for yoga mats?”
“Yep. It’s behind Leo’s old trailer. There’s a lot of space. Until, we get the new enclosure finished. Then we’ll move them there. But there will definitely be space there too.” He could actually add a little more space around it.
Of course, adjusting the plans for the enclosure to include an area for otter yoga led by a woman who would be gone in August was ridiculous.
He was going to do it anyway.
She tipped her head. “Okay. Well, there needs to be some rules for you, too, then.”
“Like what?”
“No walking around without a shirt on if it’s not Tuesday, Friday, or Saturday.”
That seemed fair. “Okay.”
“And no walking around in just a towel after your shower either.”
“Okay.”
“And no honey or darlin’ stuff.”
He nodded but couldn’t help the grin.
She noticed. She frowned. “And no dirty talk or flirting or innuendos.”
“I’ll try.”
She studied him. Then sighed. “This all seems like a very fine line to walk.”
“It will be,” he agreed.
“Think we can do it?”
“I hope so. Because I’d really like to take you out. I’d really like to keep having the hottest sex of my life. But I’d also really like for neither of us to end up with a broken heart.”
Something flickered in her eyes with that. She swallowed and nodded. “I’d really like that too.”
“Good then.”
“I promise to keep this agreement going.”
There was something odd in her tone when she said that. As if she was making a solemn vow.
“Well, there is some good news about the agreement,” he said.
“What’s that?”
“Today is Tuesday.”
It was her first date night with Mitch.
That seemed so weird. They’d already had sex. They’d even had a date.
Except they really hadn’t.
He’d been in Appleby for the winter Apple Festival, and they’d attended, walking among the booths and trying the different treats and games and checking out the crafts.
But he’d been pretending to be Tori’s fiancé, and Paige and Josh had been pretending to be on a date.
That was a long story.
But it did mean that she and Mitch hadn’t really dated yet.
And now she was living with him. And still wanted him in a way she’d never expected to want a guy.
Okay, so maybe they should date. And should have some rules around their situation.
She did not want to break his heart. She did not want to break his family’s hearts. She wasn’t sure that would or could happen. Maybe none of them would want her and Mitch together, and they’d be thrilled when she left in August. But there was the potential for her to get to know them and like them and…
Her heart could get broken.
She hadn’t felt broken-hearted over ending her engagement to Garrett exactly. She’d felt relieved and had been absolutely certain it had been the right thing to do. But she’d been broken-hearted over how it hurt everyone else. Over the way it had changed her relationship with her mom. And Garrett’s mom.
She’d always really loved Garrett’s mom. As her mom’s best friend, Shelly had been a part of her life for as long as she could remember. To know she’d hurt Shelly, had disappointed her, and ruined all of her dreams for their families being connected and her sharing holidays and grandchildren with her best friend forever, had been a blow.