“Can I join you?” Josh asked rather than make himself at home.
“Sure.” Just sit anywhere but next to me. “You’ve watched I Love Lucy?”
Clearly, Josh had his mind reading abilities turned off tonight, because rather than sit in one of the multiple other places in the room, he dropped down on the sofa next to her. Even though they weren’t touching, the heat from his body managed to seep into hers, pushing her internal temperature even higher.
Josh stretched his legs out and crossed his ankles. “I don’t think I’ve seen all the episodes, but I’ve watched a lot of them. My favorite is the one where Lucy makes the commercial for the vitameatavegamin.”
Who didn’t love that episode? It was a classic.
She should finish this episode and retreat to the safety of her bedroom. She already knew that wasn’t what she would do. “I’ll put it on next.”
Beside him, Courtney leaned forward for her cup of what looked like tea, and the neck of her oversized T-shirt slipped off one shoulder, exposing the tiny birthmark at the very top of her right breast. The one that usually remained hidden under her clothes. If her shirt somehow dipped another few inches, her nipple would be free.
The image of him reaching over and pulling the shirt down played out in his mind. Once he had the fabric out of the way, he’d lower his mouth to her dusky pink nipple while his other hand slipped beneath the blanket covering her lap and settled between her legs.
Not tonight. Rather than move the top down and carry out the fantasy playing out in his head, Josh grabbed the shirt’s neckline and tugged it back into place. Then he readjusted his position on the sofa, putting several more inches between them.
“Can’t sleep?” he asked. For all he knew, drinking tea and watching old sitcom reruns might be part of her normal routine at home. If it was, he’d have to think twice the next time insomnia struck, and he went wandering around.
Courtney sipped her tea as she shook her head. “I keep thinking about how the media will react tomorrow.” Instead of putting the cup back where it had been, she held on to it in her lap. “You?”
Yeah, no way was he telling her the cause of his inability to sleep. Despite the frigid shower he took before bed, the damn erection refused to quit. It probably didn’t help that his body knew the cure for the problem was sleeping under the same roof. “Same.”
“Since when do you care about the media?”
Talk about being caught in a lie. “I don’t care what they say about me. I’m worried about how this might affect you.”
While it wasn’t what was keeping him up, it wasn’t a lie either. Some people did everything they could to get the kind of attention Courtney was about to get, and they knew just how to handle it. Courtney might say she was prepared, but no one truly knew how they would react until put in the position. While his ex-girlfriend Naomi, who had once worked for his dad, loved the perks of being with him, she’d hated the regular scrutiny of their relationship. The stories that had regularly popped up in the tabloids while they were together claiming he was cheating on her hadn’t helped their relationship either, even though they’d all been false. He had one-night stands and short weekend flings, but never while they were together. He wasn’t a cheater. There were some lines even he wouldn’t cross.
She looked away from the television and at him. “If I were you, I’d be more worried about meeting my dad and brother Saturday.”
Her expression gave him no clue as to whether she was being serious or joking around. Either way, he’d find out in a few days.
Seven
Bacon? Why did Josh smell bacon? His brother hated the stuff. Even if Evan did cook breakfast for himself, which he never did, his brother wouldn’t be cooking bacon. Opening his eyes, Josh glanced around, momentarily confused by what he saw. He smelled bacon because he wasn’t at his brother’s condo. He was at Courtney’s place. More specifically, he was on the sofa in nothing but shorts.
Josh tossed the blanket covering him aside. He had no idea how it had ended up on top of him. The last thing he remembered, they’d been watching his favorite I Love Lucy episode, and Courtney was using the blanket. Now she was gone, the television was turned off, and he had a cramp in his neck that told him he’d been sleeping there for some time.
He rolled his head, hoping to loosen up his neck, and stood. If he smelled bacon, she had either made breakfast or was in the process of making it. Either way, it meant she was no longer in bed.
Except for the open laptop, a plate of food, and the full French press, the kitchen was empty. Josh doubted she’d left for the day though. While he sometimes left a plate behind for someone else to deal with, everything he knew about her told him she would not. While he waited for her to return, he’d help himself to some coffee.
On Monday night she’d served him some. Which cupboard had she taken the cup from? He reached for the one closest to the refrigerator.
“Hey, you’re up. I hope I didn’t wake you.”
At the sound of her voice, he turned. The only difference between the way she looked now and when he’d stumbled upon her last night was her hair. Rather than leave it loose, she’d tied it up in a messy bun. His first instinct was to walk over, pull out the hair elastic, and run his fingers through it.
“The coffee cups are in the next cupboard.” She retook her seat at the kitchen island and put down the cell phone and coffee cup in her hand. “If I’d known you’d be up soon, I would have made enough breakfast for both of us.”
Eggs were okay. He’d eat them, but they weren’t his favorite. Some of the bacon on her plate would have been nice. “I’m happy with cereal if you have any.”
“Sorry. I’m not a big cereal fan. But if you want to make a list of foods you like, I’ll add them to my order. It’ll be delivered on Friday.”
How could anyone not like cereal? He’d have to make sure some found its way into the kitchen today. For now, there was a loaf of bread on the counter. “Do you have any peanut butter?” A person couldn’t go wrong with some peanut butter toast.
“It’s in the third cupboard to your right on the top shelf.” She picked up her fork, but before she could use it, her cell phone chimed. After typing a reply, she set it back down. “I tried to wake you before I went to bed, but you were dead to the world. Did you ever make it back to your room?”
“No.” The cramp in his neck would remind him of where he’d slept all day too.
Her cell phone chimed again. This time she ignored it and stabbed a slice of bacon. “Are you still going to drive up to Maine and get your things?”
Right, he had said he would go and get his birth certificate today. “If I go today, we can apply for the marriage license tomorrow.”
“Before I leave, I’ll give you a key so you can get in.” She silenced the cell phone when it rang. “I’m supposed to go to Meg’s for book club tonight, so if I’m not here when you get home, that’s where I am.” She scooped up a forkful of scrambled eggs. “But I’m thinking about skipping it.”
Peanut butter toast in hand, he took the stool opposite her. “Don’t skip because of me. I don’t mind being here alone.”