“Same. And I couldn’t eat breakfast.”
“Well, we can’t have that.” He lifted his forehead from hers and replaced it with a gentle kiss. “Let’s enjoy some of those groceries that contributed to all this, shall we?”
Her lips twisted with amusement as he made himself at home in her kitchen, opening the fridge and giving the contents a scan.
“I noticed you bought me Pop-Tarts,” she hinted.
“You want Pop-Tarts?” He closed the fridge and opened her cabinet. “Wild berry or frosted s’mores?”
“Let’s live on the wild side. I’ll have one of each, and toast those bad boys.”
“Guess that means I’m having one of each, too,” he said. “We’ll start with the misleadingly healthier sounding wild berry and have s’mores for dessert.”
She got comfortable on one of the barstools and watched as he opened the package and dropped the pastries into her two-slice toaster. “The number two setting is good, Pop-Tart rookie,” she advised.
“Duly noted.”
He made the adjustment to the toaster knob and turned to throw away the empty packaging. Then he hesitated before he dropped it into the can.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
He reached into the can and lifted out the red eviction notice she had thrown away the night before. It had her bracing her elbow on the counter and dropping her head into her hand.
After a moment, she lowered her hand and explained, “I came home yesterday to find that on my door. It was the perfect topper to my day. But don’t worry. Mrs. Ladenbaum helped me strategize and I’ve got it worked out with the landlord. That’s why the notice is in the trash.”
“Okay.”
He tossed the card and Pop-Tart wrapper in the can. Once he washed his hands, he reached for hers, bracing his elbows on the counter and leveling his gaze on hers.
“I’m mentally preparing you for something,” he said. “I understand your stance on money, and I completely support your independence. But I have an idea that I think would make both of us more comfortable. I’m asking you to hear me out, so just give it some thought while we eat, okay?”
She blinked in surprise. “Wow. You actually approached that in the perfect way. I didn’t even flinch.”
“I noticed. Are we both experiencing personal growth here?”
“We’re about to eat a meal of Pop-Tarts over a couple of paper towels,” she intoned. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
He laughed. The toaster popped, so he turned to retrieve their “first course,” carrying hers over on the paper towel. Then he put the s’mores Pop-Tarts in to toast and filled a couple of cups with ice water before trying his wild berry pastry.
“These are really good warm,” he said around the bite.
“Mmhmm,” she agreed.
“Hey, did you see the footage of Christian’s catch?” he asked.
She nodded. The clip had gone viral within a couple hours. “That was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.”
“I know. I was just sitting there all oblivious and he snags the damn ball out of the air.”
“Did he hurt his hand?”
“Not seriously. He was fine at practice this morning.”
“Good.”
The chocolate of the s’mores Pop-Tarts scented the air as Callan collected them from the toaster and returned to the counter with them. Watching him take care of her in such a simple and touching way had her thoughts wandering to his request to present her with an idea related to money. She usually wouldn’t have even considered it, but yesterday had taught her a couple of valuable lessons, not the least of which was that she needed to be more open to accepting help from others.
“I’m curious,” he said as he broke off the first piece of his “dessert.” “What did you and Mrs. L come up with to present your landlord?”
She filled him in as they finished their meal and moved over to the loveseat. He lifted his arm in invitation. She allowed herself the indulgence of settling against him.
“That was a great idea,” he said when she finished. “I’m glad it worked out.”
“Me, too.”
He leaned down to place a kiss on the top of her head. “So, are you ready to hear me out?”
She let out a bracing breath before replying, “Yes.”
“Okay. Here’s my idea. I would like for you to amend my buyer’s agent agreement to include the condition that I prepay you half of your projected commission in advance as compensation for the work you have to put into finding me a new home. You should base that figure off the minimum list price of one million dollars, since everything I’ve liked has been well over that. You’ve probably spent a ton of money in gas already, never mind the time you’ve spent hunting for listings. My preseason starts up soon and I won’t be able to tour places as easily. It’s not fair that your payoff might be months down the road. I consider this a reasonable agreement and I’m hoping you do, too.”
It did sound reasonable when he said it so calmly and confidently. It was so reasonable, in fact, that she could think of no immediate arguments to it. Even still, she almost refused the idea out of principle.
Then she considered the time, money, and effort she had already put into his home search and weighed in what he said about not being as available to see listings in the near future, a thought that bothered her more because she would miss him than because it would delay her commission.
When she put that all into perspective, she realized his suggestion was more than just an offer of charity. It was a creative and generous solution to her financial problems.
Somehow, he had managed to find a way to help her while preserving her pride. It showed such a depth and understanding of her character that it shifted and opened something inside her.
She lifted her head and met his gaze. “Okay.”
His eyebrows lowered. “Okay? That’s it?”
“Yes. Well, and thank you. For everything. For taking care of me the other day. For the groceries. For hiring me to help you buy a house. For everything. It all means more to me than I can ever say.”
“You’re welcome.” He let out a relieved laugh. “Wow. I expected way more resistance.”
She eased away from his chest. “Well, I admit I would feel better about this whole thing if we sealed our agreement now.”
“Oh. Now?”
“Yeah.”
She rose from the loveseat and placed one knee beside his thigh, then swung her other leg across his lap so she straddled him. His expression shifted from confusion to understanding as she placed her hands on his shoulders to brace herself and slowly lowered her hips until their bodies were touching.
“Oh,” he said again. His eyes couldn’t seem to move from her lips. “What about your no-sex pact?”
“I’ve reconsidered it,” she said as she teasingly moved her hips against him. She smiled when she felt his body’s immediate response. “I’ve decided it’s time for a new pact…an exclusivity pact with one Mr. Callan Murphy.”
She wasn’t sure if it was her hip movement, the implication that she wanted to have sex with him, or her agreement to give the exclusivity thing a try, but it was enough to have him issuing a sound in the back of his throat before he reached up, cupped the back of her neck, and claimed her mouth with his.