“Don’t,” she said quietly. “I know what you’re saying and I understand. Don’t you think I’ve felt the same way?” She couldn’t even look at him. “I’m living in their house, sleeping in their room, raising their daughter…sometimes it’s all just too much.”
“I know I’ve said it before and everyone looked at me like I was a horrible person, but…you know you can sell this place, right? Maybe a fresh start someplace new would be good for the two of you. There’s a lot of memories here, I get that, but…they’re not all good ones.”
“I know.” Her eyes stung with the threat of tears and this so wasn’t the kind of conversation she envisioned them having after their sexcapades. “I can’t just sell the house, Kyle. I know it sounds simple enough, but not after all the work we just did on it. So many people donated a lot of money to help us fix up the place. It would be wrong to turn around and sell it right away.” She sighed and knew they needed to lighten the mood because this was not how she wanted their night to end. “Besides, you did such a great job customizing all the spaces for us and then we just went around the house and christened so many spots that I think I’ve put my stamp on this place.”
Then she held her breath and hoped he noticed a change of subject when he heard one.
His arms tightened gently around her and he kissed her again. “Well, I think there’s a few more places we need to christen, but maybe we grab an hour or two of sleep first. What do you think?”
As if on cue, she yawned. “I think I could totally get on board with a little sleep.” She kissed his shoulder. “But I make no guarantees on whether or not I’ll wake up in an hour.”
Rolling her over onto her back, Kyle stretched out on top of her and grinned. “You leave that to me. I already know how I plan on waking you up.”
His body felt so good, so warm, that she wrapped her arms and then her legs around him and held him close. “Maybe you should demonstrate that now so I have something to look forward to.”
“I was hoping you’d ask.”
It was easily another hour before they both fell into an exhausted sleep.
9
Sunday mornings were made for sleeping in.
Especially when there was a beautiful, sexy woman in your arms.
“We really need to get up,” Sydney said. “I’m starving.”
It was silly how proud he was of himself for helping her work up an appetite. “Sure I can’t entice you into staying in bed a little longer?”
Rolling toward him, she gave him a sleepy smile as she caressed his jaw. “Unless you’re a cinnamon roll, my mouth isn’t going near you.” And with a laugh, she rolled away and out of bed.
“Way to crush a guy’s ego.” Kicking the blankets off, he rose and stretched.
And realized a cinnamon roll did sound good.
“Are you making the cinnamon rolls or are we talking about ones from Henderson’s Bakery?”
Sliding on her robe, she stopped and looked at him. “I was talking about the ones in the can that we bake in the oven, but…”
“Say no more. I’ll go into town and grab some and then we can eat them out on the back deck. You make the coffee.” Sliding on his jeans, he grinned at her. “How does that sound?”
“Heavenly. But are you sure? I hate to make you leave.”
He waved her off before sliding his t-shirt on. “It’s really not a big deal. By now we’ve missed the early morning rush and church hasn’t let out yet, so the timing is kind of perfect.” Walking over to her, he kissed her soundly. “And the thought of eating breakfast with you out on the deck sounds pretty heavenly to me too.” Another kiss. “We never thought about christening anything outside. Maybe…”
Her hand on his chest stopped him. “I am totally not into exhibition,” she stated with a laugh. “And besides, there are some loose boards on that deck that make me a little afraid we’d fall through.”
That instantly put him on alert. “Why haven’t you mentioned it? I could look at it and make sure it’s all safe and secure. It probably just needs some more nails or something. I thought that was fairly new.”
“It is. One of Daren’s projects.” She shook her head. “He had a lot of enthusiasm, but he wasn’t quite as handy as he liked to think he was.” Her expression turned sad and Kyle knew he didn’t want to start out their day like this.
“Okay, I’m going to go to the bakery. You start the coffee and maybe grab a shower, and then I’ll look at the deck after breakfast.”
“Kyle, you’ve already done so much here. I can’t possibly ask you to work on anything else. Especially on your day off.”
Waving her off again, he walked out of the bedroom and went in search of his sneakers. “It’s not a big deal. I’m sure it’s going to be a quick fix. I’ll be back in a little bit.” She was right behind him so he turned and kissed her one more time because he couldn’t resist. When she deepened the kiss and pulled him in close, he almost caved. Reluctantly, he broke the kiss. Cupping her face in his hands, he said, “You are pure temptation. But before we entertain the thought of me peeling that robe off of you, think of warm cinnamon rolls.”
And just like that, she spun him around and gave him a playful shove. “You’re right. Breakfast. Go!”
She really was hell on his ego, but he could take it.
With a spring in his step, Kyle breathed in the sweet morning air before climbing into his truck. The drive to Henderson’s took only five minutes, and when he pulled into the parking lot, he was surprised to see it was fairly crowded.
“Well, damn.” Reaching across the seat, he found a package of breath mints and quickly popped two of them into his mouth—suddenly very conscious of the fact that he hadn’t even taken the time to brush his teeth. “Too late to worry about that now.”
Inside the bakery, there were easily a half a dozen people in line ahead of him and he knew them all. At the counter was Mrs. Greenway from the bank, and behind her was Ms. Chandler, his sixth-grade science teacher. There was Kelsey Cooper who he dated in the tenth grade, and in front of him was…
“Hey, Kyle. How’s it going?” Sam Westbrook asked with a grin.
“Doing good, Sam, thanks. And you?”
“Good. Shelby’s craving Mrs. Henderson’s pumpkin cream cheese muffins so…here I am.” He shrugged. “Although, I don’t think it would matter if she was claiming them as a craving or not, I’m always up for a box of whatever Mrs. Henderson has available.”
“I hear ya. Personally, I’m here for the cinnamon rolls.” And when he inhaled, the scent of cinnamon was strong and he hoped that meant a batch of them had just come out of the oven.
“I’m glad I ran into you. Jake mentioned how you’re working over at Sydney Albright’s place.”
He nodded.
“He asked me to come in and do some work on the front yard. He said there are some dead trees and it needs a general cleanup. Is there any day in particular that’s good for me to stop by?”