Chapter 29
I wake up to peonies on the nightstand again.
But no Julian.
I’d rather have him than flowers.
It’s always been Julian from the time he walked into his parents’ kitchen.
I check my phone, noticing I’ve almost overslept, and roll out of bed. I was so exhausted last night that I don’t even remember falling asleep as we watched the movie.
Deciding to take a quick shower, I step in to turn on the water, noticing all my shower essentials have been moved from the guest bathroom and are in here now. As I shower, the glass steams, blocking the view of the rest of the bathroom.
I think about Julian and about the last time I was in here.
How he touched me.
Fucked me.
How amazing it was with him in here.
My thoughts drift to when he told me about his tattoos last night.
He’s been sharing his thoughts, his life, with me.
I never thought I’d be able to chip away at his thick skin and reveal the real Julian. So far, I’m loving it. It’s better than I even imagined, but now, like an addict, I want more.
After showering, I turn the faucet handle and open the door. I nearly fall back when I find Julian standing in front of me, holding a towel out in my direction.
He’s dressed, looking like he had more sleep than I did even though that’s not true.
I take the towel from him, draping it around my body. “It’s warm.”
He nods. “I put it in the dryer to warm it up so you wouldn’t be freezing.”
“Look at you,” I say in a cooing voice. “All romantic.”
“Not romantic.” He narrows his eyes at me and reaches out to confiscate the towel, but I swat his hand away. “Fine, I did it because if there’s a baby in your stomach, I want him or her to stay warm. Can’t have them getting hypothermia.”
I can’t stop myself from throwing my head back and laughing. “If you think that’s how it works in a woman’s uterus, you have some serious research to do before I give you the benefit of being baby daddy on the birth certificate.”
He steps in closer, his shoes getting wet, as he’s nearly in the shower with me. “I’m the only baby daddy option for you. Don’t make that mistake.”
I kiss his lips. “Who’s my chaperone today?”
“Me,” he says sharply, as if I asked him to head to the hospital and donate a lung to me.
“You’re lying.”
“I wish.” He snatches the towel from me, giving me a mischievous smirk, and wipes the water off the bottom of his shoes before tossing it back to me. “How’s that for romantic?”
“Did you really just do that?” I throw the towel at him and stomp out of the shower, shivering and trailing water along the tiled floor. “How rude.”
“Neomi and her friends are tagging along with you at the shelter.” He opens a cabinet, collects a folded towel, and tosses it to me.
This one, unfortunately, isn’t warm.
“You have ten minutes,” he says before leaving the bathroom.