Chapter Thirteen
Elle caught herself smiling most of yesterday, as well as today.
Her time with Jeremy the other night had been world-rocking, leaving her satisfied and content.
The memory of the incredible man and the things they’d done, both in the cabin and outside in the hot tub, sent heat washing through her body.
And just like that, her smile returned. But he had also sparked her imagination, motivation, and inspiration.
So much so, that she’d gotten a ton of writing done last night after helping at Gabe’s.
She’d written into the wee hours of the morning, catching a few hours of sleep before she met Faith for Saturday morning yoga at the Wyne Resort, with Jenna joining them.
Although she’d hoped to catch a glimpse of Jeremy jogging around the lake this week, there was no sign of the handsome guy. At least she was able to give her full concentration to her positions today.
“Who’s up for brunch at my place?” Faith asked as they walked toward the parking lot, after their class ended.
“Sounds amazing,” Elle said, and her stomach rumbled in confirmation. Too bad she had a deadline. Torn between want and need, she sighed. “But I have to write.”
She’d never had this problem in the past.
That’s because you never allowed yourself to have friends before, her mind interjected.
When she’d needed to write, she wrote. There was never anywhere else she had to be or wanted to be, until now.
“Can you put it off for two hours? I mean, you have to eat, right?” Jenna asked.
True.
All she’d eaten was a banana on the way to yoga. Once again, her stomach growled in confirmation.
She lifted a shoulder. “I suppose I can for two hours.”
It still gave her the rest of the day to get her words in.
“Perfect,” Faith smiled as they reached their cars. “I’ll get the mimosas ready.”
Elle wrinkled her nose. “As much as I’d love one or two, I’m going to pass and stick to one of Jill’s large mochas.”
“I’ll grab it for you when I stop there for some of her delicious chocolate croissants and cinnamon buns,” Jenna offered.
“Thanks,” she told Jenna. “Caffeine and chocolate are a must when facing down a day of writing.”
Faith snickered. “Makes sense to me. They’re good for a lot of things.”
Jenna laughed as they all unlocked their vehicles.
“I’m also in dire need of protein, so I’ll stop at Gabe’s for one of his breakfast sandwiches. Anyone else want one?” she asked, and when both women nodded, she got in her car.
A half hour later, Elle parked in Faith’s driveway.
The woman lived in a cute Victorian with a wraparound porch on one side.
It was located on the street behind Main Street and apparently right next door to Scott’s grandmother, who owned a slightly bigger Victorian, which was yellow with white trim and a wraparound porch on both sides.
Elle had been to Faith’s a few times for game nights and to binge watch a romantic time-travel series on TV. Painted a light purple with cream trim and eggplant accents, the house was stunning and vibrant like it’s owner.
Both Victorians were gorgeous, warm, and inviting, and Elle had no trouble imagining the stories the properties could tell.
Gripping the bag with their delicious-smelling eggs and bacon sandwiches on English muffins, she knocked on Faith’s door.
Jenna answered, face a little flushed. “Just in time. Come on,” she said, ushering her into the entryway. “We’re eating outside on the patio.”
Elle hid her surprise as she followed her friend through the house to the back door. They’d never eaten outside before.
But as soon as she stepped out, the reason for the new location became clear.
Faith’s yard butted up against the back of the fire station, separated by a small chainlink fence. On the other side, a vigorous game of basketball was being played between six hot, muscular men on the half court set up behind the building.
Scott and two firefighters, Nico and Noah, were shirtless. The latter was the husband of the cat café owner, Layla. Which left the other three men with shirts on. Elle assumed they were policemen, since Jeremy was one of them.
Awareness shot to her toes then back up her body so fast, her knees wobbled.
The handsome guy didn’t need to be shirtless for her to remember his amazing muscles and ridges, since she’d touched, kissed, and licked every magnificent inch of them.
“Oh, wow,” she mumbled, dropping down into the vacant chair on Faith’s left while Jenna sat on Faith’s right, leaving all the chairs on the other side of the table empty.
Couldn’t view the…action from there.
Without taking her eyes off the game—more specifically, Jeremy—Elle pulled a sandwich from the bag before passing the bag to Faith. “Didn’t expect you to provide entertainment, too.”
Her gaze on the guys, Faith performed the same sandwich grab-bag pass maneuver to Jenna. “Certainly wasn’t planned, but I never look a gift horse in the mouth.”
“Especially when the horses are so amazingly muscled,” Jenna murmured, removing her sandwich.
For several minutes, the three of them sat there eating and viewing their fill in silence. Elle was pretty sure Faith’s gaze was on Nico, while Jenna’s was on Scott. Hers, of course, centered on Jeremy.
She hadn’t really spoken to the guy since he’d reduced her bones to mush and left her completely satiated.
The fact that he hadn’t asked to stay all night had both disappointed and relieved Elle at the same time.
She hadn’t wanted him to stay, because falling asleep with him was on her “Things not to do” list. And yet she’d experienced an unexpected, albeit unwanted, ripple of disappointment because he hadn’t even tried.
Which was stupid with a capital S.
They were both obviously on the same page, and she appreciated it. And if he decided that one evening was enough, she’d accept that and be grateful for the amazing memories—and orgasms—he’d given her.
No way would Elle pursue him. She was still of the mindset to let fate decide if she should see him again, even though she was not opposed to a few more sated scenes with him.
It’s too bad she hadn’t had a conversation with him yesterday about where they stood.
For some reason, fate had intervened and sent her to work at Gabe’s instead of with Jeremy.
Hell, she hadn’t even gotten a chance to say more than “Hi” to the guy when he’d stopped in for lunch.
Why? Was fate being cruel? Was it just life?
Was she going to finish her sandwich without him invading her thoughts?
Not likely. Not with his muscles flexing down his arm and back as he completed a perfect layup, putting his team ahead.
Nico grumbled, and Jeremy smiled before he said something and walked backwards down the court.
Her heart skipped a beat. The guy didn’t smile often, but damn, when he did, it was dangerous.
She reached for her mocha by the Confection Connection box in the middle of the table and took a big sip before setting it back down.
Chocolate and coffee were her idea of liquid courage, and it was a good thing, because Nico whipped the ball at Jeremy’s feet, hard. It bounced completely over him, as well as the fence and into Faith’s yard, rolling to a stop near Elle’s chair.
Her pulse kicked up as Jeremy’s gaze followed the ball then slowly rose to meet her face, and holy wow, he smiled again and it reached his eyes, turning them an electric blue that warmed her down to her toes.
As if on autopilot, Elle got up, grabbed the ball with one hand and walked to where Jeremy stood on the other side of the fence.
“Here, you might need this,” she said, a smile on her lips as she fought back an unexpected bout of shyness.
He took the ball from her and tossed it over his head toward the court without dropping her gaze. “I definitely do. But not the ball.”
Elle’s heart careened into her ribs from his words and the way he looked at her like he remembered everything they’d done to and with each other…and he wanted to do it again.
She lifted her chin and slid him a lopsided grin. “Another round?”
“Yeah.” He matched her lopsided grin and added a heated gaze. “For starters.”
Warmth funneled low in her belly. “I like the sound of that. When?”
“You tell me.”
Right now, her mind screamed, but she managed to keep the words for making it past her lips. She had to write. Dammit. “After I hit my daily word count. So, probably this evening,” she replied, hoping he didn’t already have plans.
He smiled. “Sounds good. Shoot me a text when you’re done.”
“Okay, but I don’t have your number.”
His lopsided grin returned. “Oh, yeah, you do. But give me your phone.”
Realizing with a start that she was still holding her half-eaten breakfast sandwich, Elle dug her cell out of the side pocket in her yoga pants with her free hand.
“That from Gabe’s?” Jeremy asked, staring longingly at her forgotten sandwich.
“Yes.” She chuckled, holding it out to him. “You want to finish it?”
He frowned. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. I still have one of Jill’s cinnamon buns.” Besides, her stomach was fluttering too much to eat right now.
“In that case, thanks,” he said, taking what was left of her breakfast and devouring it in three bites.
The man certainly had an appetite.
Memories of his physical appetite flashed through her head, and another round of fluttering commenced, causing her hand to shake as she unlocked the device and brought up a contact screen before handing it to him.
As he typed in his information, she worked to get her stupid body under control.
“Here you go,” he said, handing her phone back.
She glanced at the screen and chuckled. “Combustion partner?”
He grinned. “Would you rather climax—”
She slapped a hand over his mouth to stop his words. “Jeremy will do.”
Laughing, Elle removed her hand from his warm mouth and Combustion partner from his contact page, replacing it with his name.