Chapter 24
Rebecca was back in the diner, two coffees in, nervously awaiting Cort’s arrival.
The night before felt like a dream. When she closed her eyes, it played on a reel.
The two of them zipped inside sleeping bags together, kissing by the light of the moon and the flicker of the fire.
She opened her eyes and looked around, at the boxes by the door waiting to be taken to the Live & Give, at his toolbox waiting for his arrival.
Everything looked the same as it had the day before. But she felt different.
She reached up and touched her lips. They felt swollen, still tingled.
It felt like they had kissed for hours—and maybe they had, staying pressed close until the sun rose over the horizon and Cort had to go wake Pip up and get him ready for school.
She had felt shy with him, in the light of day, had not wanted to leave but also felt the urge to go back to the diner and collect herself.
So she said a quick goodbye to Pip, who wanted to come outside and confirm the pumpkin had indeed been unscathed by the cold night, and then walked home through the amber-hued autumn morning, her body feeling like it was electrically charged.
She still felt that way. And when there was a tap on the front door, she felt a jolt. She smoothed her hair and went to greet Cort, feeling her cheeks warming as she did. “Hey,” he said, his expression shy. His hair was damp from a shower. He had on jeans and a white T-shirt.
“Oh, here,” she said, walking to the counter to hand him his flannel. “I walked home wearing this.”
Now he smiled, took it back. “Hope it smells like you,” he said casually, putting it beside his toolbox as her heart raced at his words, and she tried to figure out if things were different between them or if this was just the way it had always been, now supercharged by last night.
Not knowing what else to say, she went for the obvious. “Coffee?”
“I need some. Late night. Someone kept me up.”
She laughed nervously, and her cheeks flamed. She turned away and busied herself pouring him a cup, and was surprised to find him standing close when she turned.
“Hey,” he said, taking the cup out of her hand and placing it on the counter.
She looked up at him. “Hey.”
“I can’t stop smiling,” he said, and relief bubbled up inside her.
“Same,” she said, and saw relief warm his expression, too. He reached forward and caught her by the waist, his fingers warm.
“So, that was okay? Last night?”
She tilted her head. “I’m not really sure,” she said, suddenly feeling bold. “It really just feels like the sort of thing I need to do more of, so I can figure out if I like it or not.”
His laugh was a low growl, and then his lips were on hers and her body was on fire. Her hands fisted in his T-shirt, pulling him closer. She felt rather than heard his groan vibrate against her mouth.
He pulled away. “This is very unprofessional,” he murmured. “I should really get to work.”
“It is,” she agreed, standing on her tiptoes so their lips were close again. “Where’s your work ethic?”
His lips were on hers again. “There’s something here that keeps distracting me. But I really should…” He lifted her easily onto the counter and stepped between her knees. Then a throat cleared behind them.
Cort turned. “Crispin.” He stepped away from Rebecca and she hopped lightly down from the counter.
“I’m interrupting,” he said. It wasn’t a question.
“Oh, no, we were just…”
But it was very obvious what they had just been doing, so she trailed off, helpless while Crispin pursed his lips and nodded, as if something he had already suspected had now been confirmed.
“I was just walking by and noticed your fall decorations are definitely on point—I wanted to see how things were going with the rest of the place. Clearly, you’ve been busy.”
Cort shook his head, but he was smiling. “We have,” he said. “And everything is going fine in here. I’ve dealt with a leak, repaired some drywall, we decided to replace the entire floor instead of just some boards, so that’s what I’m working on now.”
“And you’ll pay off your account soon, Rebecca? Unless I missed it, I haven’t seen a check come across my desk.”
“I’ll get that to you soon. Was there anything else?”
Crispin shook his head. “Nothing at the moment.” He raised an eyebrow. “I’ll leave you both to it.”
The door chimed as he left and Rebecca let out the breath she’d been holding. “Why do I feel like this is going to be all around town within seconds?”
Cort tilted his head. “Does that bother you? Because I don’t really care.
I think the only people who may not have realized what was going on between us was us, you know?
” He was close to her again, touching her cheek.
“I don’t care if it’s not a secret.” He brushed his lips against hers, softly, barely.
“Then I don’t care, either,” she said. And she wanted it to be true. It was just that in her experience, in this town, when people were talking about you, it was almost never a good thing.
Still, she managed to put her unease aside as the day went on.
The frisson between her and Cort made it impossible to worry about anything.
She had a big job to do: clearing out the industrial kitchen so Cort could get in and rip out a few of the old cupboards, some of which had mold behind them and needed to be replaced.
But her body hummed at the sound of him in the other room, pulling up floorboards, hammering new ones down.
Late in the afternoon, he came into the kitchen.
“I need to go get Pip,” he said. She looked up, felt nerves fluttering in her chest like butterflies.
She wasn’t sure how to say goodbye to him, but he seemed to have ideas.
He crossed the room and took her in his arms. “I can’t believe I actually got any work done today,” he said.
She laughed. “Same. I had to come in here, put a wall between us. But now there’s no wall.”
The kiss was brief, though. “I do have to get going,” he said, his tone regretful. “But would you like to have dinner? Mel’s going to pick him up again, once she’s done with work. I’m on my own for the night.”
“Sure. Mooney’s?”
But he shook his head.
“I have a better idea. What if you came to my place? I may not cook much when Pip isn’t home, but I do have some actual moves in the kitchen.”
Rebecca couldn’t fight the mischievous smile. “Just the kitchen?”
“Especially in the kitchen,” he said, moving her toward the counter, pressing her against it with his hips, his lips warm on hers. Then he groaned and pulled away. “Okay, I really have to go. But, dinner, six-ish, at my place?”
“Can’t wait.”