Chapter 16
JONAH
‘I’m sorry,’ I called out, still laughing but trying to muffle it.
‘Go away.’
I leaned against the wooden porch pole and crossed my arms. ‘No.’
‘You laughed at me.’
‘I know, and I’m sorry. You just took me by surprise. But I promise I won’t laugh again if you open the door.’
There were a few moments of silence, and then the sound of the handle being slowly turned. The door opened a crack, just enough for me to see her face.
‘You promise?’
I nodded solemnly. ‘Cross my heart.’
She opened the door further and stood there, fully revealed. I tried my hardest, I really did. Kept my eyes at eye level with hers, but it was no use.
‘You’re laughing,’ she said. ‘I can see your shoulders shaking.’
I shook my head and murmured, desperately attempting to keep a straight face. ‘I’m not, I promise.’
Her eyes narrowed. ‘What if I do this?’
She struck an exaggerated modelling pose, which given what she was currently wearing looked absolutely ridiculous. But also, completely adorable. With great effort, I shrugged, managing to contain myself.
She smiled. ‘You haven’t even seen the worst of it.’
Then she turned around and wriggled her butt, and that was it.
The laughter ripped out of me, loud and honest and joyous.
It was a full minute at least until I could speak.
A minute during which she struck various, amusing poses.
One leg up against the doorframe. Muscles flexed.
Looking back at me over her shoulder with a sultry smile.
‘Stop,’ I finally managed to wheeze. ‘Please. My cheeks hurt. They actually hurt.’
She stood up straight again. ‘Good. That’s what you get for making fun of people.’
‘How did I make fun of you?’
‘Uh, you laughed at me, remember?’
‘Can you honestly blame me? You answered the door wearing a Christmas reindeer outfit and big woolly socks.’
‘So?’
‘And then you turn around…’ Laughter bubbled out of me again at the memory. ‘And reveal a flap of material over your butt that says, “No Peeking”.’
She crossed her arms over her chest. ‘What’s your point?’
‘Well, you can see why I laughed. It’s not exactly what I was expecting.’
‘That’s your fault.’
‘How do you figure that? You’re the one who paid money for that… what even is that?’
‘They’re pajamas,’ she said, rolling her eyes. ‘Obviously.’
‘Did you forget that I was coming?’
‘No.’
‘I think maybe we had different ideas about the plan for today.’
She yawned, quickly covering it. ‘Actually, I have no idea what the plan for the day even is, which is why I am still wearing these. I don’t mind surprises, but I do need a little bit of information to go on.’
‘Fair enough.’ I crossed the small porch in two steps and breezed past her into the cottage.
‘Come on in, why don’t you,’ she said, closing the door behind me.
I stopped suddenly as something occurred to me. Looking around the cottage, I noticed something. Or rather, something missing. ‘Where’s all your stuff? This place looks exactly the same as it did the other night.’
‘I told you, most of my things are still back in Chicago.’
‘I know, but… clothes?’
‘In the wardrobe and drawers where they belong.’
‘Girly stuff?’
‘Girly stuff?’
‘Yeah. You know.’ He pointed at my face and hair. ‘Makeup and moisturizers.’
‘In the bathroom drawers and cupboards. What’s with all the questions?’
‘Aha.’ I spied something and darted across to the bedside table, picking up a book. ‘Evidence.’
‘Evidence of what?’
‘That you’ve actually been staying here for the last week.’
She looked amused. ‘The unmade bed wasn’t your first clue?’
‘You have to admit, apart from that, this place is spotless.’
She shrugged. ‘So? I like a clean house.’
‘There’s clean, and then there’s barely lived in.’
‘Are you judging the way I live?’
‘I wouldn’t dream of it.’
‘Good.’
‘I hope you don’t mind a dirty kitchen,’ I told her, taking off my jacket and rolling up my sleeves. ‘If I promise to clean it up afterwards.’
‘After what?’
He waved a hand. ‘Why don’t you get dressed, or have a shower or whatever you need to do, while I…’ I opened the fridge and scanned the contents. ‘Jackpot.’ I reached in and pulled out a packet of bacon. ‘Got any eggs?’
She pointed towards a small, overhead cupboard.
‘I’ll rustle us up some breakfast.’
‘You don’t have to do that.’
‘Oh, I’m not doing it for your benefit,’ I teased, finding a frying pan in a drawer and puling it out. ‘I’m starving. Been up since the crack of dawn. Unlike some people.’
‘Hey, some people have just come off working their first week of a new job,’ she protested.
‘I’ve met so many people this week and I can’t only remember half of their names.
There’s just so much to take in. New procedures, new systems. I thought I was pretty technically competent, but the system they use here is painful.
I lost a whole day’s notes yesterday and I still don’t know why. ’
She looked so mournful, standing there in her pajamas with her hair a tousled mess. She was one of the most adorable sights I’d ever seen. ‘They probably have outdated software compared to what you’re used to in the big city.’
‘Maybe. I still felt awful though. Really stupid.’
I put the frying pan down and gave her a stern look. ‘I’ve seen you in action. You are not stupid.’
She sighed. ‘Action. Yeah right. Chance would be a fine thing.’
I snorted.
‘I didn’t mean…’ she stammered. ‘I wasn’t talking about…’
‘I know. Go. Shower.’
I hummed to myself as I fried the bacon until it was crispy and caramelized but not too crispy.
I didn’t like my bacon hard and chewy and hoped that Mae didn’t either.
The sound of the shower turned off right as the last pieces of toast popped.
I buttered them and plated up two serves of buttered sourdough toast, poached eggs, the bacon and slices of an avocado that I’d found in the fridge.
The cottage was tiny, but there was a small table for two in the living room, next to a window.
The place had windows on all sides, offering an impressive view of the beach and the ocean.
I set the table with cutlery and glasses of water and had just turned the coffee machine on to brew when the bathroom door opened.
Steam wafted out into the lounge, followed by a robe-clad Mae, a towel twisted up the top of her head.
‘Something smells amazing,’ she groaned. ‘My stomach is rumbling.’
I popped the plate down onto the table.
‘Perfect timing,’ I told her. ‘Breakfast is served.’ I pulled out one of the chairs and gave a little wave. ‘Please, have a seat.’
She sat down, then sniffed the air as I pushed her chair in. ‘Is that… real coffee I smell?’
‘As opposed to?’
‘The instant packet stuff I’ve been drinking all week because I’ve been too tired to find, read and figure out the instructions for the coffee machine that came with this place,’ she admitted. ‘The landlord was really nice and stocked coffee and milk supplies for when I arrived.’
‘It’s easy enough,’ I told her, taking my own seat and picking up my cutlery. ‘I had one like it before I upgraded. I can show you in less than a minute how to work it.’
She smiled. ‘Thanks. I’d appreciate that. Coffee is my weakness.’ She pulled a face. ‘Well, that and my poor taste in men.’
I choked on the mouthful of bacon I’d just put into my mouth.
‘You OK?’
I nodded, eyes watering. ‘I’m fine.’
She chewed some of the bacon, eyes closed. ‘Oh, that’s good,’ she said, after she’d swallowed it. ‘I love a fried breakfast on special occasions.’
‘Is this a special occasion then?’
‘You tell me. You’re the one with all the secret plans. Though why they have to be secret is beyond me.’
‘You’re not afraid of heights, are you?’ I asked, spearing my egg and watching the gooey insides ooze out satisfactorily. ‘Or confined spaces?’
She looked worried. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘That’s good. What about the dark? Or large insects? Spiders, specifically.’
‘You know what? I’m actually good with staying home today. You go, though. I’d rather finish my book.’
‘Chicken.’
‘I’m not chicken, I would just prefer to spend my day off doing something enjoyable, rather than whatever freakishly horrible thing it is that you’ve got planned.’
I couldn’t keep a straight face any longer. ‘Freakishly horrible?’
‘If it combines all of those things, yeah.’
‘You’re in luck. I’m only teasing.’
She eyed me suspiciously. ‘How do I know if I can trust you?’
‘Have I ever given you a reason not to? You’re the one who went through my phone, remember.’
‘I did not go through your phone,’ she protested. ‘It’s not my fault you held it in a way so that I could clearly see the screen.’
‘You’re victim-blaming me now?’
‘You’re not a victim. You’re just annoying.’
I gasped. ‘Rude.’
‘But you do make a good breakfast,’ she admitted. ‘I’ll give you that.’
‘Nice to know that you think I have some positive attributes.’
Her eyes slipped to my shoulders. ‘Oh, you have a few of those, believe me.’ Then she blushed.
‘I mean, you clearly care a lot about your family. And you’re hardworking.
And kind, because you helped me find this place the other night in half the time it would have taken for me to find it on my own, and you sorted out proper tires for my car. ’
It warmed my insides hearing her say nice things about me.
Praise was not something I grew up with a lot of, and although I told myself I didn’t need it, that I was confident enough in myself to not need validation from others, it sure as hell felt good when it was coming from her mouth.
Her plum-colored, Cupid-bowed mouth. Staring at her lips I felt something stir inside.
Mae intrigued me, with her wit, confidence and lack of pretension.
The women of Pine Harbor I knew would have rather died than open the door to a man wearing what Mae had been wearing this morning.
Feminine attention wasn’t something I’d ever been short of, but apart from one, serious relationship with Jessica Alexander, who I’d known since we were kids, I’d always kept things casual.
Not on purpose, but because no one had ever made me want anything more.
I had nothing against marriage, or children, when, or if, the right woman should come along.
But I refused to marry anyone purely because my mother had an idea in her head of how my life should look.