He just smiled and whispered, “Go back to sleep.”
Her head dropped like a rock, as if she hadn’t even been awake. Just like that, she was out again. He marveled at that. But, happily tucked up where he wanted to be, he closed his eyes, and, this time, he slept.
Chapter 6
Kate woke thatmorning, calm and at peace, everything inside her completely loose and relaxed. She lay here boneless on the bed, Simon’s arms still wrapped around her, holding her close. She smiled, even as she felt his body jerk and shift in sleep. She rolled over ever-so-slightly to look at him. His facial expression kept changing, not so much in fear but as if going from one experience to another, different reactions affecting him every time. She reached up a hand and gently stroked his forehead.
At her touch, he calmed down and drifted into a deeper sleep. She smiled, got up, and went in to shower.
It was 7:00 a.m. already, and she had to go to work. He might work from home to a degree, but she needed to be there in person. After her shower, she wrapped up in a towel and came out to find him watching her. She smiled. “I half expected you to come into the shower with me.”
“Don’t worry. I had to fight a battle for it too.”
An eyebrow shot up. “I’m surprised you did.”
“I knew you had to go to work, and I didn’t really want to rush it.”
She laughed. “What you mean is, you knew I also needed to make coffee and to get some food because I can get very cranky when I don’t get both of those.”
“I do know that.” His eyes twinkled, as he hopped up from her bed. “Are you okay if I have a quick shower?”
She nodded. “Absolutely.”
With that, he headed into the bathroom, and she quickly dressed in clean clothes. In the kitchen, she put on coffee and searched the fridge for food. They’d left all the dishes out last night. She smiled at that because she wouldn’t have missed it for the world. But, as it was, she had already pretty well cleaned up the leftovers, and he’d had the peanut butter and bread. She had a couple slabs of bread left but not a whole lot else. As she stood here in the kitchen, doing an inventory of what they could eat, he came out, stuffing his shirt into his pants.
“Is there anything left to eat?” he asked her.
She shook her head. “Honestly, no.”
He gave a roar of laughter at that. “I can always grab something to eat on my way home or cook some eggs even, but what about you?”
She frowned and looked at the two slices of bread in the bag on the table. “Well, there is still a little bit of peanut butter,” she said.
His eyebrows shot up. “Can you really do a day’s work on that?”
“Doesn’t look like I’ll have much choice.” She quickly slathered up the two slabs. She looked at him. “I’ll pick up some muffins on my way in. What about you?”
“I can get breakfast at home.”
“I thought you had meetings today?”
He nodded. “I do. And I’ll get to them.”
She wasn’t very good at this whole relationship thing. It wasn’t… it wasn’t her thing. People always expected too much of her, and then she felt terribly guilty because she couldn’t give it to them. It was part of the reason she hated relationships because she always ended up feeling like shit. It wasn’t supposed to be like that, but somehow she always ended up feeling that way.
He stepped forward, grabbed her by the chin, then gently tilted her head and gave her a hard kiss. “No frowns. I’m fine. You go to work.”
She picked up the sandwich in her hand, checked the clock, and groaned. “I have to go.” She reached out, gave him a quick kiss goodbye, raced out the door, and called back, “Can you lock up?”
“I got it,” he said.
She laughed and boogied down the stairways. She met one of her neighbors as she went, an older woman who always seemed quite friendly, if maybe even a little too lively at times. She stared at her and smiled. “Good morning.”
“Good morning. Aren’t you bright and cheerful?”
“Yep, I had a good night.”
“I’m sure you did, and I’m jealous. I haven’t had a good night like that in a long time.”