“I would. But it means not sneaking away before Jeremy has a chance to see my car.”
She pushed away and rested on her elbows so she could see him better. “That would bother you, huh.”
“Him knowing? Not that, exactly. It’s more the questions to follow.” He lifted an eyebrow. “I hate when people want me to explain myself.”
“I have an answer for that.”
“Do tell.”
She grinned. “Practice saying this phrase—It’s none of your business.”
Bran’s face straightened into a serious expression. “It’s none of your business.”
“Nope. Not convinced. Try again.”
This time it was accompanied by an angled eyebrow. “It’s none of your business.”
“Better. Let’s practice some more. Hey, Bran, how’s the new novel coming?”
He grinned. “It’s none of your business.”
“What’s it about? Come on, you can tell me that.”
Firmer this time: “It’s none of your business.”
“Good! And wow. You spent the night with Jess. Are you sure that was a good thing?”
He rolled slightly and placed a kiss on her naked shoulder. “Oh, I’m very sure it was a good thing,” he replied, his voice husky.
“Tsk-tsk. That’s not the right answer.”
“Yes, it is,” he murmured, running his fingers through her hair. “But it’s none of Jeremy’s business, or Tori’s either.” He kissed her, long and slow, and then slid out from beneath the covers and left the bedroom, presumably heading toward the dryer and his clothes.
Her body was still humming from the power of that kiss, though. He was very, very good at it.
She slipped out from beneath the sheets and pulled on underwear and last night’s yoga pants and top. She’d shower later, before she had to make the trip to Halifax to pick up more supplies.
Branson was in the kitchen, already boiling water for making coffee in her French press, his shorts and T-shirt wrinkled from being in the dryer over
night, but looking entirely scrumptious. She let him work his magic—clearly he knew his way around coffee—and dug out eggs, and bacon she bought at the farmer’s market. She put the latter to fry in a cast iron pan, then set to work slicing sourdough bread for toast.
The scent of bacon and coffee filled the air and she smiled up at Bran, who’d found her mugs and had poured her a cup of coffee. It was nice having him here, though it played havoc with her heart a little. She was not sticking around. It wouldn’t be good to get used to this kind of domestic scene, would it?
Bran took over toasting the bread while Jess drained the bacon and then cracked eggs into the pan. “How do you like your eggs? Over? Yolks hard or soft?”
“Over and just set.”
Just like she preferred hers.
Soon they were seated at her tiny table, with bacon, eggs, and pots of butter and jam between them for the toast. “Delicious,” Bran said, chewing on a strip of bacon.
“Big breakfast is one of my favorites,” she admitted. “Sometimes I even like having breakfast for dinner.”
He laughed. “Me, too. Only with pancakes.”
“Mmm... Or waffles.”
She spread raspberry jam on her toast and took a bite. “So. What’s on your agenda for today?”