“Sadly, me too, but that’s as much because my neighbor in 3C likes to entertain her ‘gentlemen callers’,” Ivy tucked her pad under her arm and did air quotes, “at all hours.” Sighing, she grabbed her pad again. “Okay, so coffee and eggs over easy for you, Vee, and Murphy, same?”
Murphy’s ears were tinged pink, but just barely. “Yes, please, ma’am. With an extra side of sausage.”
“Look at the manners on this one. No wonder you were holding his hand when you came in here. Hold on tight.” Ivy noted the orders on her pad and walked off, still smiling a little wistfully.
I didn’t blame her. If I hadn’t been sitting with Murphy, I would’ve been wistful too.
Instead, I reached across the table and gripped his hand tight. He smiled at me, and I swear, I lit up like a damn sparkler from my heart to…the other heart between my thighs.
“It turns out I kinda have jealousy issues when it comes to you.” I rubbed my thumb over his knuckles to avoid meeting his gaze. “It’s a new thing for me. But when any female looks at you with that look, I want to squash them like a spider. And I don’t squash spiders. All living creatures have value, yadda yadda.”
“I like that you get jealous.” Even without looking up, I could hear the smile in his voice. And that made the sparklers inside me go off another dozen times. “I get jealous too. I wanted to rip off Lucky’s arms and feed them to him when he was talking to you so much.”
“I was afraid he was Cabin Fortress.”
“Afraid?”
“I didn’t want it to be him.” I frowned, realizing how true that was. I hadn’t even allowed myself to hope my online mystery man was Murphy, because he’d never be into the whole babymaking…thing.
I was so glad to be wrong.
“No?”
“No.” I took a deep breath. “I wanted it to be you.”
“Really?” His voice warmed even more. “You’re not just saying that?”
“No. I’ve had inappropriate feelings for you for a while, Mr. Masterson.”
“Normally, I’d say keep your voice down. In this case? Could you shout it a few times? And I’ll record it, just in case you change your mind later.”
I had to laugh. “I won’t be changing my mind.” Maybe ever. And that scared me as much as it thrilled me.
Was it possible to fall for a guy in the course of one night? If I was being honest, I’d been falling for some time now. Getting to know him online had only sped it up and deepened my affection. He was a truly decent guy. Odds were I’d chase him away with my crazy moods or inappropriate timing or complete lack of skill at keeping a relationship of any sort going.
My own mother barely bothered to call. Postcards were about the extent of our communications these days. I’d come to terms with our different personalities years ago.
Probably around when she’d started calling my girly bits by the name of a flowering bush when trying to explain the boys and the bees to me at the horrifying age of seven.
“You weren’t looking for this sort of thing.”
“How do you know that?” I let out a windy sigh and rubbed his fingers again to keep myself centered. It was too easy to drift on my thoughts and not focus on the reality happening between us. “Oh, yeah, my stupid post.”
I didn’t truly think of it that way, but it was hard to not still be embarrassed. Especially when sitting with a man who might make me think about the process of making babies, but not just for the purpose of procreation.
“It wasn’t stupid. Without it, would we be here?”
“I don’t know.”
“Me either, but I don’t want to find out. I have to think it was all just…meant.” He squeezed my fingers and lifted my hand to his mouth, leaning forward to kiss it while his hazel eyes remained intent on mine.
My heart fluttered and for a second—just one—I wondered who was watching us. What they might say. I’d been the center of attention for weeks now, and I didn’t want that for Murphy. He deserved so much better.
Maybe even better than me.
“Penny for your thoughts, Veronica.”
The rumble of his voice pulled out the truth. “You’re such a good guy, Murphy.”