“Bob?” He raises one brow.
“Bob is my battery-operated boyfriend. We hook up from time to time.”
“Oh.” His eyes light up. “I think you, me, and Bob are going to be great friends.”
“We’ll see.” I smile, then kiss the middle of his chest, ignoring the twist of desire in my lower belly. “How much more time do I have with you before you have to leave to go to work?” I ask, and he leans his head back to look at the alarm clock on my bedside table, then grumbles something I can’t make out. “I’m going to guess not long.”
“Sorry, baby.” He looks at me. “Shit’s been crazy. We’ve been short employees at the club and both bars with everyone traveling for the holidays. Last night, I ended up bartending, and I was so desperate I had to force Luke behind the bar for a couple hours, which he was not happy about. He’s not a people person, and women who are not his wife annoy him, so that went about as well as it could go.”
“How many times a night do you get hit on?” I ask out of curiosity and then answer for him when he doesn’t. “I bet it’s a lot. I’d totally flirt with you.”
“Baby, you met me in my club and told me straight out that I should leave you alone.”
My nose scrunches. “Oh yeah, I forgot about that,” I mumble, and he starts to laugh. “Anyway.” I get back on point. “I can come help out,” I say, leaning away, but I don’t get far. His hands wrap around my hips to keep me in place, and I smile before I continue. “I haven’t ever bartended, but I’ve done a lot of waitressing.”
“You’d do that, wouldn’t you? Work all damn day at your shop, then step in to help me out and work some more.”
“I’m not saying I’d stay all night.”
“You’d do that, though, if I needed it.”
He’s right; I would do that.
He sits up while wrapping his hand around the nape of my neck; then his lips touch my forehead. “As much as I’d love getting some more time with you, you work enough already. You need to rest. That said, I really appreciate you offering to help me out. It means a lot.”
“Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”
“Yeah.” He rolls me to my back, kisses me swiftly, and then pushes off me and the bed. I watch with fascination while his muscles flex as he walks naked around the room, and then I rest my head on my pillow. “Has Josh gotten back to you with any news about your books?”
“Not yet. I imagine I should hear from him before Christmas, but if I don’t, I’ll call him after the holiday.”
“It would be good if you had some help, baby. I know the girls being on Christmas break right now is helping you out, especially with how busy you are with everyone placing orders for the holidays. But they gotta go back to school after New Year’s, and when that happens, you’re going to be on your own again. I don’t like that much, because I know your workload is only going to increase. Plus, I’d like to be able to have one if not a couple days a week with you. Days we could spend in bed, or out on my bike when the weather warms up.”
“I’ll call Josh today and see if he’s got any news,” I say as my mind spins with everything he’s just said. It’s so odd to have a man who actually pays attention to what I say and supports me and my career. “I’d like to have lazy days with you and am really looking forward to riding on your bike.”
“Me too, baby.” He gives me a smile; then his eyes roam my face and chest. “I also need to figure some shit out, because I really fucking don’t like leaving you in bed every night while I go to work.”
“It’s okay,” I reassure him, sitting up and pulling the blanket up and tucking it under my arms.
“Right now it’s okay, but eventually it won’t be, and I can’t expect you to make changes to make me happy and for me not to do the same in return.”
“I’m happy.” I frown.
“Yeah, I know that, but you don’t think it’s gonna get old, me leaving late at night and you sleeping alone? Or let’s say this keeps building between us, and we get to the point where we have a kid together. Do you think you’d be cool with me being out all night, leaving you at home with a baby, and then sleeping all day, leaving you to parent on your own?” He wraps his hands around his hips.
With my heart pounding hard, my mouth dry, and my stomach dropping to my toes, I shake my head, wondering how I went from never thinking I’d find someone to having a conversation with a man about having kids one day. “No . . . no, I don’t think I’d like that much.”