“Well, you did break your back sleeping on that terrible couch. I owe you.”
“You so do.”
She sighed, rising on her tiptoes, kissing my cheek. “Fine, you win. I’m calling in sick. But you better make today worthwhile.”
I headed to the kitchen while Hailey showered, looking around her fridge for breakfast. She had yogurt and fruit.
I found cereal too, and prepared two bowls, wondering if Hailey needed something more substantial to recover after last night.
I found oranges and squeezed two in a glass, eating a few slices to get rid of morning breath. I smiled when the sound of Hailey singing filled the house. I couldn’t be around this woman and not smile. She just lit something inside me all the time.
“What’s this?” she asked as she entered the kitchen, looking at the bowls and the glass of juice on the table. She’d put on a nightgown.
“Breakfast.”
I touched my hands to her cheeks, tilting her head.
“What are you doing?”
“Claiming that kiss you withheld earlier.”
“Oh, please. Go ahead.”
I feathered my mouth against hers, biting her lower lip gently before opening her up and taking what I needed, barely able to keep it slow.
She peeked open an eye. “You call this a kiss?”
“You’re convalescing.”
“Oh, dear God. You’re going to make me stay in bed the whole day, aren’t you?”
“There’s a possibility I’ll do that, yeah.”
“Well, I’ll only accept it if you stay in bed with me.”
Laughing, I held the back of her head, deepening the kiss until she moaned against my mouth.
“Mmm... oh, yeah. I’m already feeling better. Want to do that some more?”
“Breakfast first. Sit. Eat.”
“Yes, sir.”
She sat at the table, taking a sip of the orange juice. “Replenishing my vitamins, are you?”
“Yep.”
Hailey laughed, throwing her head back.
“Those are a lot of magnets.” I pointed to the fridge as we ate our cereal. “A lot” was an understatement. If she added any more, the door was in danger of collapsing.
“I buy one whenever I’m in a new place. I still want to go back to some of those.” It looked as if she’d been around half the world. And she wanted to see it again, while I only left LA for business trips. Would she be better off with some globetrotter? Someone more like her? Would she end up looking for entertainment elsewhere?
Fuck, no. I couldn’t even bear the thought of Hailey with another man.
“What are your favorites?” I asked.
“It’s so hard to choose. Honestly, my favorite was probably Rio de Janeiro. That city is just so vibrant, so full of life. You can feel it in the air, the food. The music. The way people smile all the time.”