Small Town Girl (Pink Springs 1)

Honestly, why would he even want to date me at this point? It’s clear he’s the whole package, and I’m just some crazy featherbrain that’s falling all around him.

“That’s not what I was going to say. I thought since you smacked me that maybe you’re the one that owes me a favor. So you should cook our dinner tonight to make up for it.”

“You still want to go on a date?” I ask, not believing this guy wants anything to do with me.

“Can you really cook?” His smile makes my knees weak.

“Of course. It’s one of my favorite things to do.” I actually miss the kitchen back home, but the one in my apartment isn’t terrible.

“Then after work we’ll go to my place, and you’ll make us dinner.”

“Okay,” I find myself agreeing with him without an ounce of hesitation.

Slowly, he leans down and brushes his mouth against mine. “Sorry, Bunny. Like I said, I have no control with you.”

When he pulls back, I can’t help but think he has a lot more control than I do right now. I stay frozen in place as he goes to the door and unlocks it. But before he walks out, he turns back to me and smiles.

“Oh, and Bunny, stop emailing the temp agency. You’re not going anywhere.”

10

Bastian

“I can’t remember the last time I went to the grocery store,” I say as we unpack what we got from the store.

“You don’t look like you visit them on a regular basis,” Lux teases, setting out what she needs for dinner.

“What do I look like?” I lean against the counter and loosen my tie, feeling warm all over with her eyes on me.

After work tonight we went grocery shopping, which felt so simple, yet I craved that kind of normalcy. It’s been so long since I’ve done the kind of thing I used to do every week with my mother and sister. Since I began making money, I hired all those things out. Why take up valuable time buying food, when I could be making deals that earned me millions more in my bank account? I’ve weighed everything against it for so many years now that it’s left something hollow behind. How much of my life have I missed by letting someone else do it for me?

“You look like the kind of man that has his own personal chef.” She gestures around the kitchen that she said is larger than her apartment.

“My housekeeper makes food for me that I can heat up when I get home.” I smile, and when she smiles back, she truly lights up like her name. “I can’t remember the last time I had a non-reheated meal in my home that wasn’t takeout.”

“I’m happy to put this kitchen to good use.”

She chops the peppers and onions and moves around the kitchen with ease. She’s taken off her shoes, and something about seeing her barefoot in my space makes me hard. I take a seat at the bar nearby and open a bottle of wine. It’s something so normal, yet everything about this feels new and exciting. We talk about family and cooking, and I tell her about my mom and all the amazing things she used to make.

Our conversation at the cigar bar was about Lux and her life, and it feels like tonight I’m revealing more of myself than I ever have to anyone. My sister knows me better than anyone, but talking about my life out loud is different. Selma learned about me as we grew up, but I’m allowing Lux to have a piece of me, and it feels so fucking good.

A while later we’re stretched out in the living room as she makes me tell her stories from my childhood.

“You were not terrible!” she says in disbelief, and I shake my head.

“I struck out every time I got to the plate.” I shrug as I look at how pleased she is by this news.

“And to think Bastian Starnes isn’t perfect at everything. I shouldn’t be so happy about it.”

“You really shouldn’t,” I tease, then grab her foot and place it in my lap.

We’re on the couch, which faces the lights of downtown Atlanta, but nothing could compare to the sight of Lux in my home and taking up space. I hold on to her foot and begin to massage it as she lies back on the pillows.

“You have no idea how good that feels,” she groans, and the sound goes straight to my dick.

I grab her other foot, and she offers no resistance as I bring it next to the other one and give it the same treatment. Between the wine and the foot rub, she’s like a puddle next to me, and I have this urge for her to stay for a lot longer than she might want to.