Page 121 of Riding the Pine

She turns to look at me as I approach, pausing, frying pan in one hand with a wooden spatula in the other. “You look nice.” There’s accusation in her tone and suspicion in her eyes. “Where did you say you were going to again?”

I can’t help but laugh at the irony. She’s jealous that I was out, possibly seeing another woman, which isexactlywhat I was doing, just not for me.

“I didn’t.” I fold my arms, ready to brave hurricane Athena. “But I was out at a bar with another woman.”

She grits her teeth, closes her eyes, and draws a long, slow breath through her nose. When she reopens her eyes, all I see is murder as she points the spatula at me. “I’m going to need a little more than that before I slice you open and sauté your entrails to go alongside my lunch.”

I smile at her. “I love you, too.”

“I’m serious.” She glances at the pan in her hands as though she’s weighing it up to use as a murder weapon. “Start talking.”

I gesture at the plates. “At least kill me on a full stomach. Let’s sit, we’ll talk while we eat. But can I make one thing crystal clear before you expand on your thoughts to turn me into Shish kebab? You are the only woman in the whole wide world for me.”

I’m not sure whether that stalls her thoughts to do me harm or not, but she places a plate of food in front of me, and I’ve seen her hands the whole time so there’s no way it’s poisoned. At least, I sure as hell hope not.

“Where were you, Gizmo?” She pushes food around her plate, but her eyes never stop searching mine.

“Take a breath, Bright Eyes. I’m not cheating on you.”

“Well, get to the point of what you were doing in a bar with another woman because I’m starting to feel like you’re stalling, and I don’t know why.”

“I was there to meet a woman called Ophelia. She’s from Monticello. And I was talking to her for you, not for me.”

She scrunches up her face. “For me?”

I nod. “It was the first time meeting her and Slade. He’s the owner of the new kink club in Cedar Rapids.”

Her fork stops pushing food around. “Kink club?”

“Yeah. I thought after your comment about…” Yeah, shit. I probably should have thought this through a little more before opening my mouth the way I did. I haven’t given a single thought to how I was going to tell Athena.

I groan, covering my face with one hand. “I took a stab in the dark. I thought maybe… Uh… you’d want to spend some time with a woman.”

She nods; her face still contorted with confusion. “I do like women, yes.”

“That’s why I had a chat with Ophelia. I wanted to do a little background research into someone who may be able to help you get off when the time is right.” A little blunt, but it’s out there now at least.

Her face falls as the pieces click together. “Wait.” She holds up the hand with her fork in it. “You went to interview another woman for me to take to bed if and when the time comes?”

I take a bite of the rice dish on my plate. “Mmhmm. That about covers it.”

Her jaw drops, mouth hanging open.

“If you’re never ready, if you never want to, that’s okay too. But I didn’t want you to have to go looking for someone if the mood struck, you know? I figured the last thing you’d want is to have to go through a list of people to find one you might like to spend the night with.”

She rolls her lips together. “And, eh. You think you know my type when it comes to women?”

I don’t know why I feel so confident, but I nod.

“So, tell me, what do I look for in a woman?”

“It’s more about the woman inside than the body outside.”

“Accurate.” She finally gives in and takes a mouthful of the chicken and rice on her plate. “What else?”

I shrug. “That’s mostly it.”

“And you liked her?”

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