Page 71 of The Sweetest Devotion

In my master bath, I discovered she’d found a new toothbrush I’d had stowed away in my medicine cabinet. She’d gone through my clothes, stolen a T-shirt, and had washed up here in my bathroom before going about preparing something in the kitchen.

I tried not to focus on the feminine intrusion in my home and went ahead with my morning routine. Thanks to Kennedy’s cooking, I was running ahead of schedule, up earlier than my alarm for once, giving me a good forty minutes before I was due at work.

She was still there when I came out of my bedroom dressed to go in. I found her in the kitchen, sitting with her legs folded underneath her as she read from my copy ofNight Changes. There was something so homey about the scene. Kennedy, undone, at my kitchen table, reading a book and drinking a glass of milk. Before her, was her leftover pancakes from Sonny’s Kitchen. And across from her…

Kennedy had made me breakfast.

“Looks like someone just made themselves at home,” I said as I made my presence known.

Startled, Kennedy looked up from her reading and offered me a timid smile. “Morning.”

I inched closer, setting eyes on a plate of my pancakes from Sonny’s as well as what looked like grilled cheese. I arched a brow, questioning Kennedy silently.

She shrugged. “Didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye this time.”

“So you cooked for me?” I pressed.

She blushed, gnawing on that lip of hers. “It’s just grilled cheese.”

“Just nothin’, it’s a thoughtful thing to do,” I argued. “Thank you.”

Kennedy eyed the grilled cheese absentmindedly. “I’d make a horrible wife. I can’t really cook.”

That brought me out of my fantasy, sling-shotting me right back into the reality of the situation.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes as I took the seat across from her. “Fuck all that, you should be able to cook to sustainyourself.”

“Well, I can’t,” Kennedy said with a lazy shrug.

“I’ll teach you,” I offered as I grabbed the grilled sandwich. “You never know what the future may bring. It’s important you can fend for yourself.”

Kennedy propped her elbow on the table, going and resting her chin on her fist. “Okay.”

I bit into my grilled cheese and bestowed Kennedy’s watchful gaze with a thumbs-up. You couldn’t mess up grilled cheese, but the sandwich was good. For added flair, she’d put mayonnaise on it as well. A thin layer where it wasn’t overpowering the cheesy taste. I liked it.

Usually, I didn’t eat breakfast at home. I often opted to grab a doughnut from the faithful box Jake would get in the mornings.

“Dixie and Darius are quite the pair,” Kennedy noted of my paperback a while into our meal.

I wasn’t one to read or watch romance all like that. Reading about the main character’s, Dixie Pete, longing and pining after the male lead wasn’t my thing.

“They’re something,” I said as I finished eating.

Kennedy set the book aside, her eyes on me. “What made you get it?”

I thought of Eden, the look on her face as she spoke of the story and the joy she’d expressed as she read its pages. “Curiosity. It was recommended to me.”

Kennedy appeared thoughtful, but she said nothing as she stood from her place at the table and went over to the fridge. She’d definitely gotten comfortable in the few hours she’d spent here with me.

“Before I forget, I made you a lunch,” Kennedy said as she reached into my refrigerator and pulled out a brown paper bag. I’d kept a supply just for the occasions I made my own lunch, which was typically a sandwich, a bag of chips, and maybe a snack cake if I was in the mood.

I stood from the table and collected our plates before bringing them to the sink to rinse. “You made me lunch?”

A proud gleam hung in Kennedy’s eye as she spun around and nodded. “Uh-huh. Turkey, ham, Swiss, mayo on wheat. And some grapes on the side. I used to make my dad lunch when I was little. And, uh, I just figured it’s the least I could do since you bought me brunchanddinner yesterday.”

She didn’t have to cook me breakfast and make me a lunch for work. The gesture wasn’t lost on me. I abandoned the dishes in the sink and gathered Kennedy into my arms. She was bare beneath my T-shirt. The sight of her erect nipples and the hint of her figure through the material of the shirt drove my appetite elsewhere. The way she was looking at me, I knew I could’ve had her on my counter, legs spread open as I ate my fill of her.

But I wasn’t into rushing. I preferred taking my time, and time wasn’t on our side.

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