Page 34 of Hot Rucking Canadian

He chuckled. “I really do. Now, what’s going on?”

“What are we to each other?”

“Boyfriends isn’t enough?” He laughed. Not in a mean way.

“Well, sure. I just…I don’t want to make an assumption.”

“Badarse?”

“Hmm?”

“You like to boss me around.”

I didn’t do it as often as I liked—given we were new to this relationship—but the answer came easily. “Yeah, I do.”

“And I like being bossed around.” Despite his tanned skin, a pronounced blush crossed his cheeks.

“Well, that’s true.”

“I care about you.”

“And I care about you.”

“So let’s do boyfriends. It’s too soon for me to ask you to move in, although if you brought more clothes over, I wouldn’t complain.”

My jaw dropped. “It’s been three weeks.”

He shrugged. “I know what I want. I want you. You don’t appear to have any objections—”

“I don’t.”

“—then it’s super simple. We’re together. As a couple. You come to my games. I worry about you while you’re at work. Seems pretty simple to me.”

I swallowed. “It does, doesn’t it?”

He grasped my hand. “Life doesn’t have to be complicated. I get that it has been for you. That you’ve had a tough life. If I can make it easier, then I want to do that.”

“You already have.”

He raised an eyebrow.

I smoothed it with my callused finger. “By being you.”

He leaned toward me.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and met him halfway.

The kiss was simple, sweet, and tender.

“You taste like coffee.” Mama had served a rich Turkish coffee for dessert. I’d expected something more traditional, but she’d agreed to take a shift at the hospital because someone was sick. She’d needed the caffeination.

I wasn’t certain Mallow and I did, but of course we’d gone along with what Mama wanted. We’d offered to drive her to the hospital, but she’d claimed she wanted the walk down to the SeaBus to refresh her. Personally, I figured we could’ve dropped her a block or two from the hospital, but I’d quickly discovered Mama moved to the beat of her own drum.

“I like coffee.” Mallow pulled back. “But now I’m wired. At least we don’t have to work or have practice tomorrow.”

Some families celebrated Thanksgiving on the actual statutory holiday—the Monday. Mama preferred the Sunday night—if she had the time off.

Mallow pressed a hand to his stomach. “I think I need to burn off some of those calories.”

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