Page 77 of The One With the Mountain Man

She jumped anyway. "You're back! How was dinner?" Then she frowned when she saw me. "You're...dirty?"

I glanced down at my shirt. "Nora's husband and I had a little disagreement."

Marley set down the picture and stood up, looking me over. "Are you hurt?"

That little punk could dream of getting to me, but all it would ever be was a dream. "Not at all. He didn't even land a punch."

She rose up on her toes and kissed me, her delicate fingers wrapping around the back of my neck and threading through my hair as she pulled me down. I wrapped my arms around her and took the kiss much deeper, wanting to drown away all the bad with all her good.

"Karis knows."

I watched as Marley blinked away all the lusty thoughts I put in her head. "Knows what?"

"Who you are. She saw the book I was reading, and I said it was yours. I didn't realize she'd put the two together so quickly."

Marley blanched. "She won't say anything will she?"

"Absolutely not. She knows your privacy is important."

"Does anyone else know?" Her whole body was strung tight.

I didn't mind the challenge of unwinding it. "Mom started nagging Karis and me about some other shit before anyone could overhear a thing."

"Is the nagging why you got into a fight?"

I shrugged. "More or less." Then I swept Marley off her feet, but not before taking one more look at that mysterious photograph.After.After this trip, after I understood her world better, I would push for those answers. I carried her inside and set her ass on the very clean kitchen island. "What did you have for dinner?" Her sink was empty. The counters sparkling. And I was almost certain there weren't dishes on her makeshift desk or the side table by the porch sofa.

Marley's cheeks turned pink and she looked away. "I, uh, forgot. But I did eat the cheese and crackers you left!"

Which meant the only food she ate all day was the breakfast we made together and whatever Scottie fed her at book club. "Please tell me you at least had some fruit with that?"

She turned a darker shade of red.

"A vegetable?"

She shook her head.

"Subsisting on cheese and crackers is not a sustainable lifestyle. I would have brought you something from town." I glanced over her rumpled hair and baggy clothes. "Have you moved since I left?"

"No."

"Dammit Marley. You can't live like this. Give me five minutes."

"Five minutes?"

I stared at her so sternly it was almost a glare. "I'm making you dinner."

"You don't need to do that. Cheese is fine for tonight. I'll eat better tomorrow."

"I'm making you dinner."

"Jackson, that's not necessary. In fact, in many Blue Zone diets, dinner is small or nonexistent."

She was trying to outsmart me, but she, like almost everyone else, didn't realize that I spent most of my days with hikers and outdoor enthusiasts. They loved granola and whole food diets. I met health nut after health nut. I was willing to bet I knew more about this subject than she did. So I cocked an eyebrow and grabbed the handle to the fridge. "And in those diets, people typically eat larger breakfasts and lunches. Have you eaten anything other than breakfast?"

The way her whiskey eyes grew all big and round was all the answer I needed. I started pulling shit out of the fridge.

"No," she finally whispered. "I left book club before I could eat."

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