Page 83 of Falling into Place
“Magnesium.”
“Kiss me.”
He did, and a few seconds later her stomach growled and he laughed. “Looks like we need to feed you something, though. What sounds good?”
She thought for a moment. “Something we can order in, because I don’t want to go anywhere, and wecan’tgo anywhere. Together, anyway.”
“Fine by me.”
“I sort of want pizza. How about Ralph’s?”
He froze. She must have felt it because she scooted forward to twist around and look back at him again. “What’s wrong?”
His parents had loved Ralph’s. If memory served, they’d only missed having it one Friday night when a stomach bug had ravaged the house and no one could get out of bed without getting sick. He’d looked forward to Friday nights, even as a hormonal preteen and teenager when it wasn’t cool to hang out with your family.
He hadn’t had it since his parents died. None of them had.
Out of nowhere, Nikki’s voice popped into his head, reminding him that everyone at work saw him as unemotional and someone who didn’t like to connect with people. She’d said she liked to get through hard things by leaning on others. This moment, right here, right now, could be a chance for him to try that. He could tell Carly about Ralph’s and what it meant to him and that thinking about the fact he’d never share it again with his entire family, all five of them, felt like a shard of glass slowly puncturing his heart, draining warmth and happiness from his very soul.
He could tell her, and maybe lean on her. If there was anyone in the world he’d share that with, it was her.
But as he regarded her lying beside him, her brown eyes wide and concerned, the words died in his throat. He pasted a smile on his face and shook his head. “Nothing. I’m great. Ralph’s sounds perfect.”
After placing their order on Uber Eats for contactless delivery, Carly slipped on one of Brooks’s old college T-shirts—which was sexy as hell—and settled onto the couch in the living room. He searched through his Hulu queue while she cuddled into his side and ran a hand down Oreo’s back.
“I showed my mom the picture of your garden haul,” she said. “She was impressed. She’s getting ready for her second planting of the season, so I stole a bag of her carrot seeds for you.”
“Youstolethem? Way to set me up for a good first impression with your mother.”
“I can give them back.”
“No, I want them. Are you sure I can plant them? It’s so hot right now.” August in Oklahoma usually boasted triple-digit heat and constant humidity and was the one time every year Brooks serious considered relocating.
She shrugged. “If my mom’s doing it, I promise it’s fine.”
He wasn’t totally convinced, but he definitely didn’t know better. “Okay, but if they don’t grow I’m blaming you.”
She laughed, then gave him a gorgeous smile before resting her head on his shoulder. “They’ll grow.”
An absurd warmth bloomed in his chest at her confidence in him. It had been a long time since he’d felt like he had to prove something to anyone but himself, but over these last few weeks he’d found himself wanting to make Carly proud.
He found a sitcom she’d mentioned liking once and ran his fingers through her hair. Two weeks ago he’d never have thought he’d be here,with this smart, beautiful woman pressed up against him, sharing his usually solitary space.
“I’m not sure I’ll be any good at this,” he blurted out.
“Won’t be good at what?”
“Being a partner. Even a casual one,” he added. “I’m used to being alone. I work weird hours sometimes. Until recently, I haven’t had a social life in more than a decade.”
She sat up, crossing her legs on the couch and turning to face him. “I don’t care about that. When I start at Mode full time, I’ll keep weird hours, too. A lot of clients can only meet in the evenings or on weekends. And I don’t need a man to be social—I can do that on my own if I want to. That’s not what I want you for.”
His mouth twitched, relief filling him. “Oh? What do you want me for?”
She pursed her lips. “I just mean I like you, Brooks Martin, as you are. I know the reason we reconnected and why Sasha wanted you to do this whole Bachelor thing. I know your job can be hard and some days you probably just need to coast. I know you have a cat and like to watch TV at home and probably only like to go out in the fall for Thunder games. I also know you’re more fun than you give yourself credit for. I’m not looking for someone to keep a social calendar like Sasha does, or even like I used to. I want someone I enjoy spending time with and who I want to get naked with.”
Something ached below his sternum, and he tried to ignore the accompanying warning that Carly was someone he could get attached to if he wasn’t careful. Sex and talking, that’s all this was. Friendship and companionship and a lot of touching.
“Is that so?”
