Page 123 of Always Meant for You
She believes it. I can see it in her eyes.
I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “If you’re going to use my body to sell vegetables, at least let me approve the captions.”
She smirks. “No promises.”
Mabel lifts Park and Eastfield with gentle hands and nestles them into my arms. They blink at her, dazed and warm, then settle against my chest.
I look down at the two sleepy cats, then up at her. “You want me shirtless for this?”
She steps back and frames the shot with her fingers, assessing the light. “It’s not about being shirtless,” she says softly. “It’s about connecting with?—”
“Horny housewives,” I offer dryly.
She smirks. “Now you’re thinking like an internet superstar.”
The camera clicks once, twice.
My phone alarm buzzes.
She glances toward the window, her bedsheet shifting at her hips. “I have to go. But there’s no way I’m climbing that lattice in this. I have to change.”
“Give me your phone,” I say, tucking both cats into one arm.
She hesitates. “Why?”
“Because I want one more picture with you in it.”
“Cal, we don’t have time.”
“We’ll be quick.”
She watches me, eyes softening, then hands over her cell.
Her father will be waking up soon. The Garvers will be by to check the animals and prep for the market. But I want a picture with her to remember this day.
“Cal, I cannot be wearing a sheet in this pic.”
I gesture with my chin. “Put on my T-shirt. It’s right there.”
She lets the sheet fall, and I’m half tempted to cancel the market and stay in bed with her all day. Before I can share this with Mabel, she shimmies into my shirt. It swallows her frame, but I can still make out every curve.
She slides in beside me, careful not to disturb the cats.
“People might say something about this shot,” she murmurs.
I shake my head. “We’ve been in photos before. No one’s said anything. We’re building something together. They know that.”
I lift the phone and adjust the angle.
“You ready?” I ask.
She glances up at me, her expression soft and unguarded. “Yeah.”
I take the picture with the two of us gazing into each other’s eyes.
We stay like that, the cats tucked against me, her body curved into mine. Mabel leans in, her cheek against my shoulder.
I kiss the crown of her head. “This is good, Mabel.”
