Page 21 of Finding Romance
Kasen.
He’s fallen asleep next to me; he’s using my hip as a pillow. His arms are wrapped around my middle. His breaths come slow and steady. I take a moment to look at him. He’s gorgeous in a rugged sort of way. His dark hair is messy and he has a bit of a beard. The faint scar above his right eye intrigues me. I wonder when or where he got it. Was it when he was in the Navy?
His hands are large, which I already knew, but they seem bigger now that he’s wrapped around me. I wonder what those hands would feel like if they touched my skin beneath my T-shirt.
I contemplate how I can extricate myself from him, but then his eyelids flutter open. He stares at me for a few seconds. Neither of us speaks.
“I think we fell asleep,” he says groggily as he slowly gets up.
“Yeah. What time is it?” I had come over in the afternoon, we had dinner, I drank way too much, and then I remember him sitting me down here and after that…well, I guess I fell asleep.
“Oh, shit!” I say as I get up with a start. “Aunt Cornelia!” I race to the door but Kasen’s faster and his giant hand holds it shut. “Kasen, I got to go.”
His body is flush with mine, pressing me to the door. I shiver from the contact.
“I already helped her. I went over again this morning. I must have dozed off afterward. She’s fine, Piper. I promise,” he says quietly against the shell of my ear. His hot breath has my skin prickling.
I swallow, giving myself a moment to collect my thoughts. “Oh, uh, thank you,” I manage. I sway a little, feeling light-headed.
“Let’s get you a breakfast sandwich and coffee,” he suggests. “It’ll help with the hangover.”
“I’m not really very hungry,” I reply as waves of nausea come over me. I am never drinking again.
His finger brushes along my arm. “Don’t be such an escape artist. Let me get you breakfast and then we can both get on with our days, OK?”
“Escape artist? I’m hardly escaping. I just need to check on my aunt,” I protest.
“And I’m telling you I just did two hours ago and she’s fine. We can get them breakfast too,” he offers. “Please let me get you breakfast for helping with the tank.”
“You got me dinner,” I retort.
“And that was for helping with the water on the floor,” he states. Damn, he’s good at arguing and I’m too tired to protest.
“Fine,” I say like a petulant child.
Kasen grabs his key and we walk over to the café.
“You two look wrecked,” Cam says with a laugh. “I think we will need some serious coffees today.” She gives me a look and I nod.
“On it.”
“And two breakfast sandwiches, two muffins, and lattes for Cornelia and Margie,” Kasen adds.
I lean on the counter and look back at the apartment building. “Does someone have a black cat?” I ask.
Kasen and Cam both look over.
Kasen groans. “It’s Licorice. She probably wants in the store. She must have escaped Gray’s apartment.”
“He has a cat?”
They nod in unison.
“I’m going to grab it,” I announce as I walk over to the bookshop door where the cat is sitting and waiting.
“Hey, little one You waiting for the store to open?” I ask it.
“Meow!” it replies as it looks up at me with big green eyes.
