Page 10 of Almost Perfect
Or… was it possible she’d come here for a reason? More than whatever brought her on the surface, what if we were meant to have something between us? I’d felt a spark when I first saw her, hadn’t I?
My heart beat a little faster. I huffed out a breath, watching the cloud of warm air billow out in front of me.
Ridiculous. Pathetic. Reaching for a new level of sad sack, Wy.
After another minute, I abandoned my post in favor of the warmth inside. Chasing windmills out here wouldn’t do anything about my loneliness. I’d heard the tell-tale banging that signaled Warrick was up. When I stepped inside, he stood at the stove nudging eggs around in a sauté pan.
“Made you some.”
He was always incredibly verbose in the mornings.
“Thanks.”
“You good?”
I eyed him. “Fine.”
Except for all that special thinking about how the tenant’s meant for you. What about that, little dreamer boy?Was it bad that even my snarky internal voice sounded more like my youngest brother?
“You spying on the girl?”
I jerked my head. “Spying? No. We were both watching the sunrise. We air-toasted our coffee.”
He blinked. Then again. “Well, that’s just precious. Are you going to roast marshmallows and kiss by a fire later?”
My stomach dipped.Yes, please.“No. Idiot.”
He snickered and turned back to the eggs. I sat down at the bar, impatient for the food but not wanting to talk any more. I didn’t want to smash this odd little burst of hope that’d grown in me, even if it was about the stupidest thing ever. I wasn’t expecting anything from this woman, but I could try to talk to her, couldn’t I? See what kind of person she was.
Warrick shoved a plate of eggs and toast in front of me, breaking through my thoughts. He thunked down next to me and inhaled his food. I ate at a more measured pace but still finished in minutes. We sat, sipping coffee, the silence between brothers a familiar one.
Until he broke it. “You should probably stay away from her.”
“Yeah? Why’s that?”
He snorted. “Um, because she’s a man-eater?”
I turned to face him fully. “How do you know that?”
He gave me a look that saidyou are too stupid to live. “Everyoneknows that.”
“What?”
His expression cleared a bit. “Oh, damn. You don’t know.”
“Know what?”
“That she’s Miss Mayhem.”
A laugh burst out of me, the claim utterly preposterous. “Right.”
He didn’t move. “No, really. That’s Miss Mayhem. Callaway Rice is Miss Mayhem.”
Little black dominoes tipped into each other in a long train inside me. She’d been cagey. She’d had that hat pulled so low. She… “That woman looks nothing like Miss Mayhem.”
Even as I said it, reality clicked into place. Shedidlook like Miss Mayhem. Same dark hair, same height. I hadn’t seen her face clearly, but I’d known she was beautiful without seeing all of her anyway.
Warrick chuckled and pushed out of his seat. As he rounded the island to wash his dishes, he gave me a pitying look. “You have a crush on Miss Mayhem.”
