Page 41 of Made for You
“You’re a busybody,” I said, scowling at her.
“That isn’t in dispute.”
The way this woman wasn’t fazed by me.
“I’m not sure I can live here if you’re going to be… whatever this is.” I nodded to her and tucked further into myself, cradling the barely warm mug to my body like it’d save me from my nosy grandma.
But her expression made me pause. I could’ve sworn it was something like regret etched on her face, the lines bracketing a mouth that’d always smiled wide deepening.
“You don’t have to stay, Nikki. If you’d rather—”
“Please. Please believe that I want to be here. I know I was desperate when I called, but I did have options. Iwantto be here. I want to take care of you, if there’s any way to actually do that—if you need anything. And I’m… oddly hopeful about everything.” The blush softened, though I could still feel the heat there.Everythingnow encompassed a lot more than simply figuring out a semblance of a life.
Everythingwas Gram. Work. New friends. The mountains.
Bruce.
“Well, I think he’s a good thing to be hopeful about.”
My head snapped to her. “What?”
“You said ‘Bruce’ all dreamily, which I’ll take as my evidence that he can deliver more than just a delightful show when wielding an ax.” She winked again.
I died. I’d always known my tendency to be direct had come from her even if it hadn’t been through blood, but clearly, it’d diluted through the generations in comparison. “Gram! You can’t talk like that.”
She pressed a hand to her chest. “Can I not? Who says?”
I laughed and ducked my head to hide my now even more brightly burning blush from her.
She pushed out of her chair and steadied herself on the arm of it for just a second before she said, “Speaking of Bruce, it’s been on my schedule to spend time with Kiley tonight. Will you come?”
Tonight?
Weirdly, I’d sort of been planning on seeing Bruce. But if Gram was scheduled to hang out with her, then he must have plans. A date?Didhe date?
We’d kissed—like,reallykissed—last night, but as I’d reminded myself a thousand times since the blessed event andthank you so much for the reminder, brainagain now, I had no idea what it meant. Maybe he was just a man who liked to kiss women. Just… willy-nilly.
“Nikki? Are you free?”
I snapped out of my nonsensical spiral. “Sure. Of course. I’ll be there.”
And I wouldnotsuccumb to the tug of disappointment in my belly or the sense of loss not seeing Bruce had caused. A lot of good had come out of this conversation, and there was no reason to feel like anything was wrong.
CHAPTERNINETEEN
Bruce
If I chopped wood every day this fall, I’d still likely have more to chop, and we’d still have to buy a cord of wood this winter. I’d chopped as much as I could earlier in the summer, so at least that would be properly seasoned come winter. None of this lot would be ready to burn until late in the season, but it helped with the restless energy, so I’d take that happy byproduct.
I’d spent all morning refusing to call Nikki. Not that I didn’t plan to, but since I woke at six and had a feeling she’d sleep a bit longer, I needed to wait. No man called a woman he’d kissed for the first time less than twelve hours after. Or maybe people did that—I had no idea. I hadn’t been in a relationship in years and certainly not one in these circumstances.
Certainly not one my gut told me wasit.
“You realize that chopping wood is, like, super loud and annoying and you probably woke Nikki and Rosie?” Kiley stood with her back to the banister of the deck stairs, right at the bottom on the stone pavers I’d laid last summer.
“Did I wake you?”Chop.
Her dead-eyed glare, not unlike one I had to give bad guys and idiots, answered for her.
