Page 7 of Protecting Clove
“Would you like more?”
“No, I’m stuffed.” The lie slid off his tongue so easily, and he noted her raised eyebrow. He blanked his expression, trying to hide the truth that he wanted more.
Her lips spread into a smile. “You have a tell. I bet you didn’t know that.”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t.”
When she rolled her eyes, he wanted to pull her close. “You do have a tell, and I saw it.”
“How?”
“It was fast, and if I hadn’t been paying attention, I wouldn’t have seen it.” She grabbed a plastic container and filled it half full. “Here. Take this home. If you eat it tonight, that’s okay.”
He stood, and took his dish to the sink, rinsing the food off before loading it into the dishwasher. Her unit was almost the same as his, but the appliances weren’t as good. The previous owners of his place had upgraded everything before selling. It had increased the price, but he appreciated the extra touches.
“Thank you for dinner. It made today not so bad.”
“You’re welcome. I often have items I test out. They are usually sweet treats. I don’t know if you eat those.”
“I’ll eat some, but not every day. But you don’t have to give any of them to me.”
“I have extra, and Neo can’t eat them all.”
Laughter came easy with Clove. He wasn’t sure why it was so easy to chat with her, but it really was. They could be friends. It wasn’t impossible to be friends with a woman. He didn’t have any women friends, but that was because he spent so much time with guys. He could do this. They could keep their relationship platonic. Sure, she was sexy, and he was attracted to her, but he didn’t need to do more than just be friendly with her.
5
Clove would be lying to say she wasn’t being hyper-vigilant about sounds coming from Bud’s place. It was Saturday, and she’d heard him leave around eight that morning. She was in the back, playing ball with Neo, when someone stepped up to the gate and knocked. She jumped and might have let out a little yelp.
“Hey, it’s Bud. Can I come in?”
“Oh, sure.” She moved to the gate and opened it, stepping back as Neo ran over to Bud and hugged him around the waist.
“I have something to show you. Come in.”
Bud glanced over, raising his eyebrows to check with her if it was okay before he followed Neo inside. She gave a nod of approval and went with them. She knew exactly what Neo wanted to talk about. She’d found information about airplanes and was making paper airplanes. She’d found a design that was complex and flew far.
“Wow, these are great.” Bud had one of the airplanes Neo had placed on top of the piano. “Who made these?”
“I did. Mom isn’t great at following directions which is weird because she cooks and that’s only directions.”
Clove huffed out a breath. “I just couldn’t get the paper to fold right.”
Neo stared up at Bud. “Do you fly airplanes? I read that some SEALs are pilots.”
Bud shook his head. “No, I don’t know how to fly. I can drive a boat, though. Have you ever been out on a boat in the ocean?”
Neo shook her head. “No, we lived in Colorado. There are lakes and rivers, but it’s landlocked, so no ocean.”
Clove wasn’t sure she really understood what landlocked meant before she was in high school, and Neo wasn’t even in grade school. She hoped she didn’t mess her daughter up too much. She didn’t know the first thing about raising a child, much less a child who knew way too much at such a young age.
“You’ve been to the beach, right?”
Neo nodded. “Yes. The Pacific is fifty-one percent of the world’s ocean waters. That’s too much, so I didn’t get in.”
“Oh. I could see that. It is large. I get in the ocean all the time, but I’m a good swimmer, so I don’t feel like it’s too much.”
“I’ve been in a pool before, but I don’t really swim well.”
