Page 45 of Waiting on Life
“I love him.”
It was the first time I’d said the words aloud, and they seemed to echo in the apartment.
“Wow,” Pete whispered. “I never thought I’d hear you say it.” He reached out and tugged me in for a hug. “He’s good for you.”
And he was. Toby was the best thing to happen to me since Pete. It was weird, because I’d always believed I had to put out for a guy to keep him interested, but in the six weeks we’d been dating, Toby didn’t press me for sex. He didn’t make it plain that the only reason he was with me was because I gave good head, or that I was willing to bend over whenever and wherever.
“Toby treats you a lot better than any of the other losers you’ve been with,” Pete said. “When I told him if he hurt you, I’d hurt him, he must have taken it to heart.”
He snickered, and I broke out laughing. I clung to Pete, needing the contact, as the realizations rolled over me that Toby was it for me. In my twenty-four years, I believed I’d dealt with every kind of man there was, and all of them left me thinking that I needed to be worthy of them, but the truth was, they were never good enough for me.
Toby was.
I could only hope he felt the same way.
Chapter Thirteen
Toby
“Kyle!”
He turned to face me, his eyes wide. “Yes, boss?”
I grinned at him, because how could I not? He was so goddamn adorable, and it was hard to try to play that I was going to be stern with him.
“You look nice today.”
Even from where he was, I could see his face redden. “Thank you.”
“I need help in the back, if you have a few minutes.”
“Sure, let me drop these glasses off, and I’ll be right there.”
I stood at the bar and admired the way he moved. For such a small man, he took big strides. There was a fluid grace to him that I’d often thought was only something women could have, but Kyle showed me that my thinking was not only wrong—it was borderline offensive. He was beauty personified in my eyes. That was why I wanted him to go into the storeroom with me.
As soon as the kitchen door closed, I headed for the back. A few moments later, Kyle stepped in, his cheeks flushed.
“Can you close the door, please?”
He did as I asked, then turned to give me a speculative glance. “Have I done something wrong?”
“Oh, yes,” I ground out. “You came in looking so goddamn sexy and keep distracting me from my counts.” I moved in closer, crowding him against the door. I reached out a hand and stroked it across his cheek, and when he trembled, a thrill went through me. “I would very much like to kiss you. Is that okay?”
He nodded, his breaths coming in short, frantic pants. I leaned in and brushed our lips together. He’d apparently had a Sprite earlier, because I could still taste the lemony goodness. When he opened for me, I cupped the back of his head and pulled him in tighter. He whimpered, and I realized no one else had ever had this reaction to me. I broke the kiss but stayed there, running my hand over his head.
“Could you let your hair grow out a little again? I loved the style you had.”
“Sure. Anything you want.”
“No, if you don’t want to, don’t. It’s your hair, and I like it no matter how it looks. It was only a request.”
He grinned. “I like my hair longer. Gives me more to work with.” He slid his hand over the far-too-short stubble. “This look? A drop of shampoo and that’s all I need. My shelf full of gels and stuff is sitting untouched, and I’m gonna guess it’s kind of lonely.”
I leaned in and kissed his neck, which resulted in a new round of shivers. “Go with whatever makes you happy, please. If you like it, I can promise you I’m going to be thrilled.” I stroked a hand over his cheek. “Because no matter what, you’re always fabulous.”
Kyle squinted at me. “What happened to maintaining a professional relationship at work?”
I’d asked myself that question a dozen times already. “I thought I could, to be honest. I’ve never been in a relationship where I couldn’t keep my distance, but with you? I don’t want to do that. I want to touch you all the time. When you’re serving a table, I like to stand there and watch you work.” But, and it needed to be said, “If it bothers you, I’ll stop.”
