Page 80 of Things We Hide from the Light
I ducked into the kitchen and dumped the bags on the counter. “Dinner,” I said.
She appeared in the doorway. “That doesn’t look like the Thai takeout I was going to order.”
“Not only beautiful but smart.” I plucked the wildflowers out of one of the grocery totes. “Vase?”
She gestured at the bare countertops. “Do I look like I have a vase lying around?”
“We’ll make do.” I started opening cabinet doors until I found an ugly plastic pitcher. I filled it with water, then shredded the plastic around the flowers. “Wildflowers because they reminded me of you,” I explained. And because the lily of the valley reminded me of my mom.
Lina shot me one of those complicated woman looks before giving in and burying her face in the flowers.
“This is very sweet of you. Sweet but unnecessary,” she said.
I noticed she was giving me a wide berth in the tiny space. It was cute that she thought she could rebuild those walls that had come down the night before.
“Mind gettin’ Pipe a bowl of water while I start the prep?”
She hesitated for a second, then opened a cabinet and found an empty takeout bowl. “You really don’t have to cook me dinner. I was a minute away from ordering food,” she said as she turned the water on in the sink.
“I had a long day,” I said conversationally as I pulled a bottle of wine, a corkscrew, and two glasses out of one of the bags. “And thanks to you, for the first time in a long while, I had the energy to deal with it.” I opened the wine with a pop and set the bottle aside.
“I heard something went down with one of your officers,” she admitted, setting the water dish on the floor. “Mrs. Tweedy said you caught one of your guys stealing counterfeit bills out of evidence after they spent it at a strip club.”
“I wish,” I said.
Piper appeared in the doorway with a sports bra in her mouth. She spit the bra out in the bowl and drank around it.
“Come on, Pipe. Stop eatin’ laundry.” I snatched up the bra. “I believe this is yours.”
Lina took the bra and threw it on the counter next to the broccoli.
“Then Neecey all but tackled me on the sidewalk in front of Dino’s,” Lina said, hopping up to perch on the counter. “She told me you headbutted that no-good Tate Dilton in the candy aisle of the grocery store.”
“I worry about this town’s language comprehension sometimes.”
She smirked. “Neecey also said she heard that you two wrestled into a canned soup pyramid and that the store manager found two cans of minestrone all the way over in the freezer section.”
“If you pour, I’ll tell you the real, much less eventful story.”
“Deal.”
I filled her in on my day. All of it. It felt good. To share a kitchen. To share my day. Lina seemed genuinely interested. She sat on the counter and we talked as I sautéed chicken, peppers, and onions. Piper joined us with an endless parade of toys and laundry.
I had to stop myself over a dozen times from moving between Lina’s legs, sending my hands sliding up her thighs, and going in for those pretty, red lips.
This connection I felt was real, tangible, and deep, but I didn’t know how deep it went for her. And I wasn’t about to scare her off with the level of my need for her.
“Why are there pajama pants in this bag? Is this some new age dessert I don’t know about?” she asked, poking around in the last tote.
“Yeah, about that,” I began.
“Nash.” My name was a gentle warning on those lips.
“I know last night was supposed to be a one-time thing. I know you took pity on me because I was a fucking mess.” I turned the burner off under the chicken and popped the lid on the pan before turning to her. “I also know I haven’t slept that well in…maybe ever.”
“We can’t keep doing this,” she said softly.
I wiped my hand on the dish towel I’d brought and then did what I’d been dying to do. I stepped between her knees and slid my hands up her thighs to rest on her hips.
