Page 91 of Lavender Lake
“Someone, meaning my grandmother.”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t tempt fate then. Both of us coming downstairs at the same time, both of us with wet hair . . .”
He sighed. “You want to shower first or should I?”
“You,” I said, snuggling deeper into bed.
I fell back asleep and didn’t awaken again until Cas kissed my shoulder. “Shower’s all yours.”
“Thanks,” I murmured. “I’d kill for a cup of coffee.”
“And if we were in a relationship, I’d bring you one. But if your grandmother’s in the kitchen and she sees me bringing you a cup of coffee, we’d be in trouble. Right?”
I opened one eye and glared at him.
His smile was cheeky. “The sooner you shower, the sooner you get caffeine.”
It wasn’t until I was halfway through my shower that I dissected Cas’s words and wondered if they meant something more.
He’d mentioned a relationship.
Did hewantto be in a relationship?
DidIwant to be in a relationship?
I held onto the idea for a moment, waiting to see what emotions would pop up and scare me. But there was nothing. Nothing except a blooming warmth at the idea of Cas Bowman, famous bull rider, wanting to exclusively ride me.
But reality intruded: he traveled the rodeo circuit and I lived in New York. Long distance relationships never worked out. I’d tried to date someone in a different borough of the city once, and even that had failed. If I couldn’t make something work with someone three subway trains away, how could I possibly expect to make it work with a nomadic bull rider?
The thought saddened me.
But Cas was going to be here for a little while. All I could do now was enjoy the brief time we had together.
I turned off the water and got out. I towel dried my hair and decided to let it air dry the rest of the way. The bottom drawer of my dresser had the faded, worn jeans I hadn’t taken with me to New York and I pulled them out. I slid them on, but frowned when they didn’t button easily.
I usually worked long hours at my job and often skipped lunch. But I was home and I blamed Sweet Teeth and Hadley—she put butter in everything.
The scent of coffee dragged me from my room, along with the aroma of bacon grease. My mouth watered and all my self-restraint went out the window when I saw Muddy at the stove, apron around her waist, flipping pancakes.
“I’ve died and gone to heaven,” I said, coming to her side and kissing her cheek. “What do I have to do to get the first batch?”
“Pour me another cup of coffee,” she said with a grin.
“Your first batch is always the best,” I said, taking her coffee cup and refilling it.
“Text Hadley, would you? Let her know they’ll be ready soon.”
“Is she awake?”
“Oh, yeah, she’s awake,” Muddy said. “She wakes up when Declan does, and then the morning sickness hits. If you really loved her, you’d let her have the first stack.”
“There’s love, and then there’s your pancakes,” I quipped as I pulled out my phone and shot off a text to her.
“You have a good night last night?” she asked.
I looked up from my screen. “Yes. Why?”
