Page 106 of Pinch of Love

That wasn’t quite the response I expected. Scratching my chin, I reached for my mug of coffee and took a sip. “Okay. Angry rams. I can work with that.”

“What about with Rob? I need a comparison.”

She chuckled. “Oh, that’s easy. Absolutely nothing. I never got anything fluttering or mobbing my insides. I’d just look at him and think,huh, did I do that?”

“I’ll definitely take mine then.” I smiled at her, and she looped her arms around my waist.

“Okay, I also get butterflies swarming my belly. It’s just there are times when the emotions running through me are way beyond colorful winged creatures.”

Maya let out a wistful sigh. “What about you? Do I give you the flutters?”

I kissed the top of Maya’s head and closed my eyes as I wrapped my arms around her in return. “More like a harem of pixies in the middle of an adrenaline rush.”

She stepped back and frowned. “Huh? What? Pixies?”

“Honestly, Maya. Since I picked you up at Becky’s house, I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind. It’s not only about getting all flustered around you. It’s that I can barely remember my name.”

She smiled and laughed. “Is that why you couldn’t remember the door code?”

“Possibly.”

She bobbed her head in satisfaction. “That makes me feel... good.”

I laughed. “I think about you all the time. While you’re at the house, and I’m working on my latest project, I’m literally daydreaming about you.”

Her eyes widened. “I might be doing the same.”

“So, this camping trip might have been really productive.”

“I’m learning a lot. That’s for sure.” She traced her finger along my chest and looked into my eyes. “And I appreciate your honesty. It’s something I need, and on that note, I do get worried.”

“About?”

“What happens when the end of October rolls around and I go back to North Carolina? And if I’m the first woman you’re starting to seriously date after your wife, am I a rebound? Will I make things worse for you if I let things get too serious? All kinds of questions race through my head.”

I let out a low growl of dissatisfaction and pulled her into me. “Do I seem like a guy who can’t handle myself? I’ll be fine if you dump my sorry ass. I might return to my evil and cynical ways, but I’ll be fine.”

“Oh, yeah?” she teased. “You won’t be moping around Buttercup Lake?”

I laughed and shook my head. “I didn’t say that. I just said I’d be fine. Fine is a relative term.”

“I suppose.”

“And who’s to say it’s you dumping me?”

“Oh, is that a challenge?”

I chuckled. “Not a very good one.”

I’d survive, but I’d probably write off women for the next decade. There were too many things to love about Maya. Too many things not to fantasize about.

And within three weeks of knowing the woman, we’d shared so much. I told her things I’d never told anyone—not my parents or even my siblings.

“Okay, fine. I’m not going to overthink things. I’m not the best at it, but I’ll give it a go,” Maya explained. “And you can now tell your brother to tell Brielle that we are exclusive.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Is that a little seed of jealousy?”

“If she’d stuck around for another day, maybe. But I was still at stage one.”

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