“Gawd!” She disappeared immediately, and when she was back in the kitchen, he sent up a silent thanks she opted for a pair of sweats and a tee.
Abe cleared his throat and forced a smile.
For several moments, she stood there, tugging at the hem of her shirt. Over the years, he had grown to realize she did that when her nerves were rattled.
“Everything good?”
“I’m actually meeting… someone for a late breakfast. That’s why I couldn’t come over this morning.”
His hands curled, but he pushed his jealousy away. It wouldn’t score him any points to act like a caveman. “I didn’t mean to intrude or anything. I can go if you want me to.” Please don’t tell me to go. Please don’t tell me to go.
“No. I mean, you’re already here and went to the trouble of bringing me doughnuts.” She smiled and walked toward him. The sweet scent of pears and berries surrounded her. He inhaled deeply, knowing that scent anywhere.
“You’re wearing my fucking favorite,” he all but growled. It was a scent that drove him mad.
She was close to him, so close that her bare arm brushed against his hand. Her cheeks turned slightly pink from his comment, and Abe wanted to believe he rattled her in a good way.
“Yeah.” Her voice was low, and when she turned to look up at him, his heart jumped into his throat. “It’s my favorite, and you got it for me.”
His heart worked double time from her words. He had gotten her the perfume for her birthday last year. The scent had reminded him of her, and when she wore it… fuck, it did things to him.
Inappropriate thoughts slammed into him, images of her spread out on the table as he pulled her sweats down her thighs and feasted on her. There was no doubt she tasted just as sweet as she smelled. He held out a chocolate-glazed doughnut to her, needing to be doing something with his hands so he didn’t grab her and pull her toward him.
She sighed in bliss, and he imagined her making that sound during sex. His fucking cock grew harder, the damn thing.
“You always know a girl’s sweet spot.” Her face flushed again, and she glanced away. “Sorry. That came out wrong.” He could tell she was nervous, and a part of him was happy but also confused. Her nervousness might possibly mean she felt something for him.
They sat at the table and each polished off two doughnuts and their coffee. There were so many things he wanted to say to her. In fact, that was why he had come here, to tell her. He looked down at the table and traced the grain of the wood with his eyes.
“Are you okay, Abe?”
Looking up at her, he opened his mouth to tell her everything that was in his heart, but her phone started ringing. She gave him a sympathetic look and held up her finger for him to hold on.
“Hey, Hunter.”
Abe’s jaw cracked at the sound of her happy greeting. The fact that she was grinning and sounded so damn euphoric to hear from her boss confirmed that Hunter was the guy she had gone out with yesterday.
Had he already lost her without ever getting the chance to tell her how he felt?
Abe didn’t miss how she glanced over at him more than once. He lifted his hand in a wave and pointed to the front door. No way did he want to hang around and listen to her conversation. The look she gave him had his steps faltering, but no, he needed to get the hell out of there. He shut the door behind him and shoved his hands in the front pockets of his worn jeans.
Head low and thoughts all over the place, he walked quickly to his bike. He mounted it, and because he was a glutton for pain, he cast his eyes to her kitchen window. There she was, standing right on the other side of that glass, watching him.
A strange look crossed her face, but he didn’t let himself think too much about it. She lifted her hand in a small wave, and he nodded in acknowledgement before he cranked the engine and rode away.16Sophia watched Abe ride off. Seeing him on her doorstep at the ass-crack of dawn almost sent her into cardiac arrest. She couldn’t remember a time when he had made the effort like he did that morning. It might have only been doughnuts and coffee, but the point was he was making a change.
It was getting hard to keep up the wall she erected around her heart. Seeing the change in him did things to her but also had her wondering why he was suddenly making a complete change with his life.
When he mentioned how good she smelled, her whole body threatened to melt into a warm, gooey puddle right on the floor. She always wore a perfume that smelled like pears and berries, not just because Abe bought it for her, but because it reminded her of him and the things he did to make her happy, whether he realized it or not.