“Nope.”
He sighed. “I guess I’ll just have to make it up to you with a spectacular steak dinner.”
“Feeding me twice in one day. I’m a spoiled girl.”
“I plan on spoiling the hell out of you for the foreseeable future.” A frown rolled over his features before he cleared his throat. “Sorry, was that weird?”
I tucked my chin on my knees. “I’m good with it.”
Surprisingly, that was the truth. I liked this feeling. Maybe things between us just were going to be easy. There was nothing wrong with that, was there?
He stopped at the threshold of his room. “Me too.”
I waited until I heard him start the shower before I padded into the living room to find my clothes. For a second, I thought about doing the dishes, but I decided I needed more time to get ready than he did.
I’d make it up to him.
I quickly dressed before I ducked my head out into the hall, my fingers holding my shirt together. I darted across the way into my apartment, then sprinted to my bedroom. I quizzed my Alexa about the weather and groaned at the absurd temperature even at almost five in the evening.
Late July meant sunset was still well after eight which meant I needed something cool and cute to wear. I dug into my closet and found a floaty leopard print skirt that would dance around my ankles and decided to go with a T-shirt to dress it down.
I took a ten-minute shower to wash off the sweat and sex and swapped out my fried space buns for two French braids. I took a few minutes to do up my eyes while I was drying in front of my standing fan.
Damn summer.
I loved it, but anything over ninety with matching humidity was just wrong. Part of the fun of a lake town. Super snow and super humidity from the water. But I was still happier here than I’d ever been anywhere else.
I’d escaped to Syracuse when I’d tried the college route, but that hadn’t stuck. My brain wasn’t wired for that kind of structure. Instead, I’d juggled jobs and roommates until the tarot practice had become something more. Finding Kinleigh had been my next step. Working in her shop evened me out. One was a healer position that was more rewarding than I deserved, and one gave me the freedom to meet people without them wanting anything from me except some retail therapy.
Best of both worlds.
I brushed on a layer of waterproof mascara to combat the sweat that would be in my future before I pulled on a cute cotton bra and panty set. The hot pink flowers on the cup showed through the white of my shirt a little.
I shrugged. Caleb would probably enjoy it.
After I shimmied into the skirt, I layered it all with a lemon and mint spray I’d put together during solstice. The rose quartz in the bottle infused the blend with a bit of happiness.
I swapped out the tiger’s eye jewelry I had on for something more playful. Obviously, there was no grounding myself around this man today. Instead, I decided to lean into the rose quartz with a few rings and a pair of dangly earrings. It was too hot for necklaces.
“Luna,” Caleb called from my living room.
“In here.”
He came down the hallway. “Sorry, I had to tear apart my apartment for my wallet and still can’t find it.”
“On my end table,” I called out to him. “I forgot to bring it over. I found it peeking out from under my bed.”
“Lifesaver—damn.”
I turned toward his voice. “What?”
He crossed to me and cupped my face. “You are so damn beautiful.”
“Well, thanks.”
I went up on my toes as he lowered his mouth to mine. The kiss was soft and sweet. He tasted of mint and sunshine. Somehow those flavors fit him.
Finally, we broke apart. I smiled, openly checking him out. “You don’t look so bad yourself, teach.”