“Hold up. You’re not at work? You’re on a date? Dinner at your place? Who are you and what have you done with my brother?”
I start to smart off but decide to answer her rapid-fire questions. “No. I’m not at work. Yes, I’m on a date. Yes, we’re having dinner at my place, and I’m still your brother.”
“What’s gotten into you? I’m impressed.”
“Ramsey.”
“What? Ramsey? Palmer’s Ramsey?” she asks, confused.
“She’s my Ramsey now, and yes, she’s one and the same. Now, I need to get off here so I can make dinner for her and eat some of her cookies.”
“I hope you literally mean the cookies she made you.” Piper cracks up laughing.
“For now. Love you,” I say, hitting End on the call and placing my phone on the counter. “Do you want something to drink?” I ask her.
She’s still, so still I’m not sure she’s even breathing, and her mouth is hanging open. Her gaze searches mine, looking for what I’m not sure. Finally, she clears her throat. “No. I’m okay for now.” Her cheeks are tinted pink, and I smile inwardly. Good. She got the meaning behind my words.
I nod and begin to unpack the groceries.
“You’re not like them.”
“Like who?” I open the pound of ground beef and place it in the pan.
“My dad. Robert. They’re both lawyers too. You’re not like them.”
“No,” I agree. “I’m not like them.”
“I know it’s wrong, but I guess I always thought all lawyers were like them. Ruthless. Heartless.”
“Not this one.”
“Every lawyer I’ve ever met has been like them. Until you.”
“Are you trying to tell me I’m special?” I glance over my shoulder at her and wink.
“Maybe. To be honest, I’m not sure. I guess I just wanted you to know that I know you’re not like them. My father never once in my entire life ever treated me with an ounce of the respect that you do. And Robert, he was my father’s golden boy. He was allowed to do whatever he wanted.”
Turning the burner down on low, I move to stand between her legs. I lift her hand and press my lips to one wrist and then the other. “They didn’t deserve you. Neither of them.” I kiss the corner of her mouth and step away, back to the stove before I say fuck dinner and carry her to my room. I’d show her how she deserves to be treated.
“What can I do to help?”
“Nothing. I bought the noodles that you don’t have to boil. So once the meat is done, all I have to do is assemble it and pop it in the oven.”
“I feel bad just sitting here while you do all the work.”
“Fine. You can grab the lasagna pan. It’s in the cabinet beneath the island.” I hear her feet hit the floor as she hops down, and the sound of the pan being placed on the island. She comes to stand next to me, leaning her back against the counter.
“Palmer texted me earlier. She said you’re getting some prints from our photo shoot. She wanted to know if I wanted any.”
“Yeah, I asked her to send me copies of each and that I might want to make a few bigger versions. I just need to decide where I would put them.”
“Deacon?” She waits for me to give her my attention. “You’re really going to hang pictures of us in your house?”
I shrug. “Why not? We’re dating.”
“Dating, Deacon.” She shakes her head as if I’ve lost my mind.
Maybe I have.
“Am I not allowed to have a picture of the girl I’m dating in my home?”
“This is so new.”
“But it feels right.”
“What if it jinxes us?”
“Are you worried about that?” I ask her. She shrugs, and when I start to tell her I need her words, she gives them to me freely before I can.
“Maybe. I don’t know. I know you’re unlike any man I’ve ever met, excluding Uncle Raymond and my cousins. I know I think about you before I go to sleep and again when I open my eyes each morning. I know that being with you causes butterflies to flutter here.” She places her hand over her stomach.
“Okay.” I can give her this. Easily. “I won’t make enlargements yet. However, I am getting copies of all of them.”
Another smile and shake of her head. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Kiss me.” My body leans into hers, and she dutifully presses her lips to mine. I go back to the ground beef, and she keeps me company. Fifteen minutes later, and with a mess on the counter, the lasagna is in the oven.
I grab two bottles of water and lead her outside to the patio. This is my normal routine, to sit outside and relax after a long day. She barely has her ass in the chair next to me, and I already know it’s better with Ramsey.