She turned, catching me staring at the two of them, and her smile grew. This was everything I’d wanted for the last three years, and if I was being honest with myself, probably longer than that. I still wasn’t sure I deserved it, but I would do whatever it took to keep earning it.
Bella’s forehead crinkled and her smile faded. “You alright? I started making lunch… I hope that’s okay. Brendan was getting hungry.”
I nodded. “I’m good, and yeah, I’m getting hungry too.”
“Are you okay with grilled cheese?” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, and I groaned.
“Sure.” Andfuck me.Her darker than normal eyes and her unabashed survey of my naked torso meant she wasn’t nervous about what she was making for lunch, but rather she wanted to run her hands along my bare skin. I glanced down at Brendan and back to her, raising one eyebrow in question with a smirk on my face.
She turned back to the stove, flipping the sandwiches laid out on the griddle.
“You know, he’ll need to go down for a nap at some point,” she said casually.
I barked out a laugh. “Oh, really? And what do you suggest we do while he’s napping?” Slowly, I moved behind her and grabbed her by the hips, pressing her back against me.
Her breath caught. “I think we’ll be able to come up with something. But you should put a shirt back on until then.”
I nuzzled my nose along her ear. “Nah, this is more fun.” I released her with a chuckle and walked to the pantry. “Tomato soup or chips?”
“Chips. It’s too hot for soup.”
“Me wan tips,” Brendan piped up.
“Chips it is.” Turning, I found Bella with a hip propped against the counter and her arms crossed.
She pointed toward the back hallway. “Shirt.”
I rolled my eyes, dropped the chips on the table, and went to the bedroom to get a fresh shirt. Which was kind of ridiculous, given it was just going to be removed once we started working in the gardens. It was our first almost ninety-degree day. I just had to pick the fucking hottest day to do this project.
We laughed through most of lunch because Brendan babbled nonstop, and neither of us could understand most of the words. I thought it was something about flowers, trucks, and swings. In just a few weeks, his vocabulary had multiplied, which I knew was a huge deal because Bella had worried about his lack of speech at Brendan’s last doctor’s appointment.
My phone vibrated against the table. I grabbed it and read the text as I popped a chip into my mouth. I rolled my shoulders and dropped the phone back on the table harder than I’d intended.
“Everything okay?” A frown appeared on Bella’s face as she studied me.
I huffed. “Yeah, Hattie just reminding me again to look at the list of website designers she sent me.”
“Why haven’t you yet?”
I decided it was time to lay my cards on the table. “I guess I’m still holding out hope you’ll want the marketing job. I know you told me no before, but…”
Her eyebrows shot up. “You should have hired someone by now.”
I shrugged. I didn’t want to hire anyone but her.
She sighed. “I can look at the website this week while I’m at my dad’s and maybe create a Facebook page too.”
Her words lifted a weight off my shoulders. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but it was close. And maybe with a little convincing, the job could be something she’d want.
“Flower,” Brendan said, pointing outside.
“He’s probably right—we should get out there,” Bella said with a chuckle.
I cleaned up the last of lunch as she and Brendan headed outside.
“Where do we start, my gardening genius?” I asked Bella, looking at her over my shoulder. I added soil to the planter as Brendan brought me a blue flower he picked to go in there. I helped him place it in the hole I made and covered the roots with dirt.
She pointed to the far corner of the porch, opposite of where I’d installed the swing. “I think the crape myrtle should go there. In the back left-hand corner of that garden. That’s where the sun comes up, so after some time, it’ll provide some shade on the porch.”