Zeke’s brow squiggled. Mia was scraping excess food down the disposal and then she loaded what was already in the sink into the dishwasher. What if she didn’t “need” to kiss him? Dang. He’d better shelf his selfish desires.
“Are you okay holding her?” Holly asked.
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “But what if I … want to hold her too much?” He rubbed at his neck. He’d never felt so awkward, but he’d never had a conversation like this with a parent and he really wanted the help.
Mia was coming back in their direction.
Joseph’s brows lowered. “Don’t,” he warned. “Your sense of honor runs deep, Cap. Don’t lose it now.”
Zeke nodded, humbled. He understood exactly what Joseph was saying. He would honor Mia, be respectful, do what she needed, even if that meant no kissing, even if that meant she simply needed to sleep and he needed to keep his distance.
“Hooyah,” he murmured to Joseph.
Joseph smiled. He knew Zeke would win at any battle and the one tonight, to keep himself in control … that might be the most important battle of his life.
Holly pushed at him. “Zeke is going to get you back to your room and settled,” she said to Mia. “It’s been quite the stressful few days and I’m sure you’re exhausted. You need to rest.”
Mia arched her delicate eyebrows, staring at Zeke. “I need … rest?”
Zeke wondered what “rest” meant to her right now. He clenched his fists so he wouldn’t reach out for her. Most of his life, he’d had to avoid people who wanted to touch him. Most people didn’t recognize how often they touched others. When he’d carried Mia out of that lake, a switch had flipped and now he was trying to figure out how stop himself from touching her too much.
“I think rest is extremely important,” he said carefully, hoping he was getting the flirtations down but also needing to keep everything above board. It was actually easy and natural to flirt with Mia, like teasing with his close friends only much more fun, exciting, and stimulating.
He was a newbie to all this relationship stuff. He was realizing his one romantic relationship with Rachel didn’t really count as she’d been the driving force and he’d just let her lead him along because it wasn’t unpleasant or too much work for him. He wished he could apologize to Rachel now. She deserved a lot better than the lame effort he’d given. He’d been nice to her and tried to do what she asked, but now he realized he’d never truly been in love with her or even attracted to her. She was a good lady and he hoped she’d found what she was looking for.
Mia extended her hand to him. Zeke’s body seemed to go into overdrive. Everything was warm and his nerves tingled as if he was warming up after a cold plunge. He walked slowly to her, holding eye contact and hoping she could see in his gaze that she was everything to him. The smile that grew on her face and blossomed when he wrapped her hand up in his made him think she could see what he felt.
“Wow,” Holly murmured. “Maybe after dishes we can ‘rest’ too?”
Joseph chuckled. “Forget the dishes.”
“Ooh, I like you,” Holly said back.
Zeke’s eyebrows rose. They’d better get out of here. He tugged Mia out of the main area and toward the front entry. “Thank you for dinner,” he threw over his shoulder.
“Sure thing,” Holly said, already in Joseph’s arms.
Zeke turned forward quickly and walked hand in hand with Mia. He helped her into her coat and couldn’t get out of the house quick enough when he heard Holly giggle and Joseph chuckle even deeper.
Mia slid into her boots, he held the door, and finally they were on the front porch. The cold night air was refreshing and light snowflakes were dancing on the wind.
Mia smiled up at him as they walked hand in hand off the porch and along the plowed sidewalk. “They are like the cutest couple ever.”
“Whew, I got awkward in there,” he admitted.
She laughed. “Rambo … you get awkward around any emotional displays.”
Dang. He’d thought he was doing better. He didn’t feel uncomfortable around her and he wanted to flirt and be romantic, but also just be there for her. Obviously he wasn’t progressing as well as he’d hoped.
They walked along the driveway and across the road to Papa’s driveway.
“Sorry. I thought I was doing better.”
“Oh, Zeke.” She tugged him to a stop and peered up at him. Snowflakes kissed her long lashes and beautiful skin. She looked like she was glowing, completely restored from her dip in the lake. “You’re doing brilliantly.”
He heard movement from the north. He quickly shifted in front of her and pulled out his pistol, grateful he’d strapped it on.
Lewis walked into the glow from the porch and garage lights and tilted his chin to them.