“I went grocery shopping. Don’t worry; you owe me.”
Her attention went to the heavenly concoction she was cooking on the stove. My stomach grumbled, and I hunched forward to quiet it down.
“I cooked earlier. I just need to warm it up,” she said.
I glanced around the room, to the blinds that were up, revealing the Chicago skyline that I paid for but never really enjoyed. “You pulled the blinds up.” It looked nice. I wondered why I never did that.
“I did. And cleaned and dusted too. With the blinds up, you could see all the little dust mites crawling around.”
The smile that met her eyes and lit up her face surfaced again, and for the life of me, I couldn’t do anything but simply stare at her.
I was officially the lead stalker of the Sydney Loverly Fan Club.
She frowned at me. “You know, you keep blanking out on me, Austin. Should I call the doctor?”
“No. I’m fine.” I blinked, forcing my gaze to the floor. “Sorry. I didn’t think I’d be so out of it.”
“It’s okay. You’re allowed this one time.” She turned off the stove and tiptoed to reach in the cupboard for some plates. She had chucked her sweater somewhere and was only in a T-shirt, but when she went on her toes, her shirt lifted a little, revealing a span of creamy-white flesh.
I swallowed.
Hard.
“Do you need help?” Stupid question because what could I possibly help her with?
“Sure, can you grab some glasses and pour us some water?”
I stared at her—again—noticing that she didn’t have a lick of makeup on.
Did she ever wear makeup?
I didn’t think I had seen her with any.
I mean, she had worn a little pink stuff on her lips when we were at the mall, but she didn’t cake on the stuff like the women I usually dated.
She was stunning.
I didn’t know why that shocked me.
Maybe because half the women I’d been with looked completely different when they woke up in the morning.
Like a changed woman—and not in a good way.
Motherfucker.I’d blanked out again.What is my problem?
“I’m kidding, Austin.” She placed the plates on the counter and approached, the smile absent from her face.
When she was a foot away, I stepped back.
I didn’t know why.
Was I afraid of her all of a sudden?
Her eyebrows pulled together before she placed the back of her hand on my cheek, and then she went on her toes and pressed her hand to my forehead. “Do you have a fever? An infection or something?”
She smelled of flowers, a field of them, and I almost fell over—she smelled so good. I couldn’t imagine what kind of stink was lingering on me. I hadn’t taken a shower in two days.
I stepped away. “I’m fine. I think I’m just hungry.” The words came out harsher than I’d intended.