Even if he does snoop, those are all normal things. I need to stop overthinking this. He’s here and I’ve decided to trust him.
Nothing else matters until the storm is over.
I should probably go to bed but my bedroom is already chilly and the heat from the wood stove is nice. I also have to get some pillows and a blanket for West.
Staring at the couch, I realize he’s not going to be very comfortable. Better than trying to sleep in his SUV, but still. He’s a big guy and the couch is just normal sized. I’m five ten and can barely stretch out. How is he going to manage? He’d be a lot more comfortable in my bed.
Ugh.
That’snot happening.
By the time West comes out of the bathroom, I’ve got a pillow and a warm wool blanket set out for him.
“I don’t know what else you might need,” I say. “Do you want a sheet too?”
He shakes his head. “Nah. I’ll be fine.”
I hesitate, unsure what to do. It’s not late, barely ten o’clock, and I’m not used to going to bed this early.
“Do you feel like…talking?” I ask quietly.
“Sure.” He nods. “It’s probably warmer out here than in your bedroom anyway.”
Once again, practically reading my mind.
I sink back on the couch and he sits on the opposite side. We adjust the blanket so it’s covering both of us and then lean back. His large body takes up a lot of space but it’s not a bad thing. Hell, having someone this close is comforting. Warm. Nice.
It’s been too long since I’ve spent time with an attractive single man, so I’m not even sure how to behave. It’s not a date or a hookup—just two people riding out a storm.
Except it’s in my home.
There’s an unspoken intimacy that’s a little heady.
“I want to thank you for your hospitality,” West says after it’s been quiet for a while. “I really appreciate this. You didn’t have to let me stay here.”
“Well, after you saved me from my car, how could I send you out into the storm?”
“I would understand not wanting to spend the night with a man who’s essentially still a stranger.”
I look over at him. “But you’re my…person. Right? So, how can you be a stranger?”
His eyes meet mine and there it is again, that spark of…something. I don’t know if it’s chemistry or lust or some other type of attraction but it’s unmistakable. The electricity in the air is almost tangible. The expression on his face tells me he feels it too and he’s as uncertain about this as I am, which I’ll bet doesn’t happen to him often.
“Then I guess we’re not strangers anymore,” is all he says. “And we have plenty of time tonight to get to know each other.”
“You mentioned your mom earlier… tell me about your childhood,” I say, opting to take the conversation somewhere safer.
“Before or after my mom met my stepdad?”
“I don’t care. Whichever you want to talk about.”
“Now that I’m older, I know that we were poor and my mom struggled, but I don’t remember it that way. She was always smiling, laughing, taking me places. We didn’t have money but we still managed to have fun. Mornings at the library. Afternoons at the park. Ice skating in the winter. Somehow, she managed to make my childhood wonderful, despite the financial struggles.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do,” I whisper, suddenly choked up. “I never want him to think back on our life and be sad.”
“You’re a good mom,” he says, smiling gently.
“Thank you.” I’m startled to feel tears sting my eyelids. I swipe at them in frustration. “It’s so hard to know.”