Page 27 of Captivating Anika

Her medication is not on the counter but, on a lucky guess, I find the containers in the cupboard over the fridge. Then I fill a glass under the faucet and place everything on the kitchen island just as Anika walks in.

For a moment, she simply looks at me, before measuring out her pills and washing them down with the water. Then she rounds the island to my side and to my surprise, walks straight into my arms.

I lean my cheek on the top of her head and stroke my hand over the thick, sleek hair hanging straight down her back.

I’m not sure how long we stand like that when, eventually, Anika takes a step back and looks up at me.

“You’re a good man, Noah.”

My eyebrows shoot up, I wasn’t expecting that.

“You know my name.”

She shrugs, lowering her eyes. “Yeah, you have a dental cleaning at nine thirty on the twenty-fifth of May.”

I chuckle. I tucked that appointment card under a magnet on my fridge after my last cleaning and haven’t looked at it since. Apparently, Anika did.

“You haven’t eaten anything, have you?” I ask when I catch her stifling a yawn.

I had an early dinner before I left home, but she came straight from work.

“I’m not that hungry. I may skip and go straight to bed.”

I reach out and run the pad of my thumb along her jaw.

“Your body needs fuel to heal. Give me ten minutes to fix you something to eat. You can go to bed right after. At least you won’t wake up in the middle of the night, starving.”

When she doesn’t answer, I tuck her under my arm and walk her to the couch in the living room.

“Take the load off. Ten minutes, that’s all.”

She sits down and pulls her legs up under her. I grab the remote off the coffee table and hand it to her, then I bend down and brush her lips with mine.

In the fridge I find eggs, a piece of goat cheese, baby spinach, and green onions. Enough to whip up an omelet.

“How was the house?” she asks me fifteen minutes later, after a few bites of dinner put some life back in her eyes.

“It’s okay. The two bedrooms are small, and there’s only the one bathroom, but living space is open concept, which works for me. Looks like it was all recently refinished. The best part is the location though; it’s got nice views of the river and is close to work.”

I get up and gather the dirty dishes, bringing them to the sink.

“Are you going to take it?”

“Probably.”

The owners are offering a six-month lease, which is fine by me. I wasn’t too keen on locking myself into a rental for too long, but six months gives me a chance to see if Durango suits me.

Glancing over at Anika, who is yawning again, I have a feeling I’m going to like living here just fine.

“You should get some sleep,” I suggest, wiping my hands on a kitchen towel. “I was thinking you’ll need wheels to tide you over. My next shift starts at seven tomorrow morning, so if I swing by here at quarter to, you can drop me off at the station and use my truck. It gives you some time to figure out what’s happening with yours. Then if you pick me up again Wednesday morning, we can maybe grab some breakfast before I drop you at the salon. We’ll sort out the rest then.”

She gets up from her seat and walks up to me, placing her hands on my chest. Then she lifts up on her toes and offers her mouth for a kiss. I don’t hesitate taking her up on the offer.

It’s that I know she’s exhausted and probably in pain, or I’d have had a hard time leaving it at a kiss. Knowing she’s not averse to seeing where this goes makes it much harder to be patient.

Still, I untangle myself from her arms, which have wound around me, give her a final, hard kiss on her lips, and make my way to the front door.

“Sweetheart, lock the door behind me.”