Page 35 of Rescued Love
I wanted to be as close to my woman as the cat was.
And I was. It just required some patience, which is not something I’m normally known for.
She even cooked for me. It was delicious even though she tried to downplay it like it was no big deal.
All of that after I kissed her until neither one of us could breathe. It felt so damn right that my knees buckled a little bit. Not like I would be admitting that out loud any time soon, but that doesn’t make it any less true.
After all of that, I didn’t get her number.
I’ve been fuming all day to the point Grandpa has been eyeing me suspiciously. I’ve barely even grunted at the man I look at like a hero. It’s not his fault, not even a little bit, but I’m just in a piss poor mood.
“I can’t take it anymore,” Grandpa’s voice cuts through my moody as fuck thoughts. I look up to find him standing on the porch, his eyes intent and full of questions as he stares down at me. “Why are you treating the world like it’s done you wrong today?” He tilts his head slightly, his voice going hard, “Did you fuck up your apology to Kimball like your introduction?”
I chuckle for the first time since I realized that I fucked up. The way he wants to protect my woman warms my heart.
“No,” I sigh, “nothing like that.” He makes a hand motion like he wants me to elaborate and my shoulders slump. “I explained where I was coming from and why I was an asshole when I met her,” I explain.
He arches an eyebrow, his tone measured, “That sounds like a good thing. At least she was willing to listen to you.”
“She was,” I agree and nod. “More than that, but I did apologize and recognized that I was out of line. She seemed a little surprised I wasn’t just throwing excuses her way.”
I look out into the pasture and get lost in the memory of how soft her hair was when I buried my fingers in it while kissing her. So fucking soft. My fingers twitch with the need to do it again.
“Oh hell,” Grandpa curses and I snap my gaze to him. “You’ve fallen ass over tea kettle for the girl.”
I open my mouth to refute his words, but then snap it closed because I can’t. “She’s mine,” I tell him honestly.
“Well,” he takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, “okay then.”
I can’t help but grin. Grandpa is the kind of man to roll with the punches and his reaction to my news only proves it. Again.
He pushes, “Then what’s the problem?”
“I apologized. She accepted and forgave me. I asked if we could spend some time together.”
“She turn you down?” His eyes sparkle with amusement as he teases me.
I huff out a laugh, grateful that the man can help to get me out of my head and out of my funk. “No, she agreed. She was done for the day and invited me back to her place.” His eyebrows shoot up and I shrug one shoulder. “We watched a movie and shared some popcorn. Then she cooked me dinner. We talked and,” I rub the middle of my chest, the same spot that’s ached since the moment I left my Kitten last night, “it was nice.”
“Seems a little more might have happened.” He eyes me speculatively. Before I can respond, he holds up his hands and shakes his head. “I don’t want to know.”
“I wasn’t going to tell you anyway,” I shoot back at him and causing him to bark out a laugh in response.
“That doesn’t answer why you’ve been in such a shit mood,” he says when he’s stopped laughing.
“I forgot to get her number,” I mumble the words, barely getting them past my lips.
Grandpa raises his voice, “I’m sorry, what was that?”
I clear my throat and say again, louder this time, “I didn’t get her number.”
His mouth drops open, obviously shocked by my lack of follow through when it matters the most. I don’t get the chance to plead my case before he’s doubled over laughing. At me. At my expense.
It’s not like I blame him because I am the guy who forgot to get her number. That’s on me.
“I was distracted,” I have to project my voice to be heard over his damn laughter.
“Clearly,” he wheezes slightly. With a shake of his head, he stands up straight and gets himself under control. “You realize there is an easy fix here, right?”