Page 51 of The Puck Charmer
I arch one brow. “You say that like you’re worried I’m going to burn it.”
“Nope, just wondering.”
“Liar,” I shoot back, and she laughs before dunking under. I flip the fish on the grill, getting a good char on the sides. The delicious smells fill the backyard and my stomach takes that moment to growl. When she reemerges, I ask, “Should we save some for Gram?”
Her warm smile wraps around me. Christ, when she looks at me like that, all sweet and appreciative it fucks me over and makes me want to do things for her. “That’s so sweet of you to think of her. She would love that.”
“It’s a big trout, plenty to go around. Of course, when I tell the story, it’s going to be this big,” I say and hold my hand about three feet apart, “and naturally it will be me who caught him and not you.”
“If that’s what your ego needs,” she says, and I laugh with her.
“Nah, I’m just kidding. You’ve got mad fishing skills, babe. I’m impressed.” Jack comes back with his ball, and I check the underside of the fish. “This is ready.”
She glides to the stairs and water drips off her gorgeous bare body as she reaches for a towel and pats her skin. Once dry, she tugs on one of my T-shirts, which seem to be her favorite things to wear around the house. My favorite, too. My dick agrees. He’s always clamoring for a front row seat.
I remove the fish, and we enter through the kitchen. Jack sniffs around and follows us in. Alyssa grabs the salad she made before jumping into the water and sets it on the table. We’re both warm and relaxed, our moods mellow…sleepy.
She divvies up the salad and I portion out the trout, and we both lazily sit at the table. “Oh,” she says, “I’ve finished with the sketches.” She pushes her notepad toward me, and I look at the design ideas she has for the yard. “I wanted to add this fire pit and terrace, and this really nice rose garden with a fountain over here.” She pauses and glances at me “I want to make this space his oasis, but I guess I probably should have discussed budget with him first.”
I wave my fork, dismissively. “No budget, have at it.”
“You can’t be serious?”
“Why not?” I slide a generous portion of fish into my mouth and moan around it. “This is so good, Aly.” She sits there and stares at me unblinkingly. “Aren’t you going to eat?”
“You just told me I had an unlimited budget. That’s insane.” She stabs a cucumber and bites into it. “Who gives full control without approving a budget or design?”
“Insane people, obviously,” I tease, and nudge her hand. “Now eat. You’re going to need your energy for later.”
She slides a piece of trout onto her fork. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get him the best prices, but what I have in mind is not going to be cheap.”
I shrug. “Whatever you do, Tyler will love it.”
“You sure you don’t want to call him and run this by him?”
“Nope, he trusts me, and I trust you, so there you go.”
Excitement moves into her eyes. “I can really do all the things I want?” She bites into her trout and her eyes close over. “You cooked it perfectly.”
“And you were worried about my skills,” I say.
“You’re a man of many talents, Alek.”
“Don’t you forget it.”
She draws her bottom lip between her teeth, and her eyes have a dazed, distant look in them when she says, “Pretty sure there’s no chance of that happening.”
I jump up and refill her wine and snatch a cold beer for myself. She takes a sip, and the conversation turns to my friends who are coming for a visit this weekend.
“You must be looking forward to seeing them,” she says. “I’ll make myself scarce while they’re here.”
As soon as the words leave her mouth my stomach plummets. Shit, I don’t want her to hide away, yet if I introduce her to my friends, how do I tell them to keep what a do a secret because I’ve been lying to her.
“No,” I say. “I’d like you to meet them.”
What are you doing, dude?
Fuck me.