Happy as a lark behind us, Space Ghost gobbles up his breakfast. “Thank you for not completely freaking out. He can be a bit of a pain when he’s hungry.” I move over to the refrigerator and pull out the butter, eggs, and cheese. I halt in place when I see the dimple pop on his cheek along with a big grin. Uh-oh.
“A bit of cat trivia for you …”
“Oh, boy. I shouldn’t have doubted you. Here I was thinking I’d not heard any weird little facts since last night.” I shoot a wink at him as I deposit the omelet supplies on the counter and hunt the cupboard for my skillet.
“Did you know that cats share 95.6% of their genetic makeup with tigers?”
I stare at him for a second, then my lips twist into a smirk. “Not 95.5%?”
He taps a finger to the side of his head. “Nope. I remember everything. And I believe it now after feeling the daggers on that little guy.”
I snort with laughter and set the skillet on the stovetop before rummaging in the drawer for a spatula. Finally, I pull out a bowl and a whisk. “Do you want to do this, or do you want me to? Fair warning—I’m not really great at omelets.” I stop talking for a few seconds to crack three eggs into the bowl before I continue with a little shrug. “They usually turn into scrambled eggs because I mess up the flip.”
Sawyer clears his throat, and I peer over my shoulder at him. “What? Did I do something wrong?”
He gives a quick shake of his head. “Not at all. I was temporarily distracted by the sight of you wearing my shirt.”
I glance down with a frown. “Oh. Sorry. When I heard you shout, I just snatched up the first thing I saw.”
His eyes roam over me. “Don’t be sorry. You’re totally fucking sexy in it.”
Color floods my cheeks as his gaze moves from the shirt I hadn’t quite finished buttoning to the length of my bare legs and back up. He steps behind me, sweeps my bed hair out of the way, and plants a wet kiss on the juncture of my shoulder and neck. His hands find my hips and, after a squeeze, slide over my stomach, pulling me back against him. His voice is raspy in my ear. “I think I’m in trouble. I don’t know if I’ll ever get enough of you.” He exhales and his warm breath on my neck does things to my insides. My nipples peak where they brush against the fabric of his shirt, and my body throbs as it remembers all the ways he’d touched me last night.
“Here, step aside, and I’ll finish this.” He presses a kiss to my cheek and shifts me out of the way.
I breathe in and out slowly, just like Piper made me do the other day, to try to calm my heart. And other parts.
He expertly finishes the omelet, flipping it into the air like a chef. He adds some cheese and lets it sit for another minute to melt before folding it and sliding it onto the plate I hand him.
I giggle in amazement. “Next time, I’ll let you do it from start to finish.”
“Nah. We work really well together.” He winks at me. “In more ways than one.”
Warmth flows through me. I’ve never had this good-natured teasing and fun with anyone the morning after.
It makes sense, considering I’d never once allowed a morning after to happen with anyone else. I can imagine, though, that none of the other men I’ve been with would have been cooking breakfast with me the next morning. No way.
“Hadleigh? You okay?”
I jump at my name. “Oh. Yeah. Sorry. I was lost in thought.” I pull a pair of forks out of a drawer and point toward the small table and chairs just off the kitchen. “We can eat here.” I hand him a fork as we sit down, and we each take a bite at the same time. As I finish chewing, I mumble, “Mm. Good job.”
“I just flipped it and finished it for you.”
I shake my head, my expression unbelieving. “Still, it never tastes this good when I make my own. It must be your touch, Sawyer.” I cover my mouth, my eyes widening. “Poor Willow. Is she missing out on a hot breakfast because you’re here?”
He chuckles. “Unless she tries to make toast again.”
“Tries?”
“Yeah. She burned it the last three times she cooked for herself. I keep telling her it’s setting number two that she likes for her toast, but she doesn’t listen and always has it up too high.”
“I guess I owe her, huh?”
He shrugs with a wink. “Maybe. You could probably just introduce her to Space Ghost sometime, and she’d forgive you. She likes animals.”
We eat in silence for a few minutes, which is actually kind of nice because I don’t feel like I have to be “on” when I’m with Sawyer. I feel like I can just be myself, and if that means just sharing a quiet moment, then that’s okay with him.
Sawyer finally sets his fork down with a contented sigh once we’ve polished off the omelet. “Why Space Ghost, by the way? I mean, I figure it’s after the comic book character, but I didn’t really take you for a comic book kind of girl.”
Oh. I don’t know if I was ready to go there yet, but here we are. “Um, so when my father took off, he left behind a stack of comic books.” I pause for a beat, watching his reaction. “I read them front to back when I was finally able to—so many times that they kind of fell apart.”
Sawyer takes hold of my hand, giving me reassurance when it hits him what a tender topic this is for me. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize.”
I sigh and lift one shoulder in
