I can’t help but clasp one of his warm hands between mine and give it a gentle squeeze. “That’s how he tells me he loves me,” I say, clarifying for the group.
“I see. Is he taken?” Rosie asks, humor twinkling in her eyes.
“Not at all, Rosie.” I sigh with feigned disappointment. “Don turned me down years ago.”
While the three of us laugh, Hayes shifts uncomfortably in his seat. I guess I should try to bring him into the conversation. But before I have the chance to come up with a strategy, he finally opens his mouth.
“What do you do, Don?”
“Oh, a little bit of this and that. Crossword puzzles and afternoon naps, mostly.”
“Ha,” Hayes says with a fake laugh. “I meant before Riverside. What did you do for a living?”
“I was a college professor at U of M, teaching the classics. Roman and Greek history, literature, et cetera. Lucky for me, your grandmother is quite the mythology buff herself.”
Hayes says nothing in response, staring him down like he’s deciding whether it’s morally reprehensible to beat up an old man.
I reach under the table to rub his knee comfortingly. Relax.
“What do you do?” Don asks, genuinely interested.
Uh-oh.
“I own a sex-toy shop here on the north side.” Hayes’s voice is loud, proud, and brimming with cockiness. He probably thinks mentioning anything openly sexual will scare Don away. Clearly, he doesn’t know the man.
“Fantastic,” Don says in a low voice, clapping his hands softly together. “I have about a dozen erotic posters for you to look at—renderings of ancient Roman frescoes. I’m not allowed to put them up here. Would you want to put some of them up in your shop?”
Hayes is stunned into silence, his mouth twitching. Meanwhile, Rosie and I share a pleasantly surprised look.
“That would be perfect for the shop,” I say, jumping in. “They could make a collage on the back wall.”
The conversation continues easily from there, Hayes pitching in now and then in an attempt to recover his pride. I know that all he wants is to be sure Don’s intentions are pure, but there’s still time for that.
At the end of our visit, Rosie and Don say their good-byes with the promise to have another date on Saturday.
“We should have a double date,” Rosie exclaims with a confident expression that boasts of her problem-solving superpower. She and Hayes really are blood relatives, aren’t they?
“That sounds fun,” I say with a smile.
And it really does. On a double date, I can get in all the cute couple-watching I want, and Hayes can monitor the progression of their relationship. Not to mention that I’ve been itching to spend more time with Hayes, in and out of bed.
Don waves good-bye from the front doors as Hayes helps his grandmother into the front seat of the car. I’m about to turn around and head back indoors when his hand reaches for mine, spinning me back around. His fingers play lightly with the buttons on my dress, sending shivers across my skin.
“Hey,” he growls softly, with the sexy little smirk he reserves just for me.
“Hey.” I giggle back, a little breathless.
“Can I take you out tonight? No double date. Just the two of us.” His tongue peeks out to wet his bottom lip.
I run one finger between his pecs, down his cotton T-shirt, appreciating the firm feel of his chiseled torso. “I’d like that,” I murmur, the twitch in my core impossible to ignore.
“Good,” he whispers, leaning in to press his full lips against mine in a hot, eager kiss that ends way too soon. After he releases me, he heads back to the car and starts the engine.
I watch as he and Rosie drive away. I’m still cemented to the spot where he left me when I hear Don approaching me from behind.
“Seems like a handful, that one,” he says with a grunt, patting my shoulder.
I’m not sure if he means Rosie or Hayes, but either way, my answer is the same. “You have no idea.”
17
HAYES
I haven’t been this nervous for a date in—well, ever. Wining and dining have always come easy to me. That’s my sweet spot. But doing this with Maren? When the stakes are so much higher than they ever were before? It’s a whole new ball game.
I want tonight to be different. Special. I want Maren to feel worshipped like she never has before, like no man has ever made her feel. That’s why tonight, I’ve got more than one trick up my sleeve.
“So, where are we going again?” Maren’s brow furrows slightly, making the faintest little crease between her eyebrows.
She’s sitting in the passenger seat, wearing the kind of low-cut emerald-green dress that makes me want to pull over and pull her onto my lap. But for now, I push those thoughts aside and stay focused on navigating us through rush-hour traffic.
“Out,” I say, lacing my fingers through hers over the center console.
She smiles and clucks her tongue. “Are you going to be elusive and mysterious all night?”
“Well, that depends. Is it working for you?”
She blushes, and I can feel the heat from her palm. I know what blushing does to her. Her chest will turn pink, and her breathing grows rapid. I’d love to investigate what’s happening between her legs, but tonight is about anything but instant gratification. It’s about pacing ourselves and luxuriating. Tonight, we’re going to take our time.
Something has shifted between us recently. Maybe it’s how close she’s growing with Rosie, or maybe it’s because I got to see her in her element at Riverside. Now that I’ve seen her in her environment, I can’t imagine that place existing without her.
Maren breathed life into the old tiled hallways. She brought hope and positivity and joy. She’s special in so many different ways I never knew about.
Around old people? I’m awkward. People who are sick and in pain? Hell, I’m useless. I never know the right thing to say. But
