“Well, if you must know, I haven’t been a girl in a long time. As for candles, back in New York I used to burn a white-lily scented candle. It was the signature scent from a boutique where my mom and I liked to shop.”
After shifting the car into park and turning off the engine, I ran my hand down Murphy’s cheek. “Well, we don’t need scented candles in Vermont. We open the windows and breathe in all the natural scents.”
“Is that so?” She leaned her cheek into my palm, seeking deeper contact.
“Fun time?”
She nodded.
“Sorry my mom wasn’t there.”
“After all your warnings?” Murphy’s head popped up, and she smirked.
“Still.”
“Hunnie said your mom used to curse my existence, so I’m definitely holding off on meeting her.”
“Don’t be silly. Besides, Marley will report every detail about meeting you at the farmers’ market. She may be more subtle in her tactics than my mom, but her gossiping is just as deadly.”
Murphy playfully growled at me, and my mind went other places than my mom.
“Let’s go inside,” I said, changing the subject.
Murphy jumped out and walked behind the car while I grabbed the snacks.
“Welcome to my place,” I said, opening the door to the house, juggling the cups and the bag and holding my keys in my mouth.
“Here, let me take something.” Murphy took the cups and bag, and I let her walk in front of me.
“Wow. This is so cool,” she said, wandering into the open kitchen that led to an open floor plan. Setting the food on the dark green granite island, she looked around wide-eyed. “Nice digs, Dr. Rooney. I’m impressed.”
“Brenna found it. One of the other doctors at the hospital owned it, and had to put it up for sale when he moved to Alaska to work in an underserved community. When Bren heard it was going on the market, she wouldn’t let it go. She dragged me here one night, telling me she needed to pick up something for Branson from one of his friends, and surprised me with the real estate agent waiting for us in the kitchen. Once she dragged me through the house, she pulled out the heavy artillery, insisting that I deserved it.”
Murphy smiled at me, tilting her head. “Aw, she sounds unbelievably committed to you. I mean in a family way, something I know nothing about.”
“She wants me to make a life. A real life.”
Murphy kicked off her now muddy boots by the door leading to the garage and hopped onto one of my kitchen stools. Peeking inside the bag, she plucked out a doughnut and took a bite. With a dusting of sugar on her lips, she looked relaxed and at home, like she belonged here in my kitchen. Seeing her like that gave me a twinge in my chest that I’d never experienced before.
“Looks like you have a pretty good life,” she said after chewing a big mouthful. “Mmm, these are good. Have one.”
I moved closer, leaning my hip against the island as I stood in front of Murphy. “Brenna wants me to have a life of my own, one where I’m not always taking care of her and Branson. A life with someone who matters to me.”
“So, what’s stopping you?” Murphy asked the question without a hint of artifice, an honest question between friends.
Leaning down to steal a small bite of doughnut left in her hand, I chewed before running my sugary lips along hers. “Didn’t meet the right person.”
“Oh.” Murphy’s eyes widened slightly before she glanced away. “I’m sure she’s glad you’re helping with her son.”
I nodded. “Enough about them. Let’s take a tour.”
It was enough. Talk about Branson led to confessions I wasn’t ready to make yet.
Forgetting the ciders, leaving them to get cold, Murphy put her hand in mine, and we turned the corner so I could show her my home office with a red leather couch and fireplace. I liked to do my charting there on the weekend, I told her, and she listened intently as we made our way back to the living area with a dining table in the far corner.
Murphy spun around. “Another fireplace. So cool.”
“I have one in my bedroom too.” My voice was low, husky with want. I cleared my throat, trying to tame the desire running through my veins.
“You do?” Murphy’s eyes met mine, bright with excitement and sensuality.
“Too bad it’s not cold enough tonight to build a fire. Soon. By the time September comes around here, we usually see a frost.”
“I’m shivering at just the thought of it.”
We walked slowly, something undefined burning slowly between the two of us. When we entered my room, I flicked on the light, but immediately dimmed it.
“A four-poster bed. Hmm, not what I was expecting.” She ran her tongue along her lips, now wet and tantalizing.
“It came with the house,” I said with a shrug.
“Nice.” She moved over to the bed and sat down.
“New mattress,” I said for some reason as I sat next to her.
I wasn’t sure who leaned in first, but in the next breath we were kissing in a furious frenzy. I worked at loosening the knot on Murphy’s flannel shirt, tugging to loosen the buttons, and she shrugged it off.
“Wow,” I said, leaning back to take in all of her in a red satin bra.
“Left over from my New York days,” she said. “I can’t afford this now.”
“Everything is going to change for you, Murph.”
I leaned over to press my lips to her neck, then worked my way down her clavicle, lingering on the line of smooth skin where her bra met her breast.
A small moan escaped her, and I tugged down the fabric and found her nipple. As her head fell back, I worshiped her other breast before she came up and shoved me down, yanking my shirt over my head and relieving me of my khakis.
Murphy grinned at me.
