Loving You Excerpt
“Come on,” Jade said softly, taking his hand in hers. “Let’s go upstairs and…”
Inspiration hit.
Levi stopped in his tracks and hid a smile as she came to a halt and glanced over her shoulder at him. “Um…”
“I thought that we’d go to the kitchen first,” he said silkily, gently pulling her back to him. “And then I’m going to make a couple of sandwiches for us while you sit and relax. We’ve got all night. Why not start out with dinner and then see where things can go from there?”
Those beautiful eyes went a little wide. “You…you want to make dinner for me?”
Nodding, he leaned in, resting his forehead on hers. “It’s just grilled cheese, but I promise to do better tomorrow night.”
Her eyes went even wider. “You want to make dinner for me tomorrow night too?”
Another nod. Reaching up, he cupped her face. “I do. And then maybe one night we can go out somewhere.” He paused. “You know, if you want to. If you’d rather have some time to yourself…”
This time, she was the one who wouldn’t let him finish. Jade leaned in and silenced him with a kiss that verged on dirty and he was having serious second thoughts about having sandwiches right now. But when she pulled back and gave him a sexy smile and led him toward the kitchen, he figured he’d done something good here.
Something right.
Who knew that making dinner would be such a turn on?
In the kitchen, Jade started to pull out ingredients, but he simply led her over to one of the chairs and told her to sit. “Do you want something to drink?”
“Actually, I have a bottle of wine that I bought just for tonight.” Pausing, she laughed softly. “I mean, I bought it for myself and wasn’t going to drink it all tonight, but figured I’d treat myself to a glass of wine with dinner while Silas was gone.”
And before he could let her think on that too hard, he spotted the bottle and handed it to her. “You handle the wine and I’ll handle the food. Deal?”
“Deal,” she replied as they worked in silence for a few minutes. “So, how’d you enjoy working as a barista today?”
“I seriously want to go back and over-tip every barista I’ve ever met. I had no idea how challenging coffee could be.”
“You get used to it. I didn’t want to have some extensive drink menu like Starbucks, but I also needed to offer more than just a basic cup of coffee. I had trained Erica, Curtis, Billie, and my mom on all of it, but I was essentially learning along with them.”
“I know Billie was getting extremely frustrated with me, but…” He shrugged. “I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it.”
“You really don’t have to. I appreciate you helping today, but…really, Levi, no one expects you to keep doing it.”
He glanced over at her and wanted to be a little offended, but she looked so relaxed sitting at the kitchen table that he simply shrugged again. “I’ll be there until you find someone to replace Erica. You shouldn’t have to work twelve-hour days. You have two weeks to simply be yourself with a few less responsibilities. Why spend them all at the shop?”
Nodding, she took a sip of her wine. “Because it’s my shop. I’m the boss and the owner, and it’s my responsibility.”
“But…?”
“But…I get what you’re saying. I’m just used to always being in…I don’t know…motion. When I found out I was pregnant with Silas, I knew I needed to work hard and save money so I could afford to stay home with him for those first six weeks and then afford to pay for childcare.” After another sip of wine, she continued. “I’m so thankful for my parents because we lived with them for the first six years of Silas’ life. I don’t know how I would have accomplished anything without them, but I’ve worked nonstop for most of my adult life. I don’t question it; I just do what needs to be done.”
“And that’s very commendable, but for this particular situation, you don’t have to be the one jumping in to work. I’m here to help.”
He assembled four sandwiches and put them on the griddle, waiting a few minutes before flipping them.
“But just out of curiosity, do you have any leads?” he asked, and loved hearing her husky laugh from behind him.
“A few. Curtis has a friend who’s coming in tomorrow for me to meet, and some of my mom’s friends want to volunteer too. I don’t know what hours they’re looking for, but any extra help will be wonderful.”
He flipped the sandwiches one more time before plating them. “I’m sure. I’d like to talk to you some more about a marketing idea I had. I thought…”
Jade held up her hand to stop him. “As much as I love how much you’re doing to help me with the business, right now, I’d love it so much more if we didn’t talk about…you know…business.”
It was almost comical how he had tried to do something romantic and was totally ruining it.
“You’re right, you’re right. Sorry.” Sitting beside her, he let out a long breath. “I promise I’ll be a much better date tomorrow.”
She blushed slightly before resting her hand over his. “You’re kind of a perfect date right now. Thank you for this.”
“It’s just grilled cheese.”
“I know, but it’s grilled cheese that I didn’t have to make.”
They ate in companionable silence for a minute and Levi thought about her comment. As a single mom, he figured all of the cooking was on her, but rather than focus on that, he decided to turn the conversation in a sexier direction.
“We could take them upstairs right now,” he suggested with a wink. “There was talk about that back at the shop.”
Her smile was slow and sweet and a little sexy, but rather than say anything, she simply stood with her plate in her hands.
Then she reached for her wine.
Levi did the same before following her up the stairs to her bedroom.
Pre-Order LOVING YOU now!!
Amazon: https://geni.us/LovingYou-Kindle
Apple: https://geni.us/LovingYou-Apple
Barnes & Noble: https://geni.us/LovingYou-Nook
Kobo: https://geni.us/LovingYou-Kobo
Google Play: https://geni.us/LovingYou-Google
Inspiration hit.
Levi stopped in his tracks and hid a smile as she came to a halt and glanced over her shoulder at him. “Um…”
“I thought that we’d go to the kitchen first,” he said silkily, gently pulling her back to him. “And then I’m going to make a couple of sandwiches for us while you sit and relax. We’ve got all night. Why not start out with dinner and then see where things can go from there?”
Those beautiful eyes went a little wide. “You…you want to make dinner for me?”
Nodding, he leaned in, resting his forehead on hers. “It’s just grilled cheese, but I promise to do better tomorrow night.”
Her eyes went even wider. “You want to make dinner for me tomorrow night too?”
Another nod. Reaching up, he cupped her face. “I do. And then maybe one night we can go out somewhere.” He paused. “You know, if you want to. If you’d rather have some time to yourself…”
This time, she was the one who wouldn’t let him finish. Jade leaned in and silenced him with a kiss that verged on dirty and he was having serious second thoughts about having sandwiches right now. But when she pulled back and gave him a sexy smile and led him toward the kitchen, he figured he’d done something good here.
Something right.
Who knew that making dinner would be such a turn on?
In the kitchen, Jade started to pull out ingredients, but he simply led her over to one of the chairs and told her to sit. “Do you want something to drink?”
“Actually, I have a bottle of wine that I bought just for tonight.” Pausing, she laughed softly. “I mean, I bought it for myself and wasn’t going to drink it all tonight, but figured I’d treat myself to a glass of wine with dinner while Silas was gone.”
And before he could let her think on that too hard, he spotted the bottle and handed it to her. “You handle the wine and I’ll handle the food. Deal?”
“Deal,” she replied as they worked in silence for a few minutes. “So, how’d you enjoy working as a barista today?”
“I seriously want to go back and over-tip every barista I’ve ever met. I had no idea how challenging coffee could be.”
“You get used to it. I didn’t want to have some extensive drink menu like Starbucks, but I also needed to offer more than just a basic cup of coffee. I had trained Erica, Curtis, Billie, and my mom on all of it, but I was essentially learning along with them.”
“I know Billie was getting extremely frustrated with me, but…” He shrugged. “I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it.”
“You really don’t have to. I appreciate you helping today, but…really, Levi, no one expects you to keep doing it.”
He glanced over at her and wanted to be a little offended, but she looked so relaxed sitting at the kitchen table that he simply shrugged again. “I’ll be there until you find someone to replace Erica. You shouldn’t have to work twelve-hour days. You have two weeks to simply be yourself with a few less responsibilities. Why spend them all at the shop?”
Nodding, she took a sip of her wine. “Because it’s my shop. I’m the boss and the owner, and it’s my responsibility.”
“But…?”
“But…I get what you’re saying. I’m just used to always being in…I don’t know…motion. When I found out I was pregnant with Silas, I knew I needed to work hard and save money so I could afford to stay home with him for those first six weeks and then afford to pay for childcare.” After another sip of wine, she continued. “I’m so thankful for my parents because we lived with them for the first six years of Silas’ life. I don’t know how I would have accomplished anything without them, but I’ve worked nonstop for most of my adult life. I don’t question it; I just do what needs to be done.”
“And that’s very commendable, but for this particular situation, you don’t have to be the one jumping in to work. I’m here to help.”
He assembled four sandwiches and put them on the griddle, waiting a few minutes before flipping them.
“But just out of curiosity, do you have any leads?” he asked, and loved hearing her husky laugh from behind him.
“A few. Curtis has a friend who’s coming in tomorrow for me to meet, and some of my mom’s friends want to volunteer too. I don’t know what hours they’re looking for, but any extra help will be wonderful.”
He flipped the sandwiches one more time before plating them. “I’m sure. I’d like to talk to you some more about a marketing idea I had. I thought…”
Jade held up her hand to stop him. “As much as I love how much you’re doing to help me with the business, right now, I’d love it so much more if we didn’t talk about…you know…business.”
It was almost comical how he had tried to do something romantic and was totally ruining it.
“You’re right, you’re right. Sorry.” Sitting beside her, he let out a long breath. “I promise I’ll be a much better date tomorrow.”
She blushed slightly before resting her hand over his. “You’re kind of a perfect date right now. Thank you for this.”
“It’s just grilled cheese.”
“I know, but it’s grilled cheese that I didn’t have to make.”
They ate in companionable silence for a minute and Levi thought about her comment. As a single mom, he figured all of the cooking was on her, but rather than focus on that, he decided to turn the conversation in a sexier direction.
“We could take them upstairs right now,” he suggested with a wink. “There was talk about that back at the shop.”
Her smile was slow and sweet and a little sexy, but rather than say anything, she simply stood with her plate in her hands.
Then she reached for her wine.
Levi did the same before following her up the stairs to her bedroom.
Pre-Order LOVING YOU now!!
Amazon: https://geni.us/LovingYou-Kindle
Apple: https://geni.us/LovingYou-Apple
Barnes & Noble: https://geni.us/LovingYou-Nook
Kobo: https://geni.us/LovingYou-Kobo
Google Play: https://geni.us/LovingYou-Google
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