I could totally give the relationship a few months. And if it was still good, then… Well, then it’d be love.
The door opened.
“I’m home!” Killian said brightly.
I perked up, but the need to end the call surged. I didn’t want Skye or Lucy to catch Killian in the background accidentally. Or recognize his voice. “Gotta go,” I said. “Dinner’s here.”
“Isn’t it a little early?” Skye said.
“Skipped lunch. See ya!”
“Don’t skip! Eat. Enjoy!” Lucy said.
“Happy early release day!” Skye said.
We hung up. Killian dropped something off in the kitchen, then came to the table with a cheese pizza and a bottle of Riesling. “Still in that shirt?”
He looked at the loose Axelrod shirt I’d filched from his closet a couple of days earlier. It was so large that I wore it like a mini dress.
“Didn’t get a chance to change,” I said with a shrug. Then I gave him a long, assessing look. “Want me to get out of it?”
“Yeah, totally. We shouldn’t wear clothes at home. Can we make that our relationship rule, like what the hero and heroine did in The Dating Rules?”
I laughed at his hopeful expression. Of course he’d remember that from the book and bring it up at the first opportunity. But it was partially my fault for not phrasing things correctly. My brain was foggy with the lack of sleep and food, but I was too wired to sleep. “I meant do you want me to put something else on?”
“Of course not. If I can’t have you naked, I’d rather have you in my shirt. Gets me super excited, like you’re all mine.”
Warm, tingling sensations moved through me and made me smile.
He kissed me. “Ready to rock and roll tomorrow?”
I nodded, then stretched my neck to relieve the tension. “Yeah. I checked off everything on my list.”
“Awesome.” He grinned. “And I brought us an early dinner, since you worked through lunch.” He frowned. “You shouldn’t do that.”
“I just lost track of time, Mom.”
“Hey, somebody’s gotta take care of you. Otherwise you’d eat nothing but crackers all day long.”
No point arguing that. Animal crackers and Hop Hop Hooray had sustained me last time I had a book out. Actually, they generally kept me going most of the time. But not for this book, because Killian was determined to make me eat like a responsible adult.
He set everything on the table, including two wine glasses, then sat down and opened the box. I stared at the steaming pizza. My brain said I needed the fuel, but my stomach said no. Not because I didn’t like pizza—I was a well-adjusted, normal human being—but because my belly felt tight and slightly acidic from not having eaten since breakfast.
“Come on,” he said, handing me a slice on a paper plate.
I took it, but instead of biting into it, I sipped some of the crisp wine. Killian took a piece and finished it in five big bites. I finally started nibbling on mine.
“Not in the mood for pizza?” he asked.
“No, it’s fine. I’m just… My stomach feels a little weird.”
“You need something?”
I shook my head. “It’s just stress. I shouldn’t be feeling it. I checked my to-do list three times. I’ve already scheduled everything, so my newsletters and social media updates should go out automatically over the next seven days.”
He nodded and squeezed my hand warmly. “There you go. So now it’s time to sit back and give yourself a break.”
I managed to chew and swallow a few more mouthfuls for his benefit, then had more wine, although I knew alcohol wouldn’t help much. It never did.