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“Well,” she said, “since you clearly like leather, I thought maybe we could start in that section. And just stay away from that mid-century modern nonsense. There's never enough cushion on that stuff. What people in the seventies had against lumbar support, I’ll never understand.”
I shook my head, chuckling quietly at her hatred for that style. “Whatever you say.”
We reached a part of the store with a sign that said LEATHER overhead. There was a pretty decent selection in almost every color from light gray to white, rich mahogany brown, and the deepest of espressos.
“I’m staying away from the ones with square arms,” Mara explained. “Rounded arms are much more comfortable to sleep on.”
“So there’s a whole strategy to this,” I said.
She nodded emphatically. “It can’t be too shallow either. There has to be plenty of room to spread out.” Her eyes lit up, and she ran to a wide sitting chair. “Oh my gosh, I love this!”
I stared at it for a moment. “This isn't even a sofa. If you wanted to sleep on it, your legs would be dangling off the end.”
“No,” she said, letting go of my hand to sit in the chair. “This would be theperfectreading chair. Can you imagine?” She tucked her legs underneath her and sat comfortably. “You could have a little fluffy pillow here to go under your arm, drape a throw blanket over yourself, and have a completely cozy day reading. It would be the best way to spend a rainy day.”
I smiled at the picture she painted in my head. I wanted nothing more than to see her do that in my home. “Let's get it,” I said.
She stared at me, eyes wide. “That's it? That's all I had to do to sell you? Maybe I should go into furniture sales.”
I laughed. “You have no idea how convincing you can be, Mara Taylor.”
She's smiled at me and then looked at the couch next to the armchair. “If you’re going to buy the set, you should at least sit in it.”
“But I want to try it with you.” I reached for her hand and pulled her with me onto the couch. She settled into my lap, and the weight of her on top of me was the most comfortable thing I’d ever felt. Screw what was underneath me. All I needed was her to feel right at home.
“I like it,” I said.
She smiled down at me. “Really?”
“Absolutely.” I reached up, gently pulling her toward me for a kiss. Her lips moved against mine, and I quickly forgot where we were, who could be seeing us.
Too soon, Mara pulled away. “So you like this one?”
I nodded. “It's the perfect mix of cozy and clean, and I can see it lasting a long time even if I decided to get a dog someday.” Or children, I didn't say. One thing that I'd learned in all my years of dating was that children were not something you brought up right after a first date. Not that Mara and I even had an official first date. Accosting her in La Belle didn't exactly count. But that was fine because I wanted to have so many more dates with Mara, sneak away to so many more bathrooms.
A saleswoman in a red shirt approached us. “Is this the one?” she asked.
I glanced up at Mara, looking so beautiful with that smile on her lips. “It is.”
28
Mara
Confession: I’ve never made love.
Jonas askedwhen the couch could be delivered. When the saleswoman said it could be a few weeks until the delivery guy had time to do it, he slipped her a fifty, and the couch was delivered that night. Another fifty had the old couch carried out to his garage until he could find some sucker to sell it too.
As soon as the delivery guy was out of Jonas’s house, I fell back on the couch, sinking into the comfortable cushions. “This is amazing! I never would have thought of bribing the delivery guy like that.”
“I like to call itmotivation,” he said, coming toward me from the front door. And damn, did he look hot walking toward me with the top few buttons of his white shirt undone and his sleeves rolled just below his elbows. “Plus, I don’t know how long you’ll be here, and I wanted you to enjoy it.”
My heart lurched. Jonas was worried too about how long this would last. But he’d still done what he could to make me comfortable. Just like he did for his mom. Just like he did for his sister.
I reached for his hand, and he laced his fingers through mine, sitting beside me on the couch. Feeling my heart swell for this man who’d so easily taken me in, who’d instinctively fought to keep me safe, I snuggled closer to him until our noses were touching, and then our lips.
Jonas drew his fingertips through my hair, tucked it behind my ear. Held the back of my neck so tenderly I thought my heart would burst. I held the open seam of his shirt in my fist, hanging on to this moment, this feeling, with everything I had.
He teased the edges of my lips with his tongue, deepening our kiss until I could taste him, feel him. And I let myself feel him. This incredible man.